Children's home run by Kisimul Group Limited in North Kesteven

Requires improvement

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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because:

 Staff are not always aware of the history and needs of the young people they support.  Staff do not always support young people with their communication.  Young people do not always experience warm and nurturing relationships with staff.  The use of supine restraints needs further review.  The fire safety of the home is compromised by some everyday practices.  Some areas of the environment need to be redecorated.  Parents and professionals receive limited communication from staff.  Staff have not always received regular and effective supervision.

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The children's home strengths

 The majority of young people access full-time education and benefit from access to speech and language therapists, play therapy and educational psychologists.  Managers ensure that a new young person admitted to the service is able to transition into the service at their own pace through trial visits and overnight stays.  Managers report safeguarding concerns quickly and take effective action to protect young people.  The management team has an excellent oversight of the service and a comprehensive knowledge of its strengths and weaknesses.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the children's views, wishes and feelings standard the registered person is required to ensure that all staff:

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Requirement Due date

 develop positive relationships with young people;

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Requirement Due date

 help each child to express views, wishes and feelings.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 7 (1) (a) (b) (2) (a) (ii)) 29/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the positive relationships standard the registered person should ensure staff:

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Requirement Due date

 meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans, in particular the need to develop positive relationships with adults.

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Requirement Due date

 understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and in particular have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1) (a) (c) (2) (a) (i) (ix)) 29/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person must enable, inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children’s home that:

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Requirement Due date

 ensures the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. 29/09/2005 (Regulation 13 (2) (e))

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Requirement Due date

To meet the contact and access to communications regulation the registered person should ensure that young people accommodated in the home have access to any aids and equipment they may require as a result of the their disability in order to facilitate the child’s communication with other persons.

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Requirement Due date

To meet the fire precautions regulation the registered person must take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. In particular ensuring fire doors are not wedged open and fire exits are not blocked.

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Requirement Due date

To meet the behaviour management policies and records regulation the registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review with a view to reducing the number of supine restraints taking place.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 The registered persons should continue to develop the home's working relationships with each young person’s placing authority and young people's parents. This includes informing them of incidents and updating them on the welfare of their child. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards, April 2015, page 52 paragraph 10.3)  The registered person should ensure staff support young people to develop practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards, April 2015, page 17 paragraph 3.27)  The registered person should ensure the children's home provides a homely, domestic environment. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards, April 2015, page 15 paragraph 3.9)  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including

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Recommendations

the manager, receive supervision, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. This includes staff having access to regular supervision. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards, April 2015, page 61 paragraph 13.2)  The homes policies and procedures should reflect requirements of the regulations including specifying how allegations of historic or past abuse should be responded to. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards, April 2015, page 44 paragraph 9.22)

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Information about this children's home

This service is privately owned and provides education, care and accommodation for up to 66 children and young people who have learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

11/02/2015 CH - Interim sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement

Staff are not always aware of the histories and needs of the young people they support. Staff were unable to explain the specific needs the young people they were working with. In one case, a staff member advised that a young person had recently moved to the home however, it was later established they had been living there for a number of months. Another young person uses a phrase to indicate they are distressed. Staff were not aware of the meaning of this phrase as outlined in their care records and advised that they repeated this phrase because they liked it. As a result, young people are not receiving individualised care and staff are unable to anticipate their needs

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requires improvement

Staff do not always support young people with their communication. The majority of young people use signing or other communication aids such as ‘picture exchange communication system’ (PECS) to communicate their needs, wants and wishes. Staff did not regularly use signing to communicate with young people and young people did not have access to or were not encouraged to use their communication aids. During a staff meeting, a number staff were not aware of a residents communication needs. This means staff do not always support young people to express themselves and are not always aware of a young person’s wants and needs.

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requires improvement

Young people do not always experience warm and nurturing relationships with staff. The majority of interactions seen were task orientated, directive and command led. Staff did not take sufficient time to explain to young people what was happening or why they could not do something. As a result, young people may not feel valued or benefit from relationships with staff that promote attachment or sense of belonging.

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requires improvement

The home provides young people with structure and routine. The majority of young people access full-time education and benefit from support from speech and language therapists, play therapy and educational psychologists. This enables young people to make progress in a range of areas including their personal care and behaviour. Young people’s care plans provide sufficient detail on how to provide care to each individual. Staff pay close attention to their health needs and support them to lead healthy lifestyles. When necessary staff support young people to attend medical appointments. They are able to participate in activities both on and off site. This helps develop their social experiences.

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requires improvement

Some young people are developing their independence skills and are now able to assist with cooking and chores around the home. This provides them with a sense of achievement and boosts their confidence. However, young people do not benefit from having individualised targets that staff can support them to achieve. This may mean some young people do not receive the support they require to develop their independent living skills.

