Children's home in Gloucester

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.

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The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

 Young people are not being fully safeguarded, as some staff fail to recognise and fully understand their safeguarding responsibilities. Furthermore, they have not always taken prompt effective action to protect young people from harm.  Risk assessments do not sufficiently identify or assess all relevant risks, such as drug and alcohol misuse and child sexual exploitation.  Some staff working on a one-to-one basis with individual young people have not received training on important safeguarding matters, such as child sexual exploitation, drug and alcohol misuse and self-harmful behaviours. This prevents them from acquiring an in-depth understanding of these risks, which in turn hinders their ability to teach young people to keep themselves safe  Due to changes in the staff team, young people and staff have experienced differing approaches to behaviour management. An inconsistent approach has created uncertainty and challenge about the rules and expectations of

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The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

living in the home.  Some of the records that the home is required to maintain provide inaccurate and incomplete information, in particular, health plans and risk assessments. This hinders the formal processes needed to monitor young people’s progress and to address how their individual needs are met.  Measures of control and discipline are not consistently evaluated for effectiveness, nor do they provide sufficient detail of the measure used, or include the young person’s view. They are not, therefore, compliant with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015.  Managers have failed to ensure that there is appropriate monitoring within the home to adequately review the quality of care and identify areas for improvements.  On some occasions, there have been delays in information being provided to placing social workers and Ofsted regarding serious safeguarding concerns. This has had an impact on whether a swift investigation can be undertaken

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The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

and on external scrutiny of these matters.

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The children’s home strengths

 Young people said they have good, trusting and respectful relationships with staff and that staff help them to live together happily.  Young people like living in the home and enjoy the support they receive from caring and enthusiastic staff. They are able to pursue interests and activities that build their self-esteem and confidence.  The home has made good links with a variety of professionals. These professionals speak highly of the home and the progress that young people have made.

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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

In order to meet the health and well-being standard the registered provider must ensure:

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Requirement Due date

(1)(b)that children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being. This relates to ensuring that a comprehensive risk assessment is in place with regard to continued drug and alcohol misuse. (Regulation 10(1)(b)) 29/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered provider must ensure that staff:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(i) 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; (iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; (v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; (vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and (vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; and (b) ensure 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. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)) 29/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the 29/08/2016 registered person must: (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; (d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(2)(c)(d)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard, the registered persons must ensure:: (1)(a) that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and (2) (c) that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(2)(c)) 29/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (‘the behaviour management policy’) which sets out how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and the measures of control, discipline and restraint, which may be used in relation to children in the home. The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 35(1)(a)(b)(2)) 29/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

(4) The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— (a) a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; (b) an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(a)(b)) 29/08/2016

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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 all children’s case records are kept up to date and stored securely. Case records must be signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  Ensure that the registered person has a workforce plan, which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20) The plan should: – detail the necessary management and staffing structure, (including any staff commissioned to provide health and education), the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s Statement of Purpose; – detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction,

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Recommendations

probation and any core training (such as safeguarding and health and safety and mandatory qualifications); – detail the process for managing and improving poor performance; – detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice (see regulation 33(4)(b)) and keep appropriate records for staff in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Information about this children’s home

The service is run by an established private provider. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

29/01/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Requires improvement

Young people are encouraged and supported to build positive relationships with staff members. Staff engage closely with young people to provide affection and warmth. The home is full of laughter and young people were observed laughing and joking with staff and were clearly comfortable and relaxed in their company. However, due to a number of staff changes within the company, these relationships have not always been sustained. This comprises the continuity of care for young people.

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Requires improvement

Care planning is not effective to meet the needs of young people. Managers have on occasions not ensured that there are enough staff on duty to meet young people’s needs, in accordance with the local authority care plan. In addition, staff do not always work as a team to ensure that young people receive a consistent quality of care, and this has caused confusion for young people. One young person said, ‘I just want staff to say no and mean no, otherwise I will not learn’ and ‘Just because I kick off and shout, they shouldn’t keep changing their minds. It’s confusing and does my head in.’ This does not ensure that young people are offered stable and reliable support.

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Requires improvement

Discussions are held with young people about the day-to-day routines in the home and they are encouraged to express their views and opinions. Staff are aware of young people’s needs but this knowledge is not underpinned by up-to-date placement plan documents. Although staff can access information about young people, it does not comprehensively represent current circumstances or key aims of the placement. In some instances, the plans contained inaccurate and factually incorrect information. For example, plans contained the wrong young people’s names. During the inspection, young people said, ‘We get lots of choices and staff will ask what we think.’ However, this is not recorded in young people’s daily observations sheets and has not been used as a way of demonstrating the involvement that young people have and progress that young people are making while living at the home.

