Children's home in Tewkesbury

Inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people’s welfare is not promoted or safeguarded; their care and experiences are poor and they are not making progress.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because it has:

 Staff have failed to promote the safeguarding and welfare of young people who have been trespassing on neighbouring farmland, physically assaulted each other and smoking in their bedrooms. Additionally, staff have not made sure that the property has been safe and protected from intruders.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because it has:

 The responsible individual has failed to appoint suitable interim management arrangements during a period of absence of the registered manager.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because it has:

 Staff have failed to recognise incidents of bullying and to respond appropriately with effective interventions.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because it has:

 Staff have failed to provide young people with healthy diets, guidance, support and advice on health issues.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because it has:

 The registered manager has failed to ensure that young people’s records contain the required information.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because it has:

 The registered manager has failed to ensure that the home operates within its statement of purpose.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because it has:

 The registered manager has failed to ensure a robust fire risk assessment, bespoke to the needs of the home, is in place.

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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 ‘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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (b)(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 independently as an adult. 09/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

7: The children's views, wishes and feelings standard

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (2)(a)(iv) regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home's care. 09/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

(1) The health and well-being standard is that— (b) children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and (c) children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. 09/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff— (xii) understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and (xiii) have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. 09/11/2016 12: The protection of children standard

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Requirement Due date

(1) The protection of children standard 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 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; (iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; (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; (b) that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively

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Requirement Due date

from harm; (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. 06/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (a) 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; (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. 09/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

(2) If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies 29/09/2016 to the home— (b) 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. 28: Fitness of manager

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Requirement Due date

(1) A person may only manage a children’s home if— (b) having regard to the size of the home, its statement of purpose, and the number and needs (including any needs arising from any disability) of the children— (i) the person has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills to manage the home effectively and lead the care of children. 06/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

(4) The registered person must ensure that all employees— (b) receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. 09/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

(1) 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; (b) are kept up to date. 09/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

(4) The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— (e) there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (5) A notification made under this regulation— (a) must include details of— (i) the matter; (ii) the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and (iii) any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter; (b) must be made or confirmed in writing. 06/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

(1) If the person who is in day-to-day charge of the children’s 06/10/2016 home proposes to be absent from the home for a continuous period of 28 days or more, the registered person must give notice in writing to HMCI of the proposed absence.

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Information about this children's home

The service is operated by a private company and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 11/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/07/2015 Full Good

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Inadequate

The progress and experience of young people living in this home are negatively affected by some serious shortfalls. The service has not made proper provision for management cover during the absence of the registered manager. This is further compounded by safeguarding failings.

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Inadequate

Case files do not include all the required documents. The homes’ individual support plans for young people lack detail and do not encourage young people’s progress and development. Statutory care plans are not available in case files and identified risks are not integrated into individual placement plans. This means that young people do not benefit from personalised or well-planned care that reflects their individual needs. Young people are not encouraged to develop their independent living skills. Consequently, young people are not able to develop the skills that they need for a successful transition to adulthood.

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Inadequate

Young people’s health needs are not always met fully. Although all young people attend regular medical appointments, staff are not attentive enough to make sure young people receive medical advice at other times. For example, staff did not seek medical advice following a young person being hit around the head by a wooden object and complaining of a headache. Consequently, in this case, staff did not make sure that a young person received appropriate and safe healthcare. Young people are not supported to make healthy choices about their diet.

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Inadequate

Relationships between some young people and staff are not good enough and lead to challenging situations. Staff do not respond to incidents early enough to prevent these escalating to physical assaults. This lack of early response worsens relationships between young people, who do not enjoy positive and constructive relationships with each other. Key-work sessions do not reflect individual needs or risk. This means that the progress or concerns of young people are not considered, tackled and recorded. Young people’s views, wishes and opinions are not always sought in the development of the home or within the individual care planning. As a result, young people do not influence the running of the home or their individual care plans.

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Inadequate

Young people are supported and encouraged to attend the organisation’s own education provision. Some young people’s attendance at school is good while others need to improve. They are all making some academic progress.

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Inadequate

Staff make sure that young people have regular contact with family and friends. As a result, young people are not isolated from their families, and are able to maintain their family identity when they live a distance away from the home.

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Inadequate

Young people are not safe or protected from harm because staff do not rigorously apply safeguarding procedures. Staff do not protect young people from harm or promote their well-being and safety. Staff do not rigorously apply safeguarding procedures.

