Children's home run by Oracle Care Limited in Central Bedfordshire

Inadequate

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

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

 The acting manager has failed to apply to register with Ofsted as required.  Young people are not protected from the risk of fire. This is because fire safety precautions do not extend across all the premises.  Fire risk assessments do not cover all areas of the home that young people access. Young people are at risk of significant harm because of this shortfall.  Hazards around the home are not adequately assessed or managed. This places young people at risk of harm.  The acting manager does not complete physical restraint and sanctions records as required. They are not verified as accurate within suitable timescales.  The acting manager does not retain an accurate record of all complaints made or of the actions taken to resolve these.  Quality of care review documents are incomplete. They do not include young people’s opinions or feedback and fail to detail actions required to improve the service.

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The children's home strengths

 Relationships between young people and staff are positive. There is an ethos of trust and mutual respect. This supports young people to develop appropriate social skills.  Young people make good progress in education because staff work in partnership with teaching staff.  Staff provide young people with emotional and practical support to encourage them to maintain positive relationships with their families.

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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

7. The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard In order to meet the children’s views, wishes and feelings standard, the registered person must ensure that staff— (2)(a)(iv) regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. 9 September

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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— (2)(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. 9 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children are provided at all reasonable times with access to the following facilities which they may use without reference to persons working in the home: a telephone on which to make and receive telephone calls in private. (Regulation 22 (3)(a)) 9 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. This specifically relates to non-prescribed medication. (Regulation 23 (1)) 9 September

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(1) applies to the home, 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. (Regulation 25 (2)(b)) 9 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if there is no registered manager in respect of the 9 September home. (Regulation 27(1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 48 hours of the use of the measure (of control, discipline or restraint), the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’) has spoken to the user about the measure and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 9 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 9 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating 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. (Regulation 45 (2)(b)(c))* 5 August 2016

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a statutory requirement notice.

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Information about this children's home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a private provider.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

22 March 2016 Interim Declined effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

3 March 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Inadequate

Significant shortfalls in providing for and promoting young people’s welfare and safety are detrimental to their progress and their day-to-day and overall experiences. The registered provider has failed to ensure that young people are safe in the home or protected from harm. This area of practice is inadequate. Furthermore, the appointed manager has failed to apply to register with Ofsted as required. These combined failures means that young people’s overall experience is inadequate. Young people receive care that reflects their individual needs, vulnerabilities and risks. Staff devise internal care plans that mirror the aims and objectives of the placing authorities. Young people are encouraged to review their progress during one-to-one key work sessions and contribute to the content of their support plans. One young person said, ‘I get asked what I think about things and we speak about what’s happening in the future.’ Nevertheless, staff do not seek young people’s

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Inadequate

views regarding the care provided by the service. This lack of feedback means that young people’s opinions are not central to the development of the home. Relationships between young people and staff are extremely positive. Young people say that they like spending time with staff and feel that staff understand them. One young person said, ‘The staff are nice. They listen and really want to help.’ These positive relationships help young people to develop their social skills and build trusting and appropriate friendships with others. Young people make good progress in education, taking account of their starting points. Staff work with the organisation’s own school and external education providers to address and challenge any barriers to learning that young people face. Young people’s school attendance is good and they are proud of their achievements. This supports their self-esteem and confidence. Young people can access a range of therapeutic support programmes to help them

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Inadequate

to understand their background, behaviour and previous experiences. Experienced and trained practitioners deliver these intervention programmes. Staff work in partnership with these professionals to ensure a consistent approach to meeting young people’s emotional and psychological needs. Young people are now encouraged to take responsibility for their own physical health, seek medical advice when necessary, eat a healthy diet and take regular exercise. These actions address the requirement raised at the last inspection relating to young people’s health and well-being. Staff provide young people with practical and emotional support that enables them to maintain and further progress their relationships with their families. Young people are encouraged to express their views about contact arrangements with their families and, when appropriate, take responsibility for organising these visits. When young people are a long way away from their families, staff transport them

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Inadequate

to their contact visits. This ensures that distance does not become a barrier to maintaining these relationships. However, young people are unable to make telephone calls from the home without reference to staff. This shortfall impacts negatively on their day-to-day experience. Young people are able to develop the independence skills that they need to move towards adulthood. Staff support young people to budget for, prepare and cook their own meals. This gives young people an insight into the skills that they need to live independently.