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Requires improvement

Although young people‘s meetings are held on a regular basis, these are not always used as an opportunity to listen to young people. Staff have instead. on occasions, used the meeting to reprimand young people about their individual behaviours or used it as an opportunity to discuss consequences. Staff have also not taken effective action when young people have raised complaints about ‘staff being inconsistent’. Staff responded by informing young people, ‘You should be grateful you get activity monies.’ This lack of clarity for young people is unhelpful and does not demonstrate what the actual issue is and why and when action will be taken to address concerns raised. It also does not demonstrate that the complaints procedure is used effectively. This does not help young people understand that their complaint has been investigated appropriately and a conclusion reached. In addition, it fails to show that young people are actively

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Requires improvement

listened to and appropriate action taken to rectify concerns raised.

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Requires improvement

Health and well-being is promoted in the home and young people are supported to access additional resources to support their emotional well-being. This includes direct contact with the child and adolescent mental health team (CAMHS). Staff provided regular updates to CAMHS and other health professionals, including the looked after children’s nurse, to ensure that the assessments completed had up-to- date and relevant information. All statutory health assessments were completed. However, some healthcare plans do not identify individual health needs and support. For example, staff reported that young people have support to address their sexual health needs. However, this was not recorded within the young person’s health plan. This does not ensure that young people are aware of the support available to them and how their needs will be met.

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Requires improvement

In addition, some young people put their long-term health at risk by smoking cigarettes and cannabis on a daily basis. The staff are not sufficiently proactive in securing advice and guidance. For example, when young people present as under the influence of a substance, there is no clear guidance for staff as to what measures should be taken. This does not ensure young people’s safety.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager and staff understand the importance and value of education and training. They have supported young people to successfully return to their education provisions, where previously young people had experienced significant disruption. When young people do experience difficulties within their education, staff have liaised effectively with teaching staff and arranged meetings, to look at any further support that can be accessible to the young person. On occasions, staff have taken young people to college, and stayed in the local area, to be readily available to sort out any problems, without the young person having to withdraw from the setting. To young people’s credit, they have improved their attendance within education significantly and had recently received their certificates for the exams they completed at the end of their coursework. One young person said, ‘I am delighted. I am doing so well I have just got an interview

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Requires improvement

for an apprenticeship. I sat my exam and passed my diploma. No one ever would have thought that I would pass exams, let alone go back to college. I am so proud of myself, it just shows how much better I am.’

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Requires improvement

Young people have been fully supported to develop and maintain family contact and friendships. The staff have been proactive in their approach and have re- established links with family members. Some young people are now returning to their family homes for overnight visits and days out with their families. Young people said ‘(name), the manager, has really helped me and my mum get back on track, I did not ever think I would go back home again, it’s great.’ All professionals involved in young people’s lives were very complimentary about the ongoing support that both young people and their families continue to receive from staff and how this has enabled young people to re-establish and maintain relationships with important people in their lives.

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Requires improvement

Young people say that they feel safe in the home and with the staff who look after them. However, on occasions senior managers and staff have failed to follow child protection procedures, within the required timescales, to address and report all safeguarding concerns. This included incidents when young people had raised concerns around staff practices. Staff did not take immediate action and therefore failed to follow their own safeguarding policies and procedures. There have also been delays in the service notifying placing authorities and Ofsted of these incidents. A failure to share information with all relevant people compromises the safety and welfare of young people. Furthermore, the regulator is unable to carry out its monitoring function to ensure that all appropriate action is taken by the provider to safeguard young people.

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Requires improvement

Additionally, records of actions by the staff with safeguarding responsibilities are dispersed and do not show a complete picture. There is no chronological, or complete, account of these internal safeguarding investigations. Records of elements of investigations are dispersed between computerised records, individual email accounts and paper records. In the absence of the registered manager, senior staff are unable to access key information about the investigation, including what information has been passed to the designated officer, parents or the placing authority in conclusion of the service’s investigation. This makes it difficult to assess the quality and robustness of the processes and look for any lessons to be learned to inform future practices.

