Children's Home run by Fair Ways in Hampshire

Inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

 There has not been a manager registered with Ofsted since February 2015.  Weak risk assessment processes fail to ensure that other professional assessments of young people are taken into consideration. In some cases, young people are not safe.  The home’s culture accepts young people taking significant risks. The manager and staff do not reflect more deeply or analyse what further risk reduction measures could be used.  In one example, the manager is not challenging other professionals who view high risk behaviour as acceptable.  The home’s approach to education is not working. Young people are not suitably challenged, nor supported to achieve their potential. This is exacerbated by a lack of understanding of the role of the virtual school headteacher.  The manager does not ensure that staff are suitably trained in the presenting needs of each young person placed.  Key records do not evidence that staff have passed essential safeguarding

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

information to other agencies, such as the police.  There is poor health planning; for example, an inadequate approach to discourage smoking and poor risk management when young people refuse to take their prescribed medication.  An ineffective and inconsistent approach to speaking to young people after an incident of restraint fails to facilitate their right to explore, challenge and understand the reasons for its use.  Weak monitoring processes are failing to identify significant areas of weakness.

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The children's home strengths

 Staff do not routinely use restraint as a measure of control. One professional commented positively about the reduction in the use of physical interventions in comparison to young person’s previous placement.  One parent was positive about the difference that the home is making to their child, saying that behaviour has improved.

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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

5. In order to meet the engaging with the wider system to ensure children's needs are met standard, the registered person is required to— challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child's needs are met in accordance with the child's relevant plans (Regulation 5 (c)). 19 August

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Requirement Due date

* 12. In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person is required to: ensure that staff 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 (Regulation 12 (2)(a)(i)). 24 August

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Requirement Due date

* 13. In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person is required to: inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children's home that promotes their welfare (Regulation 13 (1)(b)), ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child, especially self-harm and child sexual exploitation training and ensure bank staff are included in the process (Regulation 13 (2)(c)), use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home (Regulation 13 (2)(h). 24 August

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that the registered person, within 5 days of the use of the measure of restraint, adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure (Regulation 35 (3)(c)). 19 August Ensure that medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child (Regulation 23 (2)(b)). 19 August

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Requirement Due date

10. In order to meet the health and well-being standard, the registered person is required to— ensure that staff help each child to achieve the health and well- being outcomes that are recorded in the child's relevant plans, especially ensure that the plans are in place. 19 August

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to statutory requirement notices.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Maintain a homely, domestic environment, especially ensure that repairs are carried out to the guttering and downpipe (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9).  Agree the ‘Residential Services – Police involvement policy’ with the local police and update it with recent published guidance from the local police authority (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.40).  Ensure that staff understand the role of the virtual school head (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 27, paragraph 5.10).  Ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to accommodate up to four young people who have emotional or behavioural difficulties. A private company owns and operates the home. The company has its own educational facility nearby.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

8 March 2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

30 March 2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Inadequate

Some young people have poor experiences in this home. For these individuals, staff do not challenge other professionals and are complicit in unsafe decisions that increase safety risks for young people. Some young people are allowed to engage in relationships with inappropriate adults that place them at significant risk of harm. Staff are inconsistent in their commitment to the young people. In one case a staff member did not support a young person in police custody because it was the end of a shift. Such practice fails to convince young people that they are important and cared for. It was the police who provided the appropriate adult role on this occasion, thereby avoiding the necessity to detain the young person in custody overnight. The approach to health is weak. In some cases, there are no healthcare plans in place, such as looked after child medicals. Staff do not have ready access to health information about allergies, immunisations and medical histories. This means

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Inadequate

young people are at risk as their health needs are unknown. There is a smoking culture whereby staff openly smoke in front of young people and allow them to do the same. Staff do not take advice from health professionals when young people refuse to take medication. Therefore, the risks of not taking prescribed medication are unknown. Young people receive inconsistent guidance and advice. For example, their use of foul language goes unchallenged. They are not learning about socially acceptable behaviour. In other aspects, staff do spend time with young people and try to encourage them to make positive choices. Some young people are choosing to go to the gym with a member of staff in an effort to improve their physical fitness. The majority of young people are not in school for 25 hours per week. This lack of ambition on their behalf restricts their future life chances. Their attendance and engagement at other education establishments is extremely poor. Although staff

