Children's home run by Oxfordshire County Council in Oxford

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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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Emergency admissions have not been sufficiently planned for. Three young people had been admitted on an emergency basis. As needs emerged, the staff team’s capacity to keep young people safe and to balance the needs of all young people effectively was insufficient. This had a significant impact on the experience and progress of young people.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 The progress that had been made at the time of the last inspection, in relation to young people being better engaged and interested in their education or training opportunities, has declined. There are signs that young people who remain in the home are again becoming more motivated to attend and achieve.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Some risk assessments are not detailed enough to ensure that staff know what strategies they need to use to reduce risks.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Safeguarding and child protection issues are not adequately recorded, making it difficult to assess the quality of decision making in dealing with child protection issues and the outcomes.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Significant events are not always notified to HMCI, and the outcomes of safeguarding issues are not relayed to Ofsted.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Monitoring reports carried out by an independent person are not all provided to Ofsted, so the regulator does not always have an up-to-date account of the views of the independent person visiting the home.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Recording of physical interventions and sanctions does not include all detail. It does not provide a clear view about what staff have done to avoid the measure, whether the measure was effective, and whether the manager has spoken to staff and the young person about the event.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 The statement of the home’s purpose has incorrect references to legislation, does not include the contact details, should interested parties want to complain or access the complaints policy, and does not detail how the home’s child protection or behaviour management policy can be accessed.

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The children's home strengths

 Young people and staff develop positive relationships, and staff care about the young people and want them to do well. 

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The children's home strengths

 The staff team is stable and provides a good level of consistency for young people. 

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The children's home strengths

 There are strong working relationships with the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS). 

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The children's home strengths

 The leadership took action to address the significant shortfalls emerging in the home that put young people at risk. 

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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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

16 Statement of purpose In order to meet the statement of purpose standard, the registered provider must ensure that: (1) The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (‘the statement of purpose’) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1, with specific reference to ensuring that:  all references to legislation are correct  the statement contains details of who to contact if a person has a complaint about the home and how that person can access the home’s complaints policy  the statement contains details of how a person, body or organisation involved in the care or protection of a child can access the home’s child protection policies or the behaviour management policy (Regulation 16 (1)). 27 May 2016

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Requirement Due date

34 Policies for the protection of children In order to meet the policies for the protection of children standard, the registered provider must ensure that: (2) The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular— (d) provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response. 27 May 2016

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Requirement Due date

8 The education standard In order to meet the education standard, the registered provider must ensure: (2) (a) that staff— (i) help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; (ii) support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete 27 May 2016 independent study; (iii) understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers; (iv) help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment. This is with specific reference to re-establishing the progress that had been made at the time of the last inspection in meeting the education standard.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— (a) within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— (v) details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; (vii) the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and (b) within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’)— (i) has spoken to the user about the measure; and (ii) has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and (c) within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(b)(c)). 27 May 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must without delay notify HMCI of all significant events in the home, as defined in the corresponding regulation (Regulation 40(4)). 13 May 2016

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to HMCI (Regulation 44(7)(a)). 13 May 2016

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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

 Emergency admissions should not be taken unless the home’s capacity and support systems mean that it has the capability to care for children admitted at very short notice while continuing to offer high quality care to children already living in the home. This is with specific reference to ensuring there are reasonable expectations on the staff team’s ability to balance the needs of all children especially when there has been more than one emergency admission (’Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, para 3.6).

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. This is with specific reference to ensuring that risk assessments include details of the steps that the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis (’Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 41, para 9.5).

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Recommendations

 The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care through observation and engagement with: each child; the home’s staff; each child’s family/carers where appropriate; and professionals involved in the care or protection of each child including their social worker, independent reviewing officer (IRO), teachers, clinicians and other health professionals. This is with specific reference to gaining the views of all relevant people to inform the monitoring system carried out under regulation 45 (’Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, para 10.23).

