Children's home run by CareTech Community Services Limited in Hertsmere

inspection

The full inspection on 17 May 2016 raised serious concerns about how staff manage safeguarding arrangements for the young people and, in particular, about how staff manage incidents when young people place themselves at significant risk. There were extremely serious concerns about the leadership and management of the home. There were also concerns about the significant staff shortage and the number of hours that core staff work to cover shifts. The home was consequently subject to two compliance notices in respect of the protection of children and the leadership and management of the home. A monitoring visit took place on 13 June 2016. Further compliance notices were raised in respect of the protection of children and the leadership and management of the home.

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Inadequate

There are serious widespread failures that mean that children’s welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

 Leaders and managers have failed to address the serious concerns identified at the last inspection. They have not driven improvement effectively. A lack of clarity about leadership roles and responsibilities has slowed the pace of change.  Senior managers have failed to respond in a timely way to concerns about staff conduct. There have been lengthy delays in concluding investigations. Some investigations had not been concluded at the time of inspection, despite concerns being raised by Ofsted previously. This inaction is of serious concern because it does not enable staff and managers to learn from incidents or to prevent future occurrences.  The lack of robust and timely investigations into safeguarding incidents demonstrates the company’s failure to understand its responsibilities to safeguard young people.  There is a lack of clarity between senior leaders and managers about who takes responsibility for investigations and safeguarding concerns. This has

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

led to a lack of prompt and effective response.  There is a lack of a suitable contingency in on-call management and staffing arrangements, which leaves members of staff and young people at potential risk, through an inability to release staff promptly from shift.  Monitoring of the practice in the home is ineffective; neither the acting manager nor senior leaders have identified the failure to provide robust supervision. This is of particular concern given the recent history of serious incidents. Failure to provide regular and robust supervision does not ensure that staff practice is safe and does not provide staff with the guidance they need to work effectively with young people.  Senior management oversight has not been robust. There has been a lack of clear, direct scrutiny of the service. This means that practice issues with the staff have not been challenged.

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The children's home strengths

 The young person in placement has good relationships with the staff. The placing social workers comment that recently there has been some improvement in the standard of care.  Staff understand the young person’s needs and have worked together to develop an approach that has led to incidents being reduced.  The young person is attending education. The education team is working to engage him with the curriculum and to work towards agreed educational goals. This has led to 90% attendance and enhanced engagement in learning.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that must be taken so that the registered persons meet 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure that staff (2)(v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children; (vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare. 29 August

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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 must (2) (a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

(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 29 August

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) 29 August

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Information about this children's home

The home provides care for up to three young people between the ages of 11 and 18, who have emotional and behavioural needs. Young people bailed or remanded by the criminal courts can be accommodated in this home, as can young people with mild to moderate learning difficulties. A private company manages the home. The on-site school provides education for young people up to 16 years of age.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

4 January 2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

10 February 2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Inadequate

This children’s home has been the subject of extensive intervention by Ofsted since February 2016. A compliance investigation visit took place on 8 February 2016, following a safeguarding concern in the home. Monitoring visits took place on 7 March 2016, 17 March 2016 and 5 April 2016. A full inspection on 17 May 2016, judged the home as ‘inadequate’ overall because of serious concerns about the leadership and management of the home and leaders’ and managers’ ability to effectively safeguard the young people living in the home. A further monitoring visit took place on 13 June 2016, followed by this second full inspection on 11 July 2016. At this inspection, the home was judged, again, as ‘inadequate’ overall. Serious concerns persist about the leadership and management of the home and the lack of accountability of senior leaders. They are not taking responsibility for ensuring robust oversight of the home, despite the concerns Ofsted has been

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Inadequate

raising with them since February 2016. The company is not accepting any further placements. While some minor improvements have been made, the lack of effective management oversight of the home and the failure to address safeguarding issues robustly means this service is not good enough for young people. At the time of inspection, one young person was accommodated. A previous resident has moved on, due to concerns of her placing local authority about her safety. The young person currently accommodated is due to move to a new placement on 25 July 2016. This is a planned move, which the staff are supporting through visits and preparation for the transition. A core team of four permanent staff provide care for the young person who lives in this home. Staff ensure that he has opportunities to engage with education, to have fun and to experience enjoyable activities. Staff work to maintain important relationships with his extended family. Recently, this has included seeing parents

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Inadequate

and siblings for the first time since being accommodated at the home. Staff liaised appropriately with the placing authority to ensure that safe-contact guidelines were in place, ahead of this meeting. As a result, the contact was successful and plans are in place for future contact sessions. Care plans now include recently analysed risk assessments. Consequently, staff better understand how to reduce risk to young people and the strategies to employ. Staff encourage the young person to express his views and preferences and to give his input into the daily running of the home, such as choosing the menu and interesting activities. He enjoys activities, such as going to Gauntlet ( a registered charity the aim of which is to teach motorcycle riding and mechanical skills, in a safe environment, to young people), football and cinema trips. The young person gives his views on the décor of communal rooms. His own room is personalised to

