Children's home run by Capstone Care Provider Limited in Nottingham

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Children and young people benefit from stability and consistency of routines within this home. Despite recent staff changes, children and young people have continued to receive a good standard of individualised care, led by a very experienced registered manager.  Children and young people make good progress in all areas of their lives. As a result, their futures are more positive and their prospects improve.  Children and young people enjoy positive and well-planned contact with their families.  Safeguarding arrangements are robust and effective. Consequently, safeguarding incidents are rare.  The registered manager and his deputy manager are highly committed to their roles and dedicate considerable time, energy and enthusiasm to ensure that the needs of children and young people are met.  Partnership working is a particular strength of this home. Social care and education professionals commend this home and confirm the staff’s

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

 Senior leadership of this home fails to support the registered manager in executing his management duties. The registered manager is highly competent. However, he is required to undertake several non-managerial tasks. This does not enable adequate time to focus on his management responsibilities. Consequently, regulatory actions from the previous inspection remain unmet. Additionally, further requirements have been set which relate directly to leadership and management functions.  Some parts of the home require improvement to provide a well-maintained, homely and domestic appearance.  An isolated incident involving a physical intervention did not comply with quality standards in regards to the content of the physical intervention record.

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person should— (2)(c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child (with specific reference to ensuring that all staff receive child-specific training in relation to autistic spectrum disorders). 4 August 2016

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Requirement Due date

14: The care planning standard In order to meet the care planning standard, the registered person should— (1)(a) ensure that all children receive effectively planned care in and through the children’s home. Specifically, to ensure that each child’s risk assessments are kept up to date. 4 August 2016

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Requirement Due date

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. The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI. (Regulation 16 (1) (2)) 4 August 2016 The registered providers must ensure that the registered manager has a qualification considered to be equivalent to the level 5 diploma. (Regulation 28 (2)(c)(ii)) 4 August 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must undertake such continuing professional development as is necessary to ensure that the registered manager has the skills needed for managing the home. (Regulation 29 (4)) 4 August 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once a month. The registered provider must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to HMCI. (Regulation 44 (1) (7)(a)) 4 August 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ( ‘a quality of care review’) at least once every six months. The report must monitor, review and evaluate the quality of care provided for children, the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. The registered person must supply a copy to HMCI within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (4)(a)) 4 August 2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  For children's homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children's homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene and so on). However, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than 'institutional' impression (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9).  Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. Specifically, to ensure that records are clear about why the intervention was

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Recommendations

necessary (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 49, paragraph 9.59).

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately owned children’s home which provides medium to long-term care for three children and/or young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

21 January 2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

31 July 2014 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Children and young people experience medium to long-term care in a family style environment. Despite recent staff changes, children and young people say that they receive care delivered by familiar staff, who they know and trust. This means that they feel secure, valued and relaxed. One young person said, ‘The manager is ‘boss’, he sorts anything out for you.’ Positive relationships with the management and staff team mean that children and young people are able to participate, and enjoy their education and activities. Children and young people live in an environment where education is a priority. They benefit from staff support to ensure excellent attendance levels. Children and young people attend at a variety of schools, with education plans focused on individual learning needs. Where appropriate, staff transport children and young people to their schools and liaise with teachers daily. This ensures good

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Good

communication about home/school priorities and issues which may affect studies. One school teacher said, ‘Staff appear to have good knowledge and strategies in place to manage young people’s behaviours in line with school. They seem to know him really well.’ Young people progress from mainstream education and plans are put in place to promote transitions to college. This continuity in education and training means that young people gain the knowledge and skills necessary to maximise their opportunities. Staff ensure that children and young people access the services necessary to meet their physical, psychological and emotional needs. Routine appointments ensure monitoring of young people’s health. Prompt medical attention is provided when young people are ill or have accidents. Staff make referrals to appropriate mental health services where appropriate. This enables young people to have their emotional and psychological well-being monitored and assessed.

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Good

Staff and managers work very closely with both social care professionals and families to ensure the promotion of safe and meaningful contact for the benefit of children and young people. One social worker said, ‘The manager is very good in making sure staff support this young person to have regular contact with a very large family. They not only put in place all practical arrangements, but support him with his feelings.’ Staff transport, supervise and support contact sessions. They transport parents to attend sports days, liaise regularly on the telephone and ensure that important family occasions are shared and celebrated. This enables young people to develop a good understanding of their individual identity and family heritage. Staff ensure that the household is clean and tidy daily. However, children and young people are also given chores and tasks to undertake. This structure means that children and young people benefit from guidance and support to develop their

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Good

self-care skills. Learning practical tasks, such as cooking, cleaning and doing their own laundry enables young people to become more independent.