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Inadequate

discuss this with other professionals, there is a lack of meaningful action taken to engage young people in education. The manager and staff do not understand the role of the virtual school headteacher and therefore do not enlist proper guidance or support. One young person did not take a planned GCSE examination following her move into the home. One young person has successfully completed his education and has a college place in the new academic year. Young people live in a comfortable, clean and tidy environment which is suitably maintained. The manager recognises the need to improve the kitchen and this is planned. However, he has not identified the need for other repairs and cleaning. Young people personalise their bedrooms. Staff listen to young people’s requests, such as one for a double bed. Young people are able to keep pets, such as guinea pigs. This encourages their sense of identity and belonging.

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Inadequate

Although administrative improvements to the complaints procedure have occurred, the manager fails to take decisive action. One complaint received since the last inspection about staff smoking in front of young people has not been sufficiently resolved. Young people have mixed experiences in this home. There have been two successful examples of individuals moving out since the last inspection. Some young people go on to foster care or post-16 accommodation. Other placements have been unsuccessful, with one young person discharged to the organisation’s crisis centre and another placement ended as staff could no longer meet the young person’s needs. Some young people do make progress. One parent said that her son has made good progress in managing his behaviour. She said, ‘He’s done amazingly well.’ A professional who visited a young person in the home said, ‘Wow, he is a different child. He is calm, communicating and he looked good.’

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Inadequate

Staff demonstrate a poor knowledge of the risks of child sexual exploitation. They are complicit in decisions made by other professionals that place young people at ongoing risk of harm. On one occasion they have suggested strategies that support inappropriate and potentially abusive relationships between a young person and an individual known to the police. There is extremely poor consideration of other professional assessments such as child and adolescent mental health services’ clinical assessments and the sexual exploitation risk assessment framework. The culture within the home accommodates a shallow consideration of the risks that young people are taking. Consequently, staff accept the risk-taking behaviour of young people with no challenge or strategies to dissuade them from it. Staff complete individual risk assessments, but the process is weak. They do not link to the other professional assessments that give clear risk reduction measures. Some

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Inadequate

documents lack critical information, such as the degree of suicide ideation for one young person. Staff accept young people taking significant risks as the norm and there is little or no oversight by the manager. An example is staff allowing young people to have objects in their possession, with which they may self-harm. Staff’s understanding of technology risks are inconsistent. For example, one young person was allowed to have a smart phone when admission documents made it clear that the young person was not to have one initially. The home’s decision- making process concluded that she can now keep herself safe, but the rationale for this conclusion is unclear. For other young people, staff understand some of the risks that the internet poses. In one case, a young person, who is at severe risk in the cyber world, does not have access to electronic devices and is under close supervision. Staff follow agreed protocols when young people are missing from care but they

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Inadequate

have not challenged other professionals about the risk reduction measures when a young person is at risk of sexual exploitation. Staff do not record what information they have given to police when an incident is escalated. In one case, it is not clear that staff passed on essential information. This had the potential to place a young person at considerable risk. Staff do not keep comprehensive records showing the time that they made phone calls or the areas that they searched. This means that information that may be important to other agencies, including the police, may not be available. Neither do staff record when the placing authority has conducted a return interview. Staff do not routinely use physical restraint as a measure of control. They demonstrate a good understanding of individual needs and respond appropriately to emerging situations. They use distraction and de-escalation techniques effectively. There is a significant reduction in the use of physical intervention in

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Inadequate

comparison to previous placements. A placing social worker said, ‘They have managed him considerably better than his previous placement.’ On occasions, staff have removed items from young people that could be used as a weapon but have not accurately recorded or described the approved technique that they used. This lack of clarity presents risks for young people, and also the staff involved. It leaves them open to allegations. There are examples of failure to provide young people with the opportunity to talk about such incidents. Such omissions exacerbate this risk and are dismissive of young people’s rights and feelings. Staff do not tolerate racism. They take action to deal with specific incidents and defuse situations. They support the victim through key work sessions and involve other statutory agencies if necessary, such as the police. The senior managers of the organisation have written a ‘police involvement policy’