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Information about this children's home

This children's home provides care for up to six female young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is managed by a local authority.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

24 November 2015 CH – Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

8 July 2015 CH – Full Requires improvement

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Recent inspection history

30 March 2015 CH – Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Requires improvement

The effectiveness of the care planning for each young person has been impacted upon by a number of recent emergency admissions. There was a lack of knowledge about young people’s needs, some of which were significant. For some of the young people, it became clear that the placement was not the correct one for them, as there was some extremely dangerous behaviour that staff were unable to deal with proactively. Some young people were drawn into situations that put them at risk of harm, and staff had become overwhelmed and exhausted. The potential impact that each emergency admission may have on the existing young people and the staff must be fully assessed, to ensure that priority is given to the safety of all young people and the stability of the group environment. On a positive note, young people whose needs could not be met have recently moved out of the home to more appropriate placements. The remaining young people are

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Requires improvement

rekindling their relationships with staff, who are now available to them should they want to talk about things that they are worried about.

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Requires improvement

The care planning for the remaining young people is in line with their diverse needs. They are involved in the decision making about their care, where appropriate, for example by being fully involved in their reviews. Young people living in the home at the time of the inspection were in discussion with the manager about what support they would find useful to help them to improve their behaviour. They were involved in redefining the risk management regime, and setting appropriate boundaries. This is a positive development, because they are likely to be more motivated to make positive changes in their lives. One young person commented, ‘It’s good we are being asked now about what the boundaries should be; this gives us a bit more control and responsibility.’

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Requires improvement

Education, training and employment have been impacted upon by the unsettled period. All the young people and staff were being kept awake at night. Consequently, young people and staff were tired and demotivated. Support to young people to attend school, for example driving young people there, declined and school attendance decreased. Following a more settled period, the early signs are that young people are improving their engagement in their education and training opportunities. Young people do have aspirations and spoke about them. One young person is keen to study midwifery and gave a clear account of how she will achieve this over the next few years. She is now trying to increase her attendance at school and catch up on her studies. The other young person is undertaking a catering course. This has provided her with practical experience of working at functions in the community, so she is beginning to get an idea about

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Requires improvement

the expectations that employers have. However, neither of the young people is accessing 25 hours of education, training or employment. The virtual school is proactive in encouraging staff and young people to value the benefits that education and training will bring to young people’s future lives. Staff need to promote this view at every opportunity and encourage meaningful engagement in any way they can, to support young people to build up their interest and engagement in learning. Young people are involved in some positive activities. They have had a recent holiday with staff in Wales which they enjoyed, and this helped to begin to re- establish positive relationships with staff and with each other. They are encouraged to maintain friendships with their peers, and they enjoy a range of outings with staff.

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Requires improvement

Young people develop the practical skills that they will need to live more independently. They learn to budget, take on part-time work and learn to cook. One young person is an especially good cook and, on occasion, cooks for the whole house. Their emotional readiness for independent living is less well developed. They have complex emotional needs and have found it difficult to make sustained changes in this area. During the recent difficult period, some young people reverted back to using unhelpful coping strategies such as self-harm. Young people benefit from the good working relationships that staff have with the local children and adolescent health service, which is highly responsive to young people’s needs. This service supports young people on a one-to-one basis and provides a 24-hour emergency support service. The service also supports staff to develop strategies to keep young people safe.

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Requires improvement

Young people’s routine health needs are met, for example through their attendance at dental and optical appointments. More complex health needs are not as well managed by the young people, such as following the diets suggested by medical services to manage diabetes and coeliac disease. This is despite staff’s best endeavours to guide and advise young people about the dangers of not sticking to the correct diet.

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Requires improvement

Three young people have moved on from the home since the last inspection, and the leadership and management have agreed that there will be a period when no new admissions will be taken. This is positive, as it is providing a period of stability for all those living and working in the home. Young people who have moved on have been very well supported to achieve this in a dignified way, and have been assisted by staff for a period of time in their new living arrangements to help them to settle.

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Requires improvement

The period of instability in the home meant that the environment was not safe for young people. This was despite staff’s best efforts to deal with some extremely dangerous and disruptive behaviour. There was an escalation in episodes of missing from care, self-harm, drug and alcohol misuse, and incidents of fire setting. Young people said that they did not feel safe at that time, and one said, ‘if you had come four weeks ago, I would have asked you to get me out of here, but it is OK now, I feel safe again.’

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Requires improvement

Physical interventions are used only in situations when absolutely necessary to ensure the safety of all, and sanctions are used to support young people to take more responsibility for their actions. While these had not always been effective, young people are now involved in revising these. The records of physical interventions and sanctions neither fully meet regulations nor provide a clear view about: the actions that were taken to prevent the need for intervention; the effectiveness of the measure; or the views of the people involved.

