Children's home run by Keys Direct Care Limited in Southend-on-Sea

Requires improvement

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.2

The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

 A number of staff have left the home since the last inspection. This has contributed to some inconsistency in the care provided, and a period of instability for young people.

p.3

The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

 Staff do not follow risk-management plans consistently; this increases the risk of young people going missing from the home.

p.3

The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

 Day-to-day routines that promote consistent and dependable care are not well enough embedded.

p.3

The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

 Processes are not fully in place to monitor and review practice. As a result, the manager cannot effectively evaluate the quality of care provided and demonstrate continuous improvement.

p.3

The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

 Young people have complained that they do not feel listened to, and on occasion have said that they do not feel safe. This has exacerbated difficult relationships between young people and staff.

p.3

The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

 Generally, the home is in a good state of repair, but some maintenance issues impact on the overall impression of the home, and have negatively impacted upon the experiences of young people living in the home.

p.3

The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

 Young people need support and encouragement to fully participate in their plans.

p.3

The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

 At the time of the inspection, there were no young people living in the home.

p.3

The children’s home strengths

 Young people make progress in some aspects of their lives. There is an overall reduction in risk-taking behaviours.

p.4

The children’s home strengths

 There is appropriate use of positive and negative consequences, and well recorded key work sessions linked to specific incidents. There is evidence of reparation and mediation where required.

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to young people that may go missing from the home, the registered person must ensure: 2 (b) that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. 15/08/2016

p.5

Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

p.5

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person is required to:

p.5

Requirement Due date

2 (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. This is with reference specifically to the following–

p.5

Requirement Due date

 improving the home’s development plan  ensuring that the fabric of the home is well maintained and repairs are undertaken in a timely manner  overseeing consistent staff practice and ensuring that routine checks are completed. 15/08/2016

p.5

Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, the registered person is required to: 2 (c)(i)(ii) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to– meet the needs of each child; and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. 15/08/2016 7: The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard In order to meet the children’s views, wishes and feelings standard, the registered person is required to: 2 (a)(iii) help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. 15/08/2016

p.5

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 is required to: 2 (c) keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document. 15/08/2016

p.6

Requirement Due date

14: The care planning standard In order to meet the care planning standard, the registered person must ensure: 2 (f) that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to that child. 15/08/2016

p.6

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Ensure that children feel safe and are safe. Staff should support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)

p.6

Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four children and young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned and managed by a private company and provides services to local authorities.

p.7

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.7

Recent inspection history

10/12/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

p.7

Recent inspection history

14/01/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

p.7

Requires improvement

There were no young people living in the home at the time of the inspection.

p.8

Requires improvement

Internally, the home is decorated and furnished to a satisfactory standard. This is with the exception of two bedrooms that are in a state of poor repair and await redecoration. A number of broken windows in the property create a neglected appearance, and the large garden is also in need of attention.

p.8

Requires improvement

The young people recently living in the home made suggestions to improve the quality of the home, primarily about utilising the outside space. These suggestions and requests had been acknowledged but, in the main, did not come to fruition. This resulted in the young people complaining that they were not listened to and made the young people’s meetings unproductive. Feedback to young people about their requests or ideas was not clear. In the last few months, relationships between the young people and staff had become strained. The staff team had experienced instability, with a number of staff leaving. This upheaval had a detrimental effect upon the young people in placement, as they did not invest in relationships with new staff.

p.8

Requires improvement

Individual care plans and risk management plans are in place and regularly updated. However, staff do not consistently follow the plans, resulting in inconsistent care being provided at times. The registered manager has recognised this and is taking action to ensure that staff provide consistent and dependable care going forward.

p.8

Requires improvement

The home is in a very rural setting, with no amenities in close proximity. Despite having a large outside space, the home has not utilised this; this is a missed opportunity to imaginatively meet young people’s needs. Due to the rural setting, young people have relied on staff to transport them to see friends, attend education, have contact, or take part in activities.

p.8

Requires improvement

Staff have supported young people to attend education. Transporting young people to and from school has enabled staff to engage positively with educational professionals. Young people have made progress at the home and staff have advocated on their behalf, particularly in education. An independent reviewing officer for one young person felt that the staff had contributed to a period of stability for the young person and a reduction in their harmful behaviours.

p.8

Requires improvement

Daily logs are well written by staff and provide an age-appropriate summary of the day’s events and achievements. Capturing the young person’s voice is an area for development. The children’s guide on display was not up to date and will need to be replaced to reflect current staffing. Staff will also need to ensure that the children’s guide directs young people to sources of support such as independent advocacy.