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Inadequate

which guides staff clearly on when to involve the police. Staff are diligent at following this. Although young people are not unnecessarily criminalised by living in this home, this policy does not reference recently published guidance by the local police force and senior managers have not yet ratified it. A suitable safeguarding procedure for managing allegations is followed by the manager. There has been one such incident since the last inspection. The manager consulted other safeguarding professionals to ensure that all parties were kept safe while necessary investigations took place. However, this represents only one aspect of the manager’s safeguarding responsibilities. The manager has responded to the requirement at the last inspection to keep young people safe in the event of fire. Staff no longer tie open fire doors which now have suitable automated mechanisms so that they close in the event of a fire.

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Inadequate

The lack of strong and effective leadership has had a negative impact on the running of the home. There is a culture that allows poor practice in safeguarding, health and education. The manager is not inspiring, empowering or challenging staff to promote young people’s welfare. Young people are allowed to engage in inappropriate relationships. Staff do not act as appropriate adults when a young person is in police custody at inconvenient times, and staff are allowed to smoke around young people without sufficient challenge. The manager has been in post since January 2016 and has failed to apply to register with Ofsted. The absence of a registered manager for over a year presents a poor leadership message for the staff team and other stakeholders. Safe decisions are not being made on behalf of all of the young people. Although the manager called for a strategy meeting to discuss a young person at risk, he

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Inadequate

failed to challenge key decisions that left the young person unsafe. A staff member made a suggestion that was agreed by other professionals which actually increased the risks for the individual. The manager demonstrates a poor understanding of the regulations surrounding children looked after, for example the rules around child abduction warning notices for young people over the age of 16. Young people are not protected. The manager demonstrates weak leadership. For example, he does not challenge placing authorities when referral documents do not contain essential significant information. He has not escalated concerns about the omission of an up-to-date care plan from a placing authority to the director of children’s services. Monitoring processes are also weak. Key documents are inadequately monitored by the manager; for example, risk assessments. Critical information necessary to keep young people safe is omitted. The manager is not considering all the information

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Inadequate

available to him to write meaningful and effective risk reduction measures for staff to implement. He does not check medication administration records in accordance with the home’s policy. Consequently, young people are at risk when they refuse their prescribed medication. The manager does not challenge staff as to why they have not consulted a health professional and how they have assessed a young person is not at risk. The manager is inconsistent in his approach to reviewing restraint records. Staff do not debrief each young person after every restraint. In one case, staff gave the reason for this as ‘staff shortages’. The manager signed the record but did not investigate the comment further. The manager has identified some weaknesses, such as the need to improve the computer recording system and refurbish the kitchen. He has plans in place to do this. He has recognised the need to improve his systems to monitor staff training.

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Inadequate

Autism experts have provided training to staff but regular bank staff have not been included in this. Staff have not received training in self-injurious behaviour for a number of years. Other professionals have provided staff with training around child sexual exploitation, but staff demonstrate insufficient knowledge of the issues. This affects their practice and puts young people at risk. Inconsistent staffing arrangements negatively affect the quality of the care for the young people. Although the manager is trying to address staffing shortages by a recruitment drive and using staff from other homes and regular bank and agency staff, effective and consistent care is not being delivered. Although full-time staff brief bank staff and make time available for them to read handover documents, regular bank staff are not included in team meetings or training. This practice limits such staff’s meaningful involvement and engagement and, in addition,

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Inadequate

regular bank staff lack the specific training they need to meet each young person’s individual needs. An independent visitor does make regular visits to the home. She ensures that time is available for the young people to talk to her as well as examining documents. She produces comprehensive reports to the manager that provide professional challenge and recommendations. The manager responds positively to this process; for example, by improving the frequency of staff supervisions and ensuring portable appliances are appropriately tested. The concerns raised from this inspection have developed after the independent visitor’s last visit; there is no omission on her part.

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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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