Children's home run by My Choice Children’s Homes Limited in Mid Sussex

Inadequate

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

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

 Managers and staff failed to act in accordance with the home’s emergency evacuation plan and statement of purpose during a recent fire at the home. This resulted in a young person coming to harm.  Not all staff have received fire safety training. Risk assessments pertaining to fire setting lack detail, and are not consistently implemented in practice.  Managers failed to consult all relevant placing authorities following a serious incident in the home.  Managers did not undertake a thorough investigation into the failures leading to a young person being harmed in a fire at the home.  The home’s manager and staff did not receive supervision in a timely manner, following the serious incident.  Quality-of-care monitoring systems have been ineffectual in reducing the risk of fire setting in the home.  Staff team meetings are not consistently used to ensure that shortfalls in the standard of care are addressed.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

 The home has not had a registered manager since November 2015.

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The children's home strengths

 A detailed action plan was implemented to ensure that the shortfalls identified at the last interim inspection, and subsequent monitoring inspection, were effectively addressed.  Young people are given the support and guidance needed to ensure that their relationships with peers remain positive, and do not put them at risk of harm.  Staff have the skills to engage vulnerable young people. This leads to the development of supportive and trusting relationships.  The vulnerabilities of each young person are clearly identified. Young people receive individualised care, focused on meeting their needs.  Managers and staff have worked effectively with other professionals to reduce the risk of young people becoming radicalised by extremist views.  The organisation ensures that young people can access specialist support services in a timely manner.  The health needs of young people are prioritised. Staff have the knowledge

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The children's home strengths

and skills to meet these needs.  Young people receive encouragement and the practical assistance they need to achieve well in education.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that must be taken so that the registered person/s meet(s) 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

11: The positive relationships standard In order to meet the positive relationships standard, with particular reference to providing managers and staff with relevant supervision following a serious incident, the registered person must ensure that staff 11(2)(a)(x) are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. 21/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to the assessment and management of risk and taking effective action to promote children's welfare, the registered person must ensure that staff: 12(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; and 12(2)(a)(vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare. 21/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard In order to meet the leadership and management standard, with specific reference to consulting placing authorities regarding a child's welfare, the qualifications and skills of staff, managing the home in a way consistent with the statement of purpose and the use of monitoring systems, the registered person must 13(1)(b) promote their [the children's] welfare; 13(2)(a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out 21/10/2016 in the home's statement of purpose; 13(2)(c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and 13(2)(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 take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children's home. (Regulation 25(1)(a)) 21/10/2016

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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 staff can access appropriate resources to support their training needs. In particular, ensure that staff taking on specific responsibilities, such as lead person for promoting online safety, receive appropriate training to meet the expectations of the role. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  Ensure that the registered person only accepts placements for children when they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  Ensure that case records are kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. Specifically, ensure that case records contain the minutes of all

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Recommendations

relevant meetings, and that a written record is kept of all decision-making processes relating to the care of each child. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Information about this children's home

The service can accommodate three children, irrespective of gender, who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. Children can access the on-site school. It is one of eight children's homes operated by a private company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

27/01/2016 Interim Declined effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

12/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Inadequate

At the interim inspection in January 2015, the home was judged to have declined in effectiveness. A subsequent monitoring inspection in February 2016 resulted in compliance notices being issued by Ofsted. In the intervening months, significant changes have been made, and the overall standard of care being delivered has improved. However, in August 2016, a serious incident occurred, resulting in young people not being protected from harm. Significant failures relating to how young people were helped and protected, and in the effectiveness of leaders and managers following this incident, were identified at this inspection. This has resulted in an overall judgement of inadequate being made. Only one young person was living at the home when this inspection took place. The young person was missing for the duration of the inspection. Consequently, the inspector was unable to establish their view of how well they are supported

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Inadequate

and cared for. Records indicate that young people build trusting relationships with staff. The quality of these relationships enhances young people’s ability to share their concerns and worries. Records of key-work sessions indicate that young people develop the confidence to discuss sensitive issues, and receive advice and guidance on how they might overcome their anxieties. A social worker for a young person who has now left the home stated that the young person ‘had really positive relationships with staff. He learnt that he could trust people and they would act as a safety net for him.’ The social worker went on to say that this amounted to considerable progress for the young person who had previously struggled to form any trusting relationships with adults. Another young person, experiencing significant mental health difficulties, engaged positively with staff. During her stay at the home, she reduced the frequency of

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Inadequate

self-harming behaviours. She developed the confidence to speak with staff about issues that were troubling her. She received highly effective support in managing her relationships with peers. This included restorative meetings facilitated by the manager. Practice related to the prevention of young people’s peer relationships becoming abusive has improved significantly since the interim inspection. In recent months, the home has admitted a number of young people with a history of going missing from home and care. Some of these young people have been unable to reduce the frequency of these missing episodes, and this has resulted in placements ending after a short period. One young person, struggling with family- related issues, recognised that he needed help from specialist youth workers, and was supported to access this service promptly. The organisation works in partnership with two external providers, and this ensures that young people have

