Children's Home run by St Christopher’s Fellowship in Sandwell

Inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected and their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded. Their care and experiences are poor and they are not making progress.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

 Staff fail to protect young people or promote their welfare.  Staff do not take effective action to intervene to protect young people from harm.  Managers do not ensure that there are sufficient staff to provide nurturing care for young people to thrive.  The quality of care has declined since the last inspection.  The lack of robust management oversight by the absence of the registered manager and team leader means staff do not receive the guidance and support they require.  Support for young people to engage and succeed in education is insufficient. This hinders their educational progress and achievement.  Managers do not ensure staff identify risks quickly and carefully consider what action is needed in the best interest of the young person.  Staff practice does not benefit from training and development to ensure they have the skills to identify and prevent harm to young people.  Staff are not providing the basic level of support to meet young people’s

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

health and well-being.  The number of staff on duty is not sufficient to meet the needs of young people.  Staff fail to understand the behaviours of young people and to respond sensitively to them.  Managers do not provide support to staff who receive irregular supervision.  The monitoring systems used by managers are ineffective; they do not identify deficiencies in the care for young people.  Managers do not ensure all staff possess the required qualification to work in a children’s home.  Reports by the independent person do not provide the required challenge to help drive forward improvement in the service.

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The children's home strengths

 Staff have supported one young person to reduce her repeated episodes of going missing from care.

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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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, the registered person must ensure that–

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Requirement Due date

(2)(iv) they provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. 27 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the education standard, the registered provider must ensure that–

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(2)(a)(x) staff help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child's relevant plans. 27 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the health and well-being standard, the registered provider must ensure that–

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(2)(a)(i) staff help each child to achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child's relevant plans. 27 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the positive relationships standard, the 27 June 2016 registered person must ensure–

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Requirement Due date

(ix) understand how children's previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour, and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

(x) are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same.

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure–

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Requirement Due date

(i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

(iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

(iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

(vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare. 27 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must– 27 June 2016 (1) enable, inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children's home that–

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Requirement Due date

(a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

(2)(d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

(f) understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children's home if the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. (Regulation 32 (3)(b)) 27/06/2016

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (‘the independent person's report‘) which sets out, in particular, the independent person's opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded; and the conduct of the home promotes children's well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)(a) and (b)) 27/06/2016

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (‘the quality of care review report‘). (Regulation 45 (3)) 27/06/2016

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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

 Create a nurturing and supportive, homely and domestic environment. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Information about this children's home

This service provides care and accommodation for four young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. A charitable organisation owns and operates the setting.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

27 January 2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

24 February 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Inadequate

The quality of care has declined since the last inspection. Consequently, widespread failures are adversely affecting the progress and experiences of young people in placement. A clinical psychologist assessment report completed for one young person concludes that the home is not a suitable placement to meet their complex needs. Despite these findings, the young person remains in placement three months after the report was completed. Managers have not escalated the report findings with the placing authority to secure the right package of care. Managers and staff have also failed to act on the recommendations set out in this report. Consequently, the young person’s emotional, psychological and mental health needs go unmet. Young people do not receive sufficient help from staff to remove barriers that affect their learning. One young person’s school attendance for this academic year is 33%. Staff do not rigorously encourage school attendance and where there are

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Inadequate

delays in school transport, this goes unchallenged. This has a negative impact on young people’s ability to make meaningful educational progress and achievement. Staff do not give priority to young people’s health and well-being needs. Although staff have identified that poor self-care is impacting negatively on the young people’s self-esteem, staff do not support personal hygiene routines. For example, a monitoring system to record bathing, showering and cleaning teeth has not been effective in measuring progress to improve self-care. Despite the provision of nutritious and healthy food, young people are not supported to make positive choices. For example, one young person’s main meal of choice consisted of potato waffles. Young people are allowed snacks just before their main meals which limit their appetite. Staff do not form positive relationships with young people. Staff lack the competence and skills necessary to provide the sensitive attention required by

