Children's home in Belfast

Inadequate

There are serious failures that mean that children and young people are not protected, their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and their care and experiences are poor and they are not making progress.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

 Managers and staff have not been knowledgeable about safeguarding the young person in their care.   Managers and staff have not worked together to achieve positive outcomes for the young person.   Managers have not ensured that the home environment stays safe for the young person. Managers have not overseen repairs to fire doors, an alarm siren in the young person’s room and an electronic door closer.  The home environment looks neglected. Considerable damage is evident, including broken furniture in the lounge and the games room.  The young person’s room is unkempt and their toilet has no means of being flushed. Managers and staff have been aware of this hygiene and safety risk since May 2016 and have not ensured that the toilet is repaired. Another toilet door has no working lock. This compromises the young person’s rights to privacy and dignity.  Managers have not liaised effectively with the young person’s professional

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

network. Consequently, he is only receiving six and a half hours’ education each week.  Not all staff are confident in managing the young person’s behaviour. Managers have failed to ensure that staff work together effectively as a team.  Managers and staff have not helped the young person to learn age- appropriate independence skills.  Managers and staff have not ensured that all necessary documents are stored in the young person’s case file. Omissions include a personal education plan (PEP) and his education and health care (EHC) plan.  Managers have failed to ensure that all staff have received essential training including their level 3 diploma in residential childcare. Staff do not receive regular supervision to enable them to reflect on their care practice.  Monitoring and reviewing processes are not thorough. This includes limited evaluation of physical intervention, key working and incidents records.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

 Managers do not ensure that full compliance is secured for the administration of controlled medication.  Missing from care protocols are not followed including ensuring that the young person receives a return home interview after a period of missing.

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Statutory requirements

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

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Requirement Due date

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure that children’s needs are met In order to meet the standard, the registered person 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; (b) seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child's needs; (d) seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children's home is to provide care and accommodation. 11/09/2016

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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 must ensure that staff - (a) understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; (b) use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to 11/09/2016 (a) understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose; (b) ensure that staff (i) understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose; (ii) protect and promote each child’s welfare; (iii) treat each child with dignity and respect; (iv) provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background; (vi) help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live

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Requirement Due date

independently as an adult; (vii) provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably; (viii) provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding; (c) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to (i) meet the needs of each child.

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Requirement Due date

8: The education standard In order to meet the education standard, (2)(a) the registered person must ensure that staff (i) help each child to achieve the child's education and training targets, as recorded in the child's relevant plans; (ii) support each child's learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study; (iii) understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers; (iv) help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; (v) promote opportunities for each child to learn informally; (vi) maintain regular contact with each child's education and 11/09/2016 training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child's education and training and

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Requirement Due date

to maximise the child's achievement; (vii) raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child's education or training provider and the child's placing authority; (viii) help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible.

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Requirement Due date

10. The health and well-being standard In order to meet the health and well-being standard, the registered person must ensure that (1)(a) the health and well-being needs of children are met; (c) children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure (a) that staff help each child to (i) achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child's relevant plans; (ii) understand the child's health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child's health and well- being, in a way that is appropriate to the child's age and understanding; (iv) understand and develop skills to promote the child's well- being. 11/09/2016

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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 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 11/09/2016 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; 2(b) that the home's day-to-day care is delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm; 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.

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard In order to meet the leadership and management standard, (1) the registered person must enable, inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children's home that (a) helps children to aspire to meet their potential; (b) promotes their welfare. (2)(a) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to 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; (b) ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; (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; (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the privacy of children is effectively protected. (Regulation 21(a)) 11/09/2016

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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. (Regulation 23(1)) 11/09/2016

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Requirement Due date

If the regulatory reform (fire safety) order 2005 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(b)) 11/09/2016 The registered person must ensure that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification by the relevant date. The appropriate qualification is (4)(a) the level 3 diploma for residential childcare (England) (‘the level 3 diploma’). The relevant date is (5)(b) in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016. (Regulation 32(4)(a)(5)(b)) 11/09/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees (a) undertake appropriate continuing professional development; (b) receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(a)(b)) 11/09/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 48 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint, the registered person, or a person who is authorised has spoken to the user about the measure and has signed a record to confirm it is accurate, and that within five 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(b)(i)(ii)) 11/09/2016

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Requirement Due date

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. In particular, this refers to a copy of the child's EHC plan and PEP. (Regulation 36(1)(a)) 11/09/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return-home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect children. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  Staff should be familiar with the home's policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording, with particular reference to recording of key-work sessions and incident reports. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this children's home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The service is operated by a national provider in partnership with a local authority.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

15/12/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

03/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Inadequate

There has been a significant decline in the quality of care since the last inspection. The registered manager has left and a new manager has arrived. Inconsistency in staff practice has resulted in the one young person in placement not receiving the help and support he needs to thrive socially, educationally or emotionally. Managers and staff have failed to ensure that the home environment is suitable and meets the young person’s needs. The home is poorly maintained; this includes a considerable amount of damaged furniture in most rooms. For the young person, this means living in a home where the quality of their accommodation is poor. Managers and staff do not monitor the standards in the young person’s bedroom to make sure that he enjoys a clean and healthy space. Poor maintenance means that facilities remain unrepaired for long periods, including the young person’s toilet, which has been out of action for over two months. This presents a

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Inadequate

significant health and safety risk. The young person’s dignity and privacy is also compromised by having to use another toilet, which has no working door lock. Staff fail to address challenges and barriers that affect the young person making educational progress. Therefore, the young person only has six and a half hours’ education each week. The local authority provides four and a half hours one-to-one input from a tutor and two hours at an external education placement. Managers have not liaised with other professionals to escalate their concerns about the lack of provision and opportunity for the young person. Consequently, the young person has missed a considerable period of education necessary to achieve qualifications appropriate to his age, abilities and aspirations. Staff have not ensured that all essential information is contained in the young person’s file, including his personal education plan (PEP) and education, health and