p.8

Requires improvement

Staff are able to recognise risks to young people. Individual care plans and risk management plans are in place and regularly updated. However, staff do not consistently follow the plans, and have on occasion clearly acted contrary to the plan. An example of this is staff failing to make sure that a young person is seen safely into a house, rather than dropping off the young person outside a house and then leaving. This inconsistent adherence to plans is particularly concerning when a young person has already been missing from the home and risk assessments updated to reflect heightened risk.

p.9

Requires improvement

Risk management plans do not reflect all available information, and all staff do not adhere to them consistently. The high turnover of staff has elevated the risk of inconsistent practice. It has also affected positive relationships between young people and staff – increasing young people’s vulnerability, and incidents of aggressive behaviour towards staff.

p.9

Requires improvement

Staff have very rarely used physical intervention to manage behaviour. This reflects the skill of staff in de-escalating situations involving aggressive or harmful behaviour. Physical intervention is very much seen as the last resort. All staff receive training to manage challenging behaviour and use restraint safely and proportionately when needed.

p.9

Requires improvement

On occasion, the incidents of behaviour have been serious and potentially dangerous. Following some significant incidents, such as when young people accessed a car key from the staff office, managers have not properly investigated or evaluated the practice of staff. Without a thorough review of incidents, valuable learning is lost, leading to a lack of confidence about the ability to avoid similar situations in the future.

p.9

Requires improvement

Relationships between young people in the home have been difficult at times. Young people have said that they do not feel safe in the home. Bullying is not tolerated and there are examples of good work with young people regarding reparation, positive relationships and tolerance of others. This work has often taken place after a negative incident and key work sessions closely link to any sanctions around behaviour. Young people do not always feel safe at the home, or feel that they have a trusted adult they can talk to about any concerns. While staff want to offer this level of care, the relationships between the staff and young people did not enable this.

p.9

Requires improvement

Positive behaviour is promoted, and effective incentives have been in place to celebrate achievements and promote young people’s sense of esteem in making positive choices. The risks to one young person through drug use and involvement with adults of concern reduced substantially while he lived at the home.

p.10

Requires improvement

The registered manager is suitably experienced and qualified. She is a relatively new manager, but has clear ambition for the home. She has addressed the one recommendation set at the last inspection. The staff hold the manager in high regard and see her as a steadying influence.

p.10

Requires improvement

Since the last inspection, the staff team have gone through a ‘turbulent’ period and the manager has not been able to progress the plans that she has for the home. Young people have been adversely affected by staff instability – impairing the opportunities to form positive relationships between young people and staff. Staff have been inconsistent in the way they care for young people. Some staff had agreed to progress things on behalf of young people, but then left, resulting in delay and disappointment.

p.10

Requires improvement

Many of the current staff team are new to this home, but have previous experience. Most either have an appropriate qualification or are working towards this. A management team has come together, consisting of the manager, a deputy manager and senior residential care workers. This will support plans to progress the home, as the manager now has an appropriate level of support. The staff team are very positive about new staff joining the team in the coming weeks.

p.10

Requires improvement

The manager has not had sufficient oversight of processes, checks and practice, with some assumptions made that tasks are completed. Staff instability has impacted upon the manager’s capacity to recognise shortfalls in practice in a timely manner. An example of this is ensuring that all staff are clear about risk management plans and delivering consistent care. Another example is not realising that checks on the electronic monitoring systems were not being done. This led to ambiguity about whether this system was operational and could be relied upon, including both bedroom door alarms and external door alarms.

p.10

Requires improvement

The manager has not advocated strongly enough on behalf of the young people regarding improvements to the home, nor monitored the status of their requests. Damage to the home has not been repaired quickly enough, with one significant area of damage not being logged due to an oversight. The manager can clearly identify the home’s weaknesses and was able to present plans to address these, for example staff providing consistent care. An area of strength which the manager identified was the commitment and hard work of staff to keep young people safe.

p.11

Requires improvement

Young people’s records are very well maintained. They include all relevant local authority plans and provide a good insight into the care provided to them. Staff are appropriately trained, and supported to meet the needs of the children in their care. Location risk assessments are good and there is evidence that the manager and staff are working in partnership with other agencies, and the wider community.

p.11

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’.

p.12

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

p.12

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.

p.12

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 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

p.13

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 .

p.13

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 children looked after 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,

p.14

Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.14

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.14

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

p.14