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Inadequate

quick and easy access to psychiatric and psychological support. Despite these resources being available, some young people have been unable to reduce the severity of their unsafe behaviours. Managers and staff demonstrate a commitment to promoting young people’s educational achievements. This is another area in which practice has significantly improved. Effective communication is maintained with education professionals, and young people are given the practical support and encouragement that they need to maintain good attendance. In recent weeks, two young people obtained the examination grades needed to attend their preferred college course. Improved communication with health professionals has resulted in young people’s health needs being appropriately addressed. A specialist nurse for one young person wrote, ‘His care management has improved significantly.’ New staff receive prompt training to ensure that they can effectively monitor young people’s health

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Inadequate

needs and administer medication if required to do so. A review of the system for recording and administering prescribed medication has taken place, and this has resulted in the services of a reputable pharmacy being secured to improve staff practice. Staff work positively with parents and other family members, to ensure that contact arrangements are planned in advance and are reliable. They support young people to overcome any anxieties they may have about contact visits. Staff communicate sensitively with family members, and have the skills needed to assist young people in building positive, sustainable relationships with those who are important to them.

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Inadequate

In recent weeks, a serious incident occurred in the home, and the response from managers and staff failed to prevent young people from coming to harm. On discovering a fire in a bathroom, staff extinguished the fire but failed to follow the home’s procedures. Young people were allowed to re-enter the smoke-filled building. Subsequently, one young person was treated for smoke inhalation and another was taken to hospital for observation. The fire service was called more than an hour after the fire was discovered, after the duty manager consulted with a more senior manager in the organisation. Although examples of effective individual risk assessments were seen, the risk assessments pertaining to fire setting lack detail and, in one case, the identified actions have not been implemented. In May 2016, an incident occurred in which paper was set alight in separate locations inside the home, and near a car parked

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Inadequate

on the driveway. The associated risk assessment identified the need for staff to receive fire marshal training. This was not provided. Furthermore, the risk assessment does not consider making a referral to the fire service’s ‘firewise project, or cross reference the fact that another young person at the home has a known history of fire setting. Similarly, shortfalls were identified in the fire-setting risk assessment, relating to the young person involved in the most recent incident. The risk assessment does not consider seeking specialist advice from the psychologists and psychiatrists commissioned by the organisation, or identify the triggers that may cause the young person to act dangerously. In addition, the risk assessment does not make reference to the potential for fires to be set in bathrooms, where smoke detectors cannot be fitted. Following the fire-setting incident, managers came to the decision that it would be

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Inadequate

appropriate for the young person responsible to remain living at the home. Managers engaged in discussion with a duty social worker from the young person’s placing authority regarding this matter, but there are no clear written records of the decision-making process. The young person’s allocated social worker informed the inspector that he had advised managers to consult the social workers of other young people in placement, regarding the decision to keep the young person’s placement open. Managers did not do this. Consequently, the decision-making process did not benefit from a wider discussion about the potential risks facing all young people living in the home. However, these risks were nullified when the young person’s placing authority took the decision to move the young person on, within days of the fire-setting incident. Other aspects of help and protection provided to young people are more effective.

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Inadequate

Individual risk assessments, pertaining to issues such as going missing and the potential to become radicalised are comprehensive. They provide staff with detailed information on the potential for young people to come to harm, and contain clear strategies for reducing the risk. These risk assessments take into account young people’s past unsafe behaviours, such as self-harming incidents, and are updated whenever a significant incident takes place. This ensures that staff are familiar with young people’s vulnerabilities, and enables them to focus on the support that young people need to reduce the likelihood of their coming to harm. One young person, susceptible to self-harming behaviours, was given excellent support during a period of bereavement, and this enabled her to manage her grief without resorting to unsafe coping mechanisms. In recent months, the home has provided placements to a number of young people

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Inadequate

with an established history of going missing. Although many of these young people were unable to reduce the frequency of going missing, staff consistently took appropriate action to locate them and to encourage them to return. One social worker said, ‘The staff could not have done any more to try and prevent him from going missing.’ Missing episodes are recorded in detail and demonstrate the efforts of staff to secure the young person’s safe return. This has included visiting young people known to be staying with family members when permission from the placing authority has not been given. Young people returning from a missing episode are warmly welcomed back to the home, and staff sensitively try to gather information relating to their well-being. Managers and staff spoken to during the inspection have a clear understanding of the need for independent return-home interviews, and are proactive in making

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Inadequate

arrangements for these to happen. They have not always been successful, as many of the young people have gone missing again, before their placing authorities could arrange for the interview to take place. Staff employ many distraction techniques to divert young people from leaving the home. When these are not successful, staff follow agreed protocols and the strategies outlined in risk assessments. The vigilance of staff ensures that any emerging risks are quickly identified. Recently, managers and staff became aware of the potential for one young person to become radicalised. Information was promptly shared with all relevant agencies, and this assisted child protection professionals to make a thorough assessment. Senior staff attended multi-disciplinary meetings, and contributed towards the development of a safety plan. It was noted during the inspection that not all of the minutes from these meetings were held on the young person’s file. Managers took

