Children's home run by PCT Care Services Limited in South Norfolk

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has declined in effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the previous inspection, the registered manager has become the responsible individual and a new manager has been appointed. She has been in post for two months and is in the process of completing an application to become registered. Nine requirements and one recommendation were made at the previous inspection. Four requirements and the recommendation have been met. The remaining five requirements have not been met.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children’s risk assessments are not accurate. They contain out-of-date information and do not record some known areas of risk, nor do they record action which is being taken to address some risks. This prevents there from being a clear, recorded plan to help to reduce the risks to children, and which informs staff practice and can be monitored and reviewed. Care plans and placement plans also contain out-of-date information and have not been reviewed when further information has been identified. As with risk assessments, this prevents staff from having access to clear up-to-date information which can inform their care practices.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There are a number of maintenance issues which require attention and some of these have been outstanding for some time. For example, work to repair broken window restrictors has been outstanding since June 2016. While some of this was done on the day before the inspection, some windows still require attention due to broken hinges which prevent them from closing to varying degrees. There has been some damage to the home, such as shower gel squirted over walls, damage to bedroom furniture and some doors do not close fully. However, the new manager has addressed some damage and has redecorated a bathroom to make it considerably more pleasant, and has created a cosy sitting area on one of the large landings. The improvements are positive, but the outstanding issues detract from the overall homeliness of the building.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The kitchen is permanently locked so that children cannot get into it without a member of staff. While the manager spoke in general terms of the risks associated with children accessing the kitchen, there is no record of these risks being assessed and so no action is identified to manage the risk. This means that all children are excluded from having free access to the kitchen. This does not promote a domestic and homely environment and does not allow children to participate fully in the daily life of the home. Children can ask to use the telephone in the office, and they use this to maintain regular contact with their families. However, they do not have access to a telephone without having to ask staff. This could prevent them from being able to raise concerns outside of the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Records of sanctions do not contain any evaluation of their effectiveness to help to assess whether they are helping children to manage their behaviour better. Some detail is missing in some entries and one sanction was not recorded at all. Records of physical interventions are made on the computer and should be printed for the manager to sign to confirm that they are accurate. This does not always happen in a timely way. There are records of staff reflections following an incident, but these are often superficial and there is no indication of the involvement of the manager or deputy. This does not help staff to review their actions and consider ways of reducing the number or duration of physical interventions. There are no records of complaints in the home, but there has been at least one complaint made to a director who was at the time the responsible individual. Failing to have the records of this in the home prevents the manager from learning any relevant lessons and

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

improving practice. It also prevents monitoring of how the complaints process is working.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff say that they receive supervision regularly and that they find it helpful. The intention of the home is to provide fortnightly supervision for new staff and monthly supervision for others. However, the supervision files do not contain records of supervisions at this frequency. For example, one member of staff had no records for June or July and there were only three supervision records for August. This seems to be an issue of recording rather than that supervisions are not happening. However, if the records are not provided, staff cannot see what actions they need to take and the quality of supervisions cannot be monitored. The manager does sign a number of records to show that she has read them, and sometimes makes comments for staff. However, the monitoring has not identified the shortfalls recorded in this report and this has in turn prevented action being taken to address these issues.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The responsible individual carried out a review of the quality of care in the home around the time of her transition from being the home’s manager. This did provide an overview of the operation of the home, but it did not include the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities or staff. Consequently, the information on which the review was based was not as complete as it could have been. There is an independent person who visits the home monthly to carry out a monitoring function. She produces detailed reports which do identify some areas of shortfall. However, the reports do not all include the independent person’s opinion as to whether the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being and the reports are not all sent to Ofsted. There has also been a failure to send Ofsted a notification of a serious event when the police were called to the home because of a child’s behaviour. This prevents Ofsted as the regulator from having an overview

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

of the operation of homes between inspections. All three children in the home have moved in since the previous inspection, some of them quite recently. A child and a placing social worker spoke of how well the home had managed the process, even in emergencies. This has meant that children were helped to settle following the stress of a move of their home. One child spoke about how well they get on with staff. They also felt that the rules and sanctions in the home were reasonable. Staff said that the recent changes in the home, including a change in the staff team, have made it a better place. All of the home’s paperwork has been reviewed and amended.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All three children are being educated in the home. The organisation employs a qualified teacher and there is dedicated education accommodation in the home. One child who moved into the home has made significant progress in his engagement in education. From not attending at all before he moved to the home, he is currently doing two hours a day. His re-engagement in education will help him to achieve in the future. Another child at the home has recently stopped engaging in education and the plans for a third child were unclear, although she was engaging in the in-house education. Clear discussions about the education of the second and third child had not been held with placing authorities. This limits clear planning and actions to promote education and opportunities to find effective solutions to any barriers.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A placing social worker spoke of how well the staff were caring for the child she had placed at the home. She said that some of his previous challenging behaviours had not been seen since moving to the home and he was engaging well with staff. In particular, she mentioned the way in which staff had responded to the child’s expressed health needs and taken action to help meet them.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been a period of change in the organisation with a new responsible individual and a new home manager. There have been some positive changes in the home since the previous inspection, but overall the quality of care has declined. This is largely due to the failure to meet shortfalls identified in the previous inspection report.

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to six young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned by a private company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 02/06/2016 Full Requires improvement

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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

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met (c)The registered person should challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans if they consider, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role. 31/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to having accurate risk assessments, the registered person should ensure: (2)(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 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child.* 14/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard:

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, with particular reference to the maintenance of the home and children’s access to the kitchen, the registered person should ensure that: (2)(c) the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to: (i) meet the needs of each child, and (ii) enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. 31/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes all of the information required under this regulation. This relates in particular to the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. Further, that the registered person, or a person who 31/10/2016 is authorised by the registered person to do so, has spoken to the user about the measure, and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)) 13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, with particular reference to plans, records and children’s individual progress, the registered person should: (2)(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 31/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records for each child which are kept up to date. This relates to care plans and placement plans. (Regulation 36 (1)(b)) 31/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the reports written by the independent person set out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. The reports should be sent to HMCI. (Regulation 44 (4)(b)(7)(a)) 31/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care provides for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(5)) 31/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)) 31/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 31/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children are provided at all reasonable times with access to a telephone on which to make and receive telephone calls in private. (Regulation 22 (3)(a)) 31/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

* This requirement is subject to statutory requirement notice.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33 (4)(b). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children’s home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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 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,

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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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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