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Inadequate

young people. For example, the staff have not been confident in managing a young person’s emotional distress. The staff team’s failure to engage with young people in such circumstances makes young people feel that they are not listened to, and that staff do not care for them. The home is in a poor decorative state. Stained carpets, poor paintwork and mould in the bathroom makes the home look and feel neglected. This lack of attention to the physical state of the accommodation does not provide young people with a secure, nurturing and stable environment in which to live. Judgement grade

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Inadequate

The assessment by managers and staff of the risks to young people is weak. Recording of critical incidents does not reflect the true seriousness of the situation. For example, one young person punched another twice in the face. The staff described this as ‘play fighting’. The manager has failed to escalate allegations against staff. In one example, an allegation against a member of staff was not immediately escalated to the right professionals. This failure left a young person’s allegations unresolved and, as a result, compromised his/her relationship with staff. Hazardous situations are not dealt with effectively. This failure places young people and staff at risk. For example, a young person was able to remove a kitchen knife from a cupboard that managers and staff believed was secure. Once the knife was retrieved, it was put back into the same insecure cupboard. The same young person was subsequently able to remove the same knife from the same cupboard

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Inadequate

the following day. The lack of learning from the original incident meant that the police were required to intervene to resolve the matter. Despite young people requiring one to one support, they are able to evade staff and lock themselves in the bathroom. Staff know the risks that young people pose to themselves and each other, but this knowledge is not used to inform effective practice to ensure that the young people are appropriately supervised. Prior to being admitted to this home, one young person was repeatedly going missing from home and this was a considerable cause for concern. Since being admitted to the home, staff have worked effectively to significantly reduce these missing from home episodes. This has reduced the risks previously faced by this young person in the community.

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Inadequate

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. He has been in post since 2013. A deputy manager supports him and, together, they manage this home and an associated home nearby. However, the registered manager is currently absent and this has reduced and significantly affected management oversight. Managers have failed to make sure that sufficient permanent staff are available on duty to provide safe and nurturing care. There is an over-reliance on agency staff to provide day-to-day care in the home. Unfamiliar staff are not clear about the needs of the young people and have limited knowledge of the various strategies deployed by permanent staff that help to keep young people safe. The home’s only team leader left four months ago and the resulting vacancy has had a negative effect on the functioning of the team. Supervision schedules have not been adhered to and this has put extra responsibilities on the remaining

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Inadequate

managers. The team leader’s presence and seniority have been missing on duty. This absence is acutely felt by staff when so many are new in service and undergoing a process of probation. The various concerns about the progress and safety of young people mean that young people do not fulfil their potential. The culture within the home does little to promote the welfare of young people, as indicated by the issues around healthy diets, good self-care and engagement in education. Opportunities to engage meaningfully with young people to address their issues of concern are ignored by managers and staff. The home is not achieving its aims and objectives as laid out in its statement of purpose; consequently, young people’s support needs are unmet. The manager’s monitoring and review system fails to help to identify deficiencies in the care or to set plans that drive forward improvements in the quality of young

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Inadequate

people’s care. The manager does not ensure that staff have the appropriate qualifications and receive regular and effective support, challenge and appraisal. Consequently, they are not equipped to cope with the considerable demands placed on them by young people with multiple and complex needs. Although there are plans in place to ensure that staff will become qualified in the coming months, too many staff have not yet achieved the appropriate qualification in the required timescale. An independent person visits the home every month. The reports produced are of poor quality. They fail to set out the independent person’s opinion as to whether young people are effectively safeguarded and whether the conduct of the home promotes well-being. The reports also fail to offer adequate challenge, do not drive improvement, and therefore do not improve the experiences of young people. Professional relationships do exist between the home, families and other agencies.

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Inadequate

However, the effect of these partnerships does not result in joined up working that benefits young people. For example, slow progress has been made for one placement that is regarded as no longer appropriate. Managers have not actively challenged the placing authority’s delay in identifying a suitable alternative placement.

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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 children looked after 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 that 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

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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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