Children's Home run by Individual Specialist Care Limited in Sandwell

Inadequate

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

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The children’s home provision is inadequate because:

 The use of physical restraint to manage young people’s behaviour is not consistently proportionate or necessary, and staff do not accurately record this measure of control.  Managers do not ensure that they implement recruitment procedures designed to promote young people’s safety and welfare.  Managers do not refer allegations of abuse or harm to other agencies, as required. This compromises young people’s safety and welfare.  Staff do not address incidents of bullying or intimidation.  Monitoring systems are weak and ineffectual, because they fail to identify service shortfalls and do not include consultation with young people.  The home does not have a registered manager. Interim management arrangements have failed to promote young people’s welfare, prioritise their needs or support their progress.  Staff do not have the necessary skills, experience or qualifications to meet young people’s needs.

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The children’s home provision is inadequate because:

 Staff do not ensure that young people’s case files include all necessary information or ensure that they keep these records up to date. This means that young people do not have an accurate record of their placement.

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The children’s home strengths

 Staff work with a range of local community post-16 learning providers to ensure that young people have access to bespoke further education courses.

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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

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, the registered person must: (2) ensure that staff— (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; (c)(i) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. 11/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

7. The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the children’s views, wishes and feelings standard, the registered person must: (2)(a) ensure that staff— (iv) regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. 11/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the positive relationships standard, the registered person must ensure: (2)(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. 11/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure— (2)(d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. 11/11/2016 13. The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must: (2)(b) ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 11/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20(2)) 11/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises is necessary and proportionate; is kept under review and, if necessary, revised. (Regulation 21(c)(ii)(iii)) 11/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. (Regulation 32(1))* 14/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).The requirements are that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in schedule 2. (Regulation 32(2)(a)(3)(d)) 11/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home, despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met, if full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of schedule 2; the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in 11/11/2016 paragraphs 3 to 6 of schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person. (Regulation 32(7)(a)(b)(c)(d)) Fitness of workers

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained the level 3 diploma for residential childcare (England) (‘the level 3 diploma’); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the level 3 diploma. The relevant date is in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016. (Regulation 32(4)(a)(b)(5)(b)) 11/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must implement a policy which sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 34(1)(b)) 11/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must implement a policy for the prevention of bullying in the home, which must in particular set out the procedure for dealing with an allegation of bullying. (Regulation 34(3)) 11/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

Behaviour management policies and records

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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 required information. (Regulation 35(3)(i–viii) 11/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which include the information and documents listed in schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36(1)(a)) 11/11/2016

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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)) 11/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to statutory requirement notice.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children and young people with learning disabilities. A private provider owns and operates the home.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 24/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/06/2015 Full Good 03/02/2015 Full Adequate

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Inadequate

There are significant shortfalls in providing for and promoting young people’s welfare and safety. The overall experiences and progress of young people and the leadership and management of the home are inadequate. The home has not had a registered manager since April 2015. Interim managers have failed to ensure that young people are safe at the home or protected from harm. These failures are detrimental both to young people’s progress and their day-to-day and overall experiences of living in the home.

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Inadequate

Young people do not benefit from comprehensive care planning. Internal care plans and support plans are weak and generic. They are not personalised to individual young people and they do not reflect the agreed aims and objectives of the placement as detailed within statutory pathway plans. For example, staff do not support young people to gain the skills or emotional resilience that they need to move towards semi-independent or independent living. On occasion, young people assist staff with domestic tasks such as making drinks and keeping the home tidy. However, their efforts are not recorded and do not form part of the agreed statutory pathway plans.

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Inadequate

Staff do not adequately assess young people’s independent living skills to prepare them for their transition to adulthood. Furthermore, staff do not ensure that young people’s case files include all necessary documentation or information. They do not include statutory review meeting minutes or essential health and immunisation records. This means that young people do not receive integrated or well-planned care that supports their development.

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Inadequate

Relationships between young people and staff are mixed. Young people say that they like spending time with ‘some of the staff’. One young person said, ‘I like (name of staff). She is fun and listens to me, but (name of staff) doesn’t like me, so I don’t like him.’ Staff do not appropriately record one-to-one sessions with young people. These records do not detail the discussions with young people, the specific purpose of these or the outcome. This failure means that young people’s views, opinions and feedback about the quality of care provided by the service are not influential in any review of the service.