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Inadequate

Young people do not always enjoy positive relationships with each other. Staff do not identify when behaviour constitutes bullying. This means that incidents of bullying are not addressed effectively and children are left unprotected. Staff do not support young people to understand the negative impact of bullying on others. Young people report incidents of cyber-bullying through social media and have been the victim of physical assaults. Staff fail to keep adequate records of serious incidents and the detail of the actions taken to tackle these events.

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Inadequate

Behaviour management strategies are ineffective. Staff do not explore triggers which result in bullying or disruptive behaviour nor do they consider appropriate interventions to incidents. Sanctions are not always followed through. This means that young people do not receive support to develop their self-confidence and social skills, and are not encouraged to reflect on negative behaviour. Case recording of physical interventions is confusing and unreliable. For example, a physical intervention record details two young people on one record instead of maintaining separate records. As a result, the manager is not able to review individual staff approaches to behaviour management or ensure safe use of behaviour management techniques.

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Inadequate

Risk assessments for young people lack detail about individual risk and how staff should respond. As a result, they are not able to provide effective protection for young people. Assessments undertaken by staff have failed to sufficiently identify the risks for young people at the start of new placements. For example, impact risk assessments do not identify strategies to manage risks between young people. This has left some young people at risk of harm, feeling anxious and, at times, distressed.

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Inadequate

Young people spend time away from the home and trespass on a neighbouring farmer’s land, climbing farm buildings and starting up farm machinery. On one occasion, a young person returned to the home with a baby chicken from the farm. Staff failed to take appropriate action to tackle this. Records of incidents are incomplete and do not evidence if the young person was missing or his whereabouts. This means that staff are not safeguarding young people from trespassing in areas that are potentially very dangerous, coupled with not knowing where they are. Consequently, young people are not adequately safeguarded and are putting themselves at risk.

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Inadequate

Managers and staff do not make sure that the home is safe and secure. For example, a broken window latch was not replaced, which meant that the young people were not protected. Subsequently, a burglar was able to access the home through the insecure window. This left young people feeling anxious and requiring assurance that the home is safe from intruders. Furthermore, there is no proper provision for fire safety in the home. Staff do not identify that young people have been smoking in their bedrooms but staff were unaware of this. Cigarette ends on young people’s windowsills and below their bedroom windows indicate that they had been smoking prior to the inspection. Smoking on the premises is a breach of the home’s smoking policy and is putting young people, staff and visitors at risk of physical harm.

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Inadequate

The permanent manager for this home has been registered with Ofsted since November 2014. The registered manager is suitably experienced and qualified. He has the level 4 diploma in leadership and management for residential care, and is currently working towards his level 5. At the time of the inspection, the registered manager had been off work for more than 28 days. Ofsted had not been notified of his absence. The service had not made proper provision for management cover at this time. The management arrangements at the home lack rigour and efficiency, and have left young people at risk of emotional and physical harm.

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Inadequate

Managers have not been effective in identifying areas where the service has not met regulations or areas of greatest risk. Managerial monitoring and scrutiny of serious incidents, young people’s trespassing and physical assaults, and the security of the home and the actions of staff are all ineffective. Additionally, the interim manager does not have the skills and qualifications to fulfil the management role.

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Inadequate

Managers do not inform Ofsted of all notifiable events. For example, in July 2016 the manager failed to notify Ofsted of a serious assault by one young person .This means that the regulator is unable to evaluate young people’s events appropriately.

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Inadequate

Managers and staff do not meet the aims and objectives that are set out in its statement of purpose; it does not reflect the service that the home offers. For example, the home does not provide therapeutic parenting to young people despite indicating in the statement of purpose that it provides a ‘therapeutic parenting model of care, intervention and/or therapeutic approach’. Staff supervision is poorly organised, not held within appropriate timescales and is undertaken by a manager who does not have the appropriate skills and qualifications. Most staff are qualified in residential childcare. Those who are unqualified are working to obtain their qualification within two years of starting work. This meets the regulatory timescales for all relevant staff to be qualified.

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Inadequate

The manager is not making sure that the home is well maintained. For example, there is a broken garden table, debris in the garden, cigarette butts on the patio area, broken drainpipes, and holes in a door in a young person’s bedroom, which is also dirty and untidy. This means that young people are not living in a home that is suitably maintained, furnished or providing them with the benefits of a comfortable and safe home.

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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’. 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 looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 harmed or at risk of harm or 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 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 ‘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 0300 123 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

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

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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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