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requires improvement

Managers ensure that young people able to transition into the service at their own pace through trial visits and overnight stays. Where possible staff also visit the young person to ensure they know a friendly face when they arrive. This promotes a successful transition. When young people leave the home, staff provide them with choice on how they would like to say goodbye. This can include having a party with their peers. Staff ensure they have pictures of their time at the home to promote a positive ending. Families of young people are welcomed into the home and staff support young people to maintain positive attachments with those they consider important to them.

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requires improvement

All members of staff are trained in the method of restraint used by the organisation, which runs the home. Emphasis is placed on de-escalation techniques, however when these are not successful staff employ physical intervention. There has been a reduction in the volume of supine restraints remains but for the management of certain behaviours it remains quite frequent, which is a concern due to the risks posed to young people by this strategy. Records do not advise if staff have monitored young people’s health during a supine restraint, this may result in staff not taking action to maintain a young person’s well-being when a supine restraint is being used.

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requires improvement

Staff use a soft playroom to assist young people to calm down when they are distressed. This room currently has a bolt lock on the door. Although policies and staff advise that young people are able to leave the room when they want to, it is not clear if all young people who use the room are aware of the lock or can reach it to exit. The type of lock and handle are under review. Some bedroom doors also have chub locks on them which may result in young people not knowing how to let themselves out.

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requires improvement

Young people’s risk assessments are comprehensive. They identify the risks and the actions staff need to take to minimise them and to protect young people. All health and safety checks are up to date and general risk assessments identify potential hazards and risk reduction processes. However, these have not been effective in preventing staff from blocking fire exits or wedging fire doors open. As a result, the fire safety of the home is compromised. Some areas of the environment need to be addressed to ensure they are safe and young people live in a homely environment. This includes replacing a broken widow and repainting poorly maintained areas.

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requires improvement

Staff take action to raise concerns regarding young people’s welfare. Managers report safeguarding concerns quickly and take effective action to protect young people. Managers and staff liaise closely with the local authority designated officer, placing authorities, police and parents to carry out investigations. Investigations are thorough and appropriate actions are taken. Managers use lessons learned from investigations to improve practice. This ensures young people’s welfare is promoted and protected. There have been two incidents of young people leaving the site without permission. Staff followed the missing person’s policy and the individual’s protocol to alert the appropriate agencies. The home’s safeguarding policy focuses on present concerns or allegations of abuse and does not advise staff of what to do if an allegation of a past abuse is made. Staff are therefore not adequately informed of the action they need to take to protect young people in

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requires improvement

these cases. Concerns raised are not always recorded as complaints; as a result, it is not clear what actions have been taken to address these. This impedes the manager’s ability to address any shortfalls in practice.

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requires improvement

The home continues to develop its recruitment practices to ensure they are robust. Managers demonstrate a good understanding of safe recruitment procedures and ensure all potential employees are vetted for their suitability to work with children.

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good

The registered manager has an executive diploma in management and is a registered learning disabilities nurse. He has numerous years’ experience in this sector and has been the registered manager of this service since July 2012. The registered manager is line managed by the home’s general manager who works on-site and has an excellent knowledge of the service. Two deputy managers who have a good knowledge of the young people using the service also support him.

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good

Managers actively challenge other agencies to ensure young people receive the support they need. This includes working assertively with the local child and adolescent mental health team to provide a service to the young people living at the home. Managers are currently working with a variety of professionals to ensure a young person receives the care they require. This has meant challenging the placing authority to find a more suitable placement, which can support the young person’s more complex and challenging behaviours. This demonstrates that the management team recognises what is in young people’s best interests and will take action to achieve this.

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good

The management team has an excellent oversight of the service and a comprehensive knowledge of its strengths and weaknesses. Managers regularly carry audits of all aspects of the service. These are supported by the comprehensive reports produced by the independent visitor, which regularly make recommendations to improve practice. However, their ability to bring about change and improve services has been negated by the high number of staff joining and leaving the organisation. This has meant that improvements to practice have not yet been embedded within the staff team. As a result, staff are not achieving some of the home's stated aims, including staff relating to young people in a positive way.

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good

Surveys completed by parents and professionals and a complaint received by the service, raised concerns regarding the limited communication they received from staff. This included staff not advising them of incidents. This means professionals and parents are always kept up to date on the welfare of the young person.

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good

Staff have not always received regular and effective supervision. This may have led to some staff feeling unsupported by managers and reflecting this in surveys submitted to Ofsted. This had also been identified in the independent visitor’s reports. The management team are aware of deficits in the supervision and are taking action to address this. Staff receive regular training throughout the year to ensure they are able to meet the basic needs of young people receiving the service. However, staff are not receiving formal training to effectively communicate with young people. Furthermore, there are a low number of qualified first aiders. As a result, young people are not always receiving responsive care from staff who have the skills to meet all of their needs.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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