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Inadequate

All young people make some progress in education, taking account of their starting points. They have suitable post-16 further education placements and most young people attend these regularly. Staff work with allocated teaching staff to overcome any barriers to learning that the young people face. Staff work with health professionals, such as mental health practitioners, to support young people’s emotional and psychological needs. However, health records in young people’s case files are incomplete and staff do not take action to ensure that they have access to all the information that they require. This means that young people may not have a clear understanding of all of their health needs or the services that they need to access to meet these needs.

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Inadequate

Staff support young people to re-establish and maintain contact with their families. They provide practical support to facilitate contact visits and encourage young people to make regular telephone calls to their families.

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Inadequate

The home is not suitably furnished. The lack of pictures, soft furnishings and ornaments makes the home sparse and unwelcoming. The provider has failed to maintain the home appropriately. Some walls, doors and bedroom furniture are damaged. Managers and staff have failed to take necessary actions to remedy this damage. For example, one young person’s wardrobe has no doors, shelves or rails. Consequently, this young person’s clothes and personal items are stored on the floor. This is totally unacceptable and means that young people do not live in a comfortable or homely environment. These failures indicate that staff do not value or respect young people, because they do not consider the impact that a poor living environment has on young people’s self-esteem.

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Inadequate

Young people are at risk of significant harm. The internal environment is not safe or free from hazards. At times, staff use physical restraint disproportionately and unnecessarily. Staff do not consistently adhere to physical restraint procedures or record these events appropriately. For example, records do not include details of any de-escalation methods implemented or feedback from young people. These widespread failures to protect young people significantly compromise their welfare and safety.

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Inadequate

Staff do not complete the necessary health and safety checks, as required. This means that they have failed to identify exposed electrical wires in light fittings and smoke alarms. Young people face significant hazards to their safety and well-being because of this shortfall. During the inspection, the acting manager took action to remedy these health and safety risks. However, these systemic failures and a lack of awareness mean that staff do not protect young people or promote their safety.

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Inadequate

Staff frequently use physical restraint to manage young people’s behaviours. Documents relating to these events are of poor quality, because staff do not ensure that they record all necessary information. This means that managers are unable to review and evaluate these incidents fully. There are some occasions when the use of physical restraint is disproportionate and unnecessary. For example, records show that staff restrained one young person for being verbally abusive. Although there was no immediate risk to the safety of the young person or others, staff failed instead to deploy appropriate verbal de-escalation techniques or implement alternative strategies to diffuse this situation. Furthermore, verified and acceptable physical holds are not used consistently. For example, there has been one recorded occasion when staff carried a young person to a vehicle. This is contrary to agreed physical restraint techniques.

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Inadequate

In addition, staff use as a method of restraint the weighted blankets that some young people use as comforters. These blankets contain small weights that provide young people with increased skin-touch sensory stimulation. Staff practice this method of restraint, which involves wrapping a young person in the blanket, without devising suitable risk assessments or protocols and without discussion with or agreement from the placing authorities, the young people or their families. Due to their individual learning disabilities, young people’s reduced cognitive abilities mean that they may be unable to understand why an item that they associate with comfort is being used to punish. This further compounds the inappropriateness of this method of restraint. This practice is unacceptable and places young people at risk of harm.

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Inadequate

Young people’s movement around the home is restricted, and the exits are only accessible via the use of an electronic fob, held by staff, unless the fire alarms are activated. The acting manager and the staff team state that these restrictions are necessary to protect young people from harm. However, young people’s risk assessment do not include any assessment of, or reference to, the need to use these measures to ensure young people’s safety. Staff do not review these restrictions to quantify the need for this continued use. The use of these access restrictions is now custom and practice in the home, yet does not promote young people’s welfare.