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Inadequate

care plan (EHC plan). As a result, staff have not given sufficient priority to securing information to help them better understand the young person’s needs including his attainment and progress. His family has also raised significant concerns about the lack of educational opportunity. Family members have expressed concern that he is growing older and nothing has been achieved to improve his education prospects. Staff are unable to reinforce behavioural boundaries in a consistent way. Staff told the inspector that there is a decrease in behavioural incidents, but some staff do not challenge the young person when his behaviour escalates. As a result, the young person is unsure how staff will respond. This inconsistent approach to his care fails to help him to understand the appropriate ways to interact with others that is both socially acceptable and safe. The young person enjoys a positive relationship with some staff but not with

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Inadequate

others. He told the inspector, ‘It is OK here. I like some staff. I just wish I had some bedroom furniture.’ The young person told the inspector that he thought staff sometimes listened to him. He said that he has the opportunity to try some new foods such as zebra and ostrich, which he was excited about. He said that he is going to try the gym and get healthy. He said that he enjoys fishing and he spends hours sitting by the lake as this helps him to feel calm. The quality of work to help the young person to develop his life skills is poor. Given his age, staff lack focus about how to help him learn age-appropriate skills. He sometimes helps with chores in the home, but efforts to support him are unplanned. This means the young person is not being afforded the right opportunities to have the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to keep him safe and to prepare for adult life.

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Inadequate

The young person is not safeguarded in the home, as shortfalls in repairs and maintenance are not rectified. The inaction of the manager to ensure that these are addressed means that the home environment is not safe and does not promote the welfare of the young person. Managers and staff were unable to tell the inspector when damage to the fire doors, the door closer and siren in the young person’s room had happened. This highlights a lack of supervision and monitoring by staff and managers. A window in the dining room was broken and wedged open, presenting a risk of intruders entering the home. The instigation of the inspection resulted in the broken window being repaired. Since the last inspection, frequent staff changes have resulted in a lack of consistent and good-quality teamwork. Newer and less experienced staff lack the confidence to reinforce boundaries and to manage the young person’s behaviour

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Inadequate

effectively. Managers are not being clear about what staff should do if there is an escalation of behaviour or how to manage this safely through good teamwork. Consequently, the young person receives inconsistent care and does not understand the expectations of staff, which differ. Practice varies in relation to the safe administration of medication, in particular to the administration of controlled drugs. The home’s policy recommends that two staff undertake the administration of controlled medication, one to administer the medication and one to witness the medication being given. However, there is inconsistent staff practice in the administration of medicines. On over one third of occasions, only one staff member has administered the controlled medication, without a witness. This variation in practice is confusing to staff and the young person and increases the risk of error. Staff are not sufficiently familiar with missing from home protocols. There are a

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Inadequate

number of occasions when the young person has been away from the home without permission or has been reported missing from care. In most cases, the young person was found at a relative’s home. However, staff are not ensuring that on the young person’s return he receives an opportunity to talk to an independent person about his experience. This failure to consider the risks in the community means staff are not ensuring the young person is not at risk of child sexual exploitation or other risk taking behaviour. A relative told the inspector that, ‘If he is two to one, how come he is able to keep turning up at my house without the staff being aware?’ The relative said that supervision was not adequate and did not keep the young person safe.

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Inadequate

The registered manager post is vacant. The registered manager left in June 2016. An interim manager is currently filling the vacancy. The management of this home, including monitoring and general oversight is inadequate. The home environment is poor. Past and present managers have not taken effective action to ensure that the environment is well maintained and safe for young people. Managers have failed to promote the young person’s health and dignity, and failed to understand the impact of these shortfalls on the young person. Managers have not been sufficiently monitoring the escalating deterioration in the home environment. Equally, managerial failure to monitor staff practice has resulted in the young person receiving inconsistent care from staff. Staff told the inspector that some colleagues lack confidence to challenge young person and want a ‘quiet life’. The young person does not receive consistent care and lacks

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Inadequate

confidence that all staff work together in a consistent way to meet his needs. Managers have not escalated concerns about the young person’s lack of school or education placement with the virtual school head. This failure to consult key professionals means that the young person has missed having the right help to improve his learning opportunities and to make meaningful progress. Individual members of staff are not adequately qualified or trained for their work with children. For example, refresher-training dates have been missed for some staff. This includes safeguarding, medication awareness, health and safety and first aid. Not all staff have achieved the required level 3 diploma in residential childcare within the necessary timescale. Furthermore, not all staff have supervision in line with the organisational policy. For example, probationary staff should have supervision every two weeks, as stated in the organisational policy, but this does

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Inadequate

not always happen. This leaves staff development without the right level of oversight to ensure practice is safe and effective to meet the young person’s needs. The quality of written reports about the young person varies, including how key- work sessions and incident reports are recorded. Some lack key information and are unsigned or undated. Because of these omissions, if the young person wished in the future to access his records, he would have limited understanding over how decisions, which affected he were made. Managers have also not scrutinised physical restraint records to ensure that they hold accurate information and that the young person is given the opportunity to receive a debriefing from staff. This hindered the manager being able to know if the restraint is appropriate and reasonable. Recommendations made at the last inspection relating to the home’s environment have not been met. Since that time, the conditions in the home have deteriorated

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Inadequate

significantly. The new manager is aware of many of the deficiencies in the running of the home and has plans in place to begin to address these.

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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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