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Requires improvement

Young people were reducing their risky behaviours such as self-harm before the period of instability in the home. The unstable environment caused some young people to revert to using unsafe coping strategies and left staff responding in a reactive, rather than proactive and preventative, way. However, staff are now more able to help young people to manage risk, because they have the time to implement the strategies and support them effectively. They work in partnership with other agencies involved in young people’s lives, such as mental health workers, social workers and the police. The majority of risks to young people are now being reduced by effective risk management strategies, including an inter-professional response to young people being absent or missing from care and the risks of exploitation this brings. Episodes of going missing and absent without authority are decreasing. Young people have an opportunity to discuss with an independent person their reasons

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Requires improvement

for going missing, although they do not always take up this opportunity. An individual risk management plan relating to a young person who was setting fires in the home did not have sufficient detail about the actions that staff needed to take to minimise the risks. For example, the strategy stated that, to reduce risk, staff needed to monitor the building. It did not detail how they should do this or the frequency with which they should carry out the monitoring. Staff working with young people are recruited using effective selection and vetting procedures. These make sure that they are suitable people to be working with the young people.

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Requires improvement

Staff are clear about how to ensure that children are safeguarded. Bullying is not tolerated. There have been no incidents of bullying since the last inspection, and staff are aware of the potential for young people to target others. They are also alert to the risks that social networking poses.

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Requires improvement

Child protection concerns are reported and referred to the appropriate professionals. However, the record keeping of child protection concerns and investigations is muddled and incomplete. This made monitoring the progress of investigations difficult and meant that it was not possible fully to assess the quality of safeguarding practice. The local authority designated officer identified that there had been an increase in referrals and consultations with him, but that the home had now settled down.

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Requires improvement

The manager of the home is registered with Ofsted. She has suitable experience of managing children’s homes and is undertaking the relevant qualifications. She has had some periods of absences from work, and therefore has not been in charge of the home consistently.

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Requires improvement

Following concerns reported by staff and external professionals to senior managers, investigations were undertaken into the quality of care. From these, the provider implemented an action plan to address the concerns. This plan is still being implemented. The manager needs time to complete the action plan, and the resulting changes need time to become embedded in practice. The arrangements for the manager’s monitoring had slipped, due to the manager being absent. Her report of the six-monthly evaluation of the quality of care is due to be completed. As her evaluation was not complete, it was not possible for her to evidence that she has met a recommendation about using the views of significant people to inform her appraisal. The recommendation has therefore been restated.

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Requires improvement

There is a stable staff team, and staff care about the young people and want them to do well. There are a range of training and development opportunities for staff, to support them to develop their knowledge and skills in caring for young people. New staff undertake an induction programme and a member of staff who has just completed induction said that they felt it has prepared them well for their role. All but one new member of staff has the required qualifications.

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Requires improvement

Staff struggled to support young people effectively during the recent period of disruption in the home, and extra support was provided to them during the difficult period. However, generally the home is adequately staffed and resourced to meet the needs of young people, when they have been well matched to the home.

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Requires improvement

Support to staff, in the form of informal supervision and team meetings, had dropped off during the period of disruption. This is now back on track. The manager is being well supported by senior managers at an increased frequency while the action plan is being implemented.

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Requires improvement

Not all of the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection have been met. Not all the reports made by an independent person carrying out an assessment of the quality of care are provided to Ofsted. The leadership has reviewed the arrangements for this monitoring and is revising how visits are carried out. Progress in this area will be monitored over the next few months. Neither has a requirement been met regarding making notifications of safeguarding issues or other significant events to Ofsted. While safeguarding agencies and other relevant professionals are informed of incidents, Ofsted is not always. These two shortfalls mean that the regulator is not kept up to date with events in the home.

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Requires improvement

The statement of purpose clearly sets out the aims and objectives of the home and underpins the work carried out. The statement does not include all matters required by regulation to ensure that interested parties are fully informed about all matters.

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Requires improvement

Case records are held electronically, and are kept confidentially and securely. There have been improvements in case recording, and a requirement made at the last inspection has been met. The records will be useful to young people to help them to understand their experience of living there.

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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 ‘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 0300 123 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

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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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