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Inadequate

Recruitment procedures are weak and ineffectual, and do not protect young people from harm. The responsible individual does not ensure that when staff declare criminal convictions, their potential impact on young people’s safety and welfare is considered. The organisation has failed to ensure that risk assessments are in place in relation to the employment of staff with criminal convictions. Staff files do not provide evidence that managers have explored any possible risks to young people or established strategies to reduce these risks. These serious failings mean that young people could be cared for by unsafe adults. Furthermore, staff recruitment files do not include all necessary information, such as identification checks. In addition, some staff have commenced employment prior to the verification of references and have worked unsupervised with young people.

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Inadequate

Managers and staff do not consistently implement safeguarding policies designed to manage allegations of abuse or harm. Some young people regularly make allegations about staff. These young people have protocols in place, as agreed by the local authority designated officer, which authorise managers to complete initial fact-finding investigations prior to instigating the usual referral procedures. For example, these investigations may include ascertaining if the member of staff subject to the allegation was working with the young person at a given time and if other alleged witnesses were in the vicinity. Although the current acting manager has now taken action to address this failure, previous temporary managers did not consistently record these investigations to ascertain the potential for an allegation to be true. As a result, managers have deemed allegations to be false without due process or consideration.

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Inadequate

There have been numerous incidents of bullying. Staff meeting minutes demonstrate that some staff are aware that bullying occurs in the home and refer to one young person intimidating another young person. However, recorded comments from other staff state that these behaviours do not constitute bullying. Staff are unaware of the signs of bullying and intimidation. Incidents of bullying are not recorded or tackled in line with the organisation’s anti-bullying procedure. Staff do not work with young people to confront incidents of bullying or make it clear to young people that these behaviours are unacceptable. As a result, bullying continues to be an issue in the home, and young people confirmed this to be the case.

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Inadequate

Due to high levels of supervision, young people rarely go missing from the home. If young people do go missing, staff liaise with local police and social workers. In these circumstances, staff consider the potential risks of sexual exploitation and work with specialist agencies. These assessments include a review of any known historical incidents of exploitation and any current circumstances, such as new acquaintances or developing friendships.

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Inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since April 2015. Following the resignation of the registered manager, the organisation appointed an acting manager. The acting manager failed to apply to register with Ofsted as required. Subsequently, the organisation appointed a new manager in May 2016. The new manager failed to apply for registration within prescribed 28-day timescale but has now submitted an application. This application is under consideration. The registered provider’s continued failure to ensure suitable management arrangements in the home means that staff do not benefit from robust leadership. Managers and staff do not prioritise young people’s needs or work consistently as a team. This lack of leadership is detrimental to young people’s development and progress.

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Inadequate

At the interim inspection in February 2016, Ofsted made two requirements. The first requirement related to providing young people with a home that is designed and furnished to meet their needs. The second requirement related to the safe recruitment of staff. These requirements remain unmet. Furthermore, service shortfalls noted by the independent visitor are not actioned as required and are often repeated on subsequent visits. These failures question the manager’s and responsible individual’s capacity to improve. Since commencing employment, the acting manager has taken some positive steps to improve monitoring systems in the home. However, these developments are in their infancy and have yet to secure sustainable improvements. For example, although new recording systems monitor the frequency of physical restraints, they do not evaluate the quality or accuracy of these records.

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Inadequate

Staff receive regular supervision, although these sessions do not identify their training needs. The majority of staff employed in the home have limited experience of working with young people with learning disabilities. Furthermore, a number of care staff have yet to achieve the required social care qualification and others have failed to complete this within the appropriate timescale. This means that staff lack the necessary skills and experience to provide a good standard of care and to support young people’s development.

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Inadequate

Young people have made a number of complaints since the last inspection. Managers have not made sure that complaints records are properly maintained or that they contain sufficient detail. These documents do not include the actions taken to resolve a complaint or indicate if young people are satisfied with the outcome. Consequently, the complaints process is not fit for purpose.

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Inadequate

The acting manager liaises with external agencies, including placing authorities and health professionals. Other agencies stated that partnership arrangements with the home have improved since the appointment of the acting manager. For example, one social worker stated that the new manager was ‘tenacious and advocated well for the young people’. This means that young people are able to access the additional support that they may need, because other agencies are held accountable for their actions.

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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 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 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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