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Inadequate

his taste. The young person has been attending the in-house school. Supported by the residential staff, he engages in a range of interesting out-of-classroom activities, which are helping him to follow the curriculum and to gain study skills, for example, by studying science through growing plants from seeds. This has led to recent education attendance of 90%. There is a warm regard between the staff and the young person. Staff use appropriate humour and calm and consistent communication, which maintains relationships that have been built up. He has one-to-one time with staff to talk about the issues in his life. The young person is developing age-appropriate self-help skills. He participates with staff in preparing some meals, and is learning to manage his laundry and cleaning tasks. He assists with usual household chores, such as doing the dishes. This helps him to develop a sense of responsibility in group living.

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Inadequate

The young person makes and keeps appointments with health professionals such as doctors, dentists, and opticians. There are healthy home-cooked meals, and staff encourage well-being through the range of activities offered. Staff have access to an in-house therapist who helps them to reflect on their interventions with the young person. This helps them to understand some of the behaviours shown.

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Inadequate

Senior managers have failed to respond in a timely way to concerns about staff conduct. There have been lengthy delays in concluding investigations. This inaction is of serious concern because it reduces the ability of staff and managers to learn from incidents and prevent future occurrences. A lack of robust and timely investigations into safeguarding incidents shows that managers fail to understand their responsibilities to safeguard young people. During a recent incident, a young person made an allegation regarding one of the two members of staff on shift, following a physical intervention. The staffing situation is such that an inexperienced member of agency staff was asked to monitor this situation. A senior manager arrived some three hours later. This senior member of staff ensured that safe-care plans were followed and discussed the matter with the designated officer and the young person’s social worker. Of

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Inadequate

significant concern is the lack of suitable contingency plans. This leaves members of staff and young people at potential risk, as the home is not able to release staff promptly from shift when the need arises. The young person says that he feels safe in the home. He does not go missing. Staff are aware of the risks in the community for young people who are missing, and there is an appropriate process in place to alert police and other agencies if an incident occurs. The young person’s risk assessments now include an analysis of the risk of exploitation, with risk reduction measures in place. Behaviour is managed through rewards, such as extra activities. This has resulted in an improvement in overall conduct, and a reduction of incidents of unwanted behaviour. Staff physically intervene if the young person’s behaviour places himself, or others, at risk. Trained staff have intervened on 12 occasions and

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Inadequate

recorded the incidents appropriately. The acting manager and staff review these interventions, and staff have considered these incidents to reflect on effectiveness and alternative future strategies. An evaluation of these incidents shows that there have been fewer occurrences recently, as staff have developed a better understanding of the young people.

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Inadequate

The registered manager left the post in July 2016. She has been absent from the role since 22 March 2016. A senior care worker from within the home is currently acting as manager. There is a nominated responsible individual, however, there is a lack of clarity between senior leaders and managers as to their defined roles. This has resulted in confusion about responsibilities and lack of accountability for the oversight and scrutiny of the operation of the home. Of the four permanent staff employed in the home, only two have received supervision in line with company policy. The two newer members of staff have not received timely supervision. No agency staff have received supervision. Monitoring of the practice in the home is ineffective; neither the acting manager nor senior leaders have identified the failure to provide robust supervision. This is of particular concern given the recent history of serious incidents. Failure to provide

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Inadequate

regular and robust supervision undermines the safety of practice and does not provide staff with the guidance they need to work effectively with young people. The company fails to recognise its responsibility to provide robust oversight of the home, particularly given that there is no registered manager in post. This is unacceptable and demonstrates a failure to understand and effectively execute responsibilities in line with regulatory requirements. Some progress has been made since the last inspection. Shortfalls in supporting education, providing personalised, planned care, risk assessments, fire safety, recruitment checks, records of restraint and notifications to Ofsted have been addressed. One young person who had high levels of risk taking behaviour has moved on. The remaining young person has experienced a more settled period. He has made progress in education and has benefited from the full attention of staff.

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Inadequate

Serious shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home remain. The company has appointed a new manager, but they are not yet in post. The acting manager has reviewed the care plans for the young person and, working with the care staff, has implemented a placement plan that is effective in meeting his current needs. The current permanent staff have a relevant national vocational qualification. The newly appointed staff have started this course in line with the regulations. Placing social workers recognise the commitment of the small group of staff to the young person. They comment on the efforts of the staff that have resulted in improvements in behaviour and attendance in school. For example, one social worker commented that the staff had ‘worked well’ to help to prepare the young person for his planned move. They say that, previously, the news of this move would have been greeted with extreme distress. However, ‘because the staff have

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Inadequate

a good relationship with him, they helped him to manage this news as well as can be expected.’

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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 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 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 whom 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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