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Good

Children and young people report that they feel safe in this home and that staff protect them from potential harm. They confirm that bullying is not a feature of the home and where dynamics have been negative, the manager acts quickly to resolve any difficulties. There has been one incident of a young person going missing from care since the last inspection. Staff were diligent in ensuring the implementation of missing from care protocols. They were also proactive in locating the young person. Upon their return to the home, the young person was encouraged to discuss issues in relation to being absent. All relevant professionals were advised and risk assessments updated. As a result, young people benefit from high levels of protection. There have been very few physical interventions since the last inspection. This reflects the effective behaviour management skills of the staff who enable young people to deal with their feelings in positive and more socially acceptable ways. All

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Good

staff have up-to-date training to be able to safely undertake physical interventions. The format for recording such incidents provides detailed and comprehensive information. However, the content of one of the records was unclear. This does not enable the registered manager to evaluate the necessity or effectiveness of the intervention. Children and young people respond well to the incentive systems. They each understand the consequences of any negative behaviour and accept sanctions imposed. The use of sanctions reflects the staff commitment to promoting positive and socially acceptable behaviours at all times. One example is a young person who used racially offensive language. The manager’s response has been to organise a trip to the Slavery Museum to learn about the history and consequence of racist thoughts and beliefs. Other sanctions include loss of time to play on games consoles and early bedtimes. The use of sanctions is appropriate to the age

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Good

and understanding of individual children and young people. Staff undergo a rigorous selection process prior to taking up their positions. Staff members recruited since the last inspection and staff who have transferred from the provider’s other homes have been appropriately vetted. The registered manager has appraised all personnel records and kept records to demonstrate that the provider abides by safer recruitment practice. This ensures that inappropriate adults do not have access to the children and young people. Health and safety arrangements are robust. Health and safety checks, including fire equipment and drills, are current and environmental risks assessments are in place. This provides a safe home environment.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager is a highly competent practitioner. However, appropriate management monitoring and oversight of the home continue to be an issue, as highlighted in previous inspections. The independent visitor has commented in one of her reports, ‘The registered manager is not able to fulfil his role due to other duties which fall outside of his remit.’ The registered manager and responsible individual are aware of the shortfalls and understand that immediate action is necessary. Some requirements set at the last interim inspection have not been satisfied and therefore are set again at this inspection. Since the last inspection, there have been significant improvements in staff training. This ensures that all staff are studying for the required qualifications and have engaged in mandatory training. However, the responsible individual has failed to ensure child-specific training, particularly in relation to providing further autistic

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Requires improvement

spectrum disorder training. This has not had an immediate impact on the progress, experience or safeguarding of the children and young people. However, failure to plan for such training does not meet the developing needs of the children and young people. Additionally, the responsible individual has not ensured that the registered manager has participated in training relating to the registered manager’s role. This does not promote continuing professional development. The registered manager holds childcare and management qualifications which he gained several years ago. However, the responsible individual has not assessed if these qualifications are equivalent to the registered manager’s qualifications required under regulation. Safeguarding practice is very good. This contributes to the fact that there are very few safeguarding incidents. Nevertheless, some risk assessments remain out of date. While there has been no direct impact on children or young people, it is

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Requires improvement

essential that clear, up-to-date records are available to provide clarity to the new staff team. The independent visitor has conducted external monitoring visits to the home and submitted associated reports to the responsible individual and registered manager. However, the provider has not submitted these reports in accordance with regulation. Ofsted did not receive reports for a six month period. This does not enable the regulator to evaluate the effectiveness of the home in providing appropriate care. Additionally, the frequency of these visits are not in accordance with regulation. Internal quality assurance processes have not been effective in identifying shortfalls and poor practice in the home. Internal monitoring fails to provide an analysis of the effectiveness of care or the outcome of consultation with children and young people. The registered manager did not submit his six monthly monitoring report to Ofsted in accordance with regulation, thus impeding the

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Requires improvement

regulator in reviewing the home’s performance. The statement of purpose provides a detailed guide to parents and placing authorities about the aims and objectives of the home and care provided. This document requires amendment to ensure clarity about its function and to include an up-to-date staff list. This document has also not been submitted to Ofsted, as required under regulation. Since the last inspection, a significant number of staff members have left the home. The management team has initiated a number of disciplinary measures due to staff conduct. This led to staff dismissals and staff resignations. The registered manager has now established a core staff team, which he feels have the personal characteristics, skills and experience to fully meet the needs of the children and young people. The registered manager has significantly improved supervision arrangements for staff. Both established and new staff receive regular and well-recorded

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Requires improvement

supervisions and annual appraisals. This means that the registered manager is aware of the strengths of his team and their professional development needs. Partnership arrangements with health, education and social care professionals are very positive. Professionals report high levels of satisfaction with the manager, staff and the quality of care. Communication is reported to be good. External professionals also confirm that children and young people make good progress from their starting points. The appearance of the home is in need of improvement in some areas. The bathroom is old and appears well worn and requires refurbishment. Internal fire doors are not compatible with a domestic setting and provide an institutionalised appearance. The home is clean and the registered manager ensures that daily maintenance issues are logged with the registered individual for repair.

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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 that 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

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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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