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Inadequate

Young people are not safe in the home. This is because the acting manager does not ensure that fire prevention precautions are in place in all areas of the home. The converted garage houses a pool table that young people use regularly. This garage is not included in the fire risk assessment and contains no firefighting equipment. There are no fire alarms or smoke alarms in place and this area does not have any designated fire exits. These shortfalls contravene the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This states that any person who has responsibility for premises must take reasonable steps to reduce the risk from fire and make sure that people can safely escape if there is a fire. This failure places young people at risk of significant harm. The acting manager has failed to maintain all areas of the home. Broken and discarded furniture and flammable tins of paint are stored in the garage and young

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Inadequate

people can access these with ease. Some parts of the decked walkway leading to the garage are broken. An accumulation of moss and algae means that this walkway is slippery and unsafe to walk on. Failures to manage these avoidable risks means that young people are at risk of harm. Incidents of unacceptable or negative behaviour have reduced since the last inspection. Staff work with young people to support them to recognise their own risks, take responsibility for their actions and consider how their actions affect others. This means that young people learn alternative strategies to manage their frustrations. However, when young people’s behaviour warrants the use of physical restraint or sanctions, records of these events are incomplete. The acting manager does not verify these records as accurate, within the required 48-hour period. Furthermore, there are occasions when he has failed to discuss these events with

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Inadequate

young people within appropriate timescales. Shortfalls in the monitoring of these events means that young people’s safety and welfare are not promoted. Partnership working arrangements between staff and external agencies, such as police units, have improved since the last inspection. Although incidents of young people going missing from the home have significantly reduced, when these events occur, staff liaise with the local authority, local police and young people’s families. This response is timely and appropriate. In these circumstances, staff also explore the potential risks of child sexual exploitation. Young people understand how to make a complaint. One young person said, ‘It’s easy to make a complaint. You can write it down or just talk to staff.’ Complaints made by young people are recorded and actioned. However, those made by others, including neighbours, are not logged. The acting manager does not keep a

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Inadequate

record of the concerns raised or the actions taken to address these. This means that the service does not retain an accurate overview of complaints. The acting manager has made improvements to medication administration systems. Staff record the administration, refusal and disposal of prescribed medication in detail and ensure that they complete regular audits. Nevertheless, staff do not apply the same rigorous system to non-prescribed or ‘homely’ medications. This means that the home does not have an accurate record of the amount of medication held in the home. This potentially compromises young people’s safety and means that young people may have access to unnecessary medications.

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Inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since the previous manager left the service in December 2015. The acting manager has been in post since this time, but has failed to apply to Ofsted for registration as required within acceptable timescales. This is the third inspection where there has been no registered manager in post and therefore leadership and management is inadequate. This significant shortfall affects the stability of the home because the organisation has failed to ensure lawful management arrangements are in place. The acting manager has taken sufficient action to address the majority of the seven requirements and three recommendations raised at the last inspection. For example, missing from home procedures now define the role and responsibility of staff in these situations and promote improved working relationships with local police. Missing from home risk assessments now reflect young people’s specific

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Inadequate

needs and vulnerabilities. These actions ensure that staff know and understand what steps to take in these circumstances. However, the acting manager has not fully addressed requirements relating to the administration of medication and the obligation of the service to abide by fire safety procedures. These failures compromise young people’s safety. At the last inspection, planned changes to monitoring systems to ensure the appropriate review of the quality of care provided by the service had yet to take effect. This continues to be the case and the acting manager has failed to take sufficient action to address this previously raised requirement. He has not fully completed a review of the quality of care within prescribed timescales because review documents do not include young people’s opinions or feedback. This means that review and monitoring activities are incomplete and do not comprehensively evaluate the service.

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Inadequate

The statement of purpose includes all necessary information. This means that placing authorities, other agencies and young people’s families have access to a summary of the aims and objectives of the service. Social workers and other professionals confirm that they understand the range of services provided by the home. The acting manager regularly liaises with external agencies, including placing local authorities and youth offending services. This ensures that young people are able to access the additional support that they may need to move forward with their lives. Staff receive regular supervision. These formal sessions appraise staff performance and identify their learning needs. The acting manager ensures that staff training programmes are up to date. This supports staff in their role. Staff hold suitable diploma level qualifications and have the necessary skills and knowledge to meet young people’s needs.

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Inadequate

Young people make good progress in some aspects of their development. The acting manager reviews young people’s individual progress in line with their statutory care plans. This ensures that young people’s families and external agencies are aware of young people’s achievements. However, as detailed within this report, there are failures to adequately protect young people from harm and promote their safety. This means that the service does not sufficiently and consistently prioritise young people’s needs.

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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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