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Requires improvement

Risk assessments are in place and outline measures needed to support the young people in their environment, in the community and during activities. However, insufficient action has been taken to ensure their review and update. This relates particularly to ongoing cannabis and alcohol misuse. The assessments do not identify what strategies staff need to use when young people return to the home under the influence of any unknown substances. Furthermore, when incidents have occurred within the home, including young people smoking in their bedrooms, assessments had not always been updated and all new risks considered. Therefore the manager cannot be assured that all staff are aware of the risks associated with behaviours or whether additional safeguards are required to reduce risks to young people or others.

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Requires improvement

Young people do not always benefit from clear and consistent boundaries or effective behaviour management strategies. Staff stated that ‘sanctions can be confusing and get changed sometimes daily. We are not always sure and consistent as a team; no wonder young people are confused.’ Furthermore, staff had not always recorded the disciplinary measures used to manage young people’s behaviours. For example, young people were having activities stopped, bedrooms searched and money taken from their pocket money, but behaviour management records did not always reflect this and there was no clear rationale for the decisions made. This is not proportionate and is punitive. Additionally, such records do not provide a clear overview of the behaviour that led to such measures, the proposed timeframe, or the young person’s views. Neither had the manager always evaluated the appropriateness or effectiveness of the measures used.

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Requires improvement

Consequently, staff continue to use ineffective behaviour management strategies and young people are not learning to reflect upon and improve their behaviour.

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Requires improvement

The frequency with which young people are going missing from care has significantly reduced. If young people go missing, staff act appropriately and in a timely manner, notifying the police and local authorities so that action can be taken to find them. This ensures that all safeguarding professionals are working together to assess and minimise risk.

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Requires improvement

The home has continued to develop positive networks and relationships with a wide range of agencies and professionals. For example, staff work closely with the Local Safeguarding Children Board, social workers and independent reviewing officers. They all reported that the staff team work hard to actively promote the needs of young people. One social worker said, ‘The team are always approachable, friendly and clearly care about the young people living at the home.’

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Requires improvement

The registered manager has been in post since 2015. He is an enthusiastic and committed manager who is very child-centred. He is enrolled on his NVQ 5 and is working to complete this within the required timescales. As part of the qualification, he has undertaken research into child sexual exploitation and is planning to share his findings with the staff team. This will develop their knowledge base and ensure that they have current information about the impact this can have on young people’s self-esteem and well-being.

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Requires improvement

As well as working in the home, the manager has been asked to undertake other tasks within the organisation to support other homes. This has had an impact on the amount of time spent in the home and does not enable him to have a clear overview of practice issues and monitor effectively. This has had an impact on the safety and well-being of young people, and meant that risk-taking behaviour such as cannabis misuse was minimised. Notifications also failed to be provided to HMCI, which did not allow the regulator to effectively carry out its safeguarding responsibilities to ensure that young people are protected from harm.

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Requires improvement

Staff members report that the registered manager is ‘very supportive’, ‘always available’ and ‘always makes sure that the young people are happy and getting lots of opportunities to try new things’. Staff attend regular team meetings and continue to receive regular professional supervision, which they report is helpful in improving their practices. The registered manager has just reviewed the format of supervision sessions and made changes, which were welcomed by staff.

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Requires improvement

Staff members are either qualified to level 3 NVQ or are undertaking this essential training. The home has implemented an ongoing staff development and training programme. Staff were complimentary about the range of training offered. However, some staff have not received any training in relation to child sexual exploitation or self-harmful behaviours. Staff are, therefore, not provided with the competencies to fulfil their role.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager works in partnership with a wide range of external services. Collaborative relationships exist with placing social workers and independent reviewing officers, and these help to support effective communication and coordination of services for the benefit of young people. Additionally, regular meetings held with community services, including safer neighbourhood teams, have enabled the home to integrate better into the local community.

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Requires improvement

The home has regular internal and external monitoring processes, which ensure that managers are aware and committed to improvement. They have focused on shortfalls highlighted at the previous inspection. However, these systems have not picked up staff inconsistencies in following some of the procedures and the quality of some of young people’s individual records. The registered manager has recognised and identified internal monitoring systems as an area for further development and had already taken action to compile a detailed development plan.

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Requires improvement

Records do not always provide an insight into the young people’s lives or their journey through care. For example, there are limited comprehensive records held of the direct work that staff undertake with young people. As a result there is limited information to measure young people’s progress or identify the effectiveness of the support provided. In addition, key-worker documents and daily observation records do not always include the exact date of entries and the author of the record. This prevents a complete record of young people’s time at the home being kept, although it has not affected their welfare. Although the registered manager has considered the workforce development plan for the home, this still requires additional information, including details of staff induction, training and supervision, and managing poor performance.

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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 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, work- based 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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