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Inadequate

immediate action to rectify this shortfall. Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of the potential for vulnerable young people to become exploited. Those spoken to were able to reflect on the training that they have received on child sexual exploitation and gave clear descriptions of the signs that would alert them to a young person being at risk. These included young people being groomed via the internet and social media sites. Recently, the organisation has appointed a member of staff as lead person for internet safety. Although the member of staff is said to be experienced in this area, no formal training has been offered to ensure that knowledge and skills are kept up to date, and no links have been made with organisations specialising in online safety. A restorative approach to managing conflict and negative behaviours is now embedded in practice. Young people are encouraged to resolve any difficulties in

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Inadequate

peer relationships through dialogue. This ensures that young people are given the opportunity to reflect on how their behaviours can impact negatively on others. Young people have also been supported to write letters to family members when their behaviour has threatened the stability of these relationships. This approach has helped to sustain young people’s contact with significant adults. The organisation’s recruitment procedures were not examined at this inspection. However, a recent inspection of another of the organisation’s homes found that the recruitment and selection procedures used across the company are robust and focus on preventing unsuitable adults from being employed to care for vulnerable young people. Judgement grade

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Inadequate

The registered manager left the home at the end of October 2015. Since that time, there has been no registered manager in post. In the intervening period, the organisation appointed two managers, neither of whom remained in post. The current manager started on 18 March 2016. An application to become registered with Ofsted was received on 2 June 2016, which was not within the required 28- day time frame. At the time of this inspection, Ofsted was processing the manager’s application for registration. Therefore, no requirement is made at this time in respect of appointing a registered manager. The manager is an experienced practitioner, who previously held the role of deputy manager in another of the organisation’s homes. He holds the level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. He became manager soon after Ofsted had identified significant shortfalls in the standard of practice in the

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Inadequate

home, and had issued four compliance notices. With the support of senior managers, he has overseen significant improvements in the quality of care being delivered. Although failures are no longer widespread, the shortfalls relating to the fire-setting incident are serious enough to lead to the judgement of inadequate. The manager was on annual leave when the fire took place. He returned to work five days after the incident. The response of leaders and managers following the fire was weak. No evidence could be found that senior managers held a formal investigation or a meeting to consider the shortfalls in practice. Similarly, no evidence could be found that the safety of young people accommodated across the organisation’s homes was reviewed. The inspector was informed that senior managers decided that these shortfalls could be addressed through staff supervision and training. At the time of the inspection, these matters had not been addressed in supervision or team

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Inadequate

meetings. Training had been provisionally booked. Managers acknowledged that more consideration should have been given to implementing the organisation’s capability procedures in respect of some staff involved in the incident. It was stated that this would now happen. There are established quality-of-care monitoring systems in the home. However, these did not identify or address the fact that many staff had not completed mandatory fire-safety training. Being relatively new in post, the manager is familiarising himself with the process for producing six-monthly quality-of-care monitoring reports. This has resulted in some delay in completing reports on time, and the manager is working to address this. The manager monitors all significant events occurring in the home. His monitoring of the fire incident concludes that staff involved in the fire dealt with young people and the professional services ‘promptly and effectively’. This is indicative of monitoring systems failing to identify

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Inadequate

poor practice. In other areas, the manager has ensured that standards of care have improved. A proactive approach was taken to address the issues identified previously. A detailed action plan to address the shortfalls was fully implemented in practice. As a result, all requirements set have now been met. There have been several changes of staff since the last full inspection. Currently, there is a settled and stable team employed at the home. The manager has prioritised the need to support staff and to promote their professional development. Staff receive regular supervision, which provides them with the opportunity to reflect on the effectiveness of their practice and to consider how the needs of young people are being met. Staff now work collaboratively and express confidence in the leadership provided. Evidence shows that training opportunities are responsive to the needs of young people. Training in managing self-harm and in specific health needs has been

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Inadequate

arranged quickly in response to the identified needs of young people moving into the home. Practice relating to the admission of new young people to the home has improved since the last inspection. In most cases, impact assessments are undertaken, which take into account the likely effect of new young people joining the group. Some of these assessments are of a high standard, and take into account the information provided by placing authorities. In other cases, young people have been admitted without these assessments being completed. The manager maintains oversight of all young people’s care plans. Realistic and achievable goals are agreed with young people, and their progress is monitored by regular review of the care plans. Managers identify when young people are not making anticipated progress and communicate effectively with other professionals to ensure that appropriate support is provided. Managers make strong and

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Inadequate

effective challenges when they have concerns that other professionals are not acting in the best interests of young people. In one case, this contributed to the development of a more effective safety plan for a young person clearly at risk of significant harm.

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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

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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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