Children's home run by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council in Dudley

This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit took place due to Ofsted being notified that an eighth young person had been placed in the home. This was as a result of an emergency situation when the local authority stated that it was unable to find alternative suitable accommodation. The home’s conditions of registration allow only seven young people.

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This monitoring visit

The room being used to accommodate the young person is not appropriate. Damaged furniture and a lack of personalisation mean that the room is neither welcoming nor homely. This is further compounded by personal belongings on the floor of the room. As a result, the young person is not made to feel welcome and cannot develop an early sense of belonging to the home.

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This monitoring visit

Staffing levels, on the whole, have been adapted to meet the additional young person. The staff team has worked additional hours, and this has ensured that there has been the required complement of staff. This also limits the number of unfamiliar staff for young people already living in the home. However, during the visit the inspectors noted that there were insufficient staff for the forthcoming weekend. The registered manager assured Ofsted that robust efforts were being made to ensure that there were adequate staff. The lack of contingency planning means that there is potential for the home to be understaffed during this period.

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This monitoring visit

The home’s statement of purpose does not detail how emergency admissions will be managed, risk assessed, planned for or conducted. This means that the home is currently being conducted outside of its stated aims. The provider has also failed to reflect the change to the home’s fire risk assessment. Furthermore, there has been no evacuation practice for either the new young person or the staff. This has the potential to affect fire safety in the home significantly. The abilities of staff and young people to evacuate the home safely in the event of fire are untested. Ofsted has notified the local fire and rescue service of these concerns.

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This monitoring visit

The arrangements for administering medication in the home are neither clear nor effective. There have been occasions when dosages additional to those prescribed have been given without there being a clear plan, known to all staff, for doing so. This has the potential to affect the health of young people. Similarly, when medication has been given following an incident of restraint, this is not robustly recorded.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has failed to ensure that all appropriate information was gathered prior to the young person being admitted to the home. The care plan is missing key information about health and how to meet additional needs. There has been insufficient challenge to the local authority regarding the failure to review the placement after 72 hours. These shortfalls are further affected by a failure to consider risk fully. Inspectors were shown a risk assessment that was incomplete. This means that staff are not fully aware of all risks and vulnerabilities. Similarly, there is potential for staff to be inconsistent in their approach.

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This monitoring visit

There are nine regulatory shortfalls identified by this visit. Her Majesty’s Inspectors for social care have also been informed of the visit, as this home is managed by the local authority.

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Information about this children's home

This home is one of five local authority homes. It is registered for up to seven young people with learning disabilities and is situated within an urban area.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that must be taken so that the registered person(s) meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and ‘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

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure children's needs are met In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff— (a) seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. 05/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard (1) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff— (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. 05/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard (1) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. 05/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard 05/08/2016 (1) The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child.

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Requirement Due date

16: Statement of purpose (5) Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. 05/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

23: Medicines (1) The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. 05/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

25: Fire precautions (2) If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home— (a) paragraph (1) does not apply; and (b) the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. 05/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records (3) 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— (viii) a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure. 05/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

36: Children's case records (1) The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which— (a) include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; (b) are kept up to date; and 05/08/2016 (c) are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children's home since its last Ofsted inspection. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. in 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 this guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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