Social care · Children's home inspection (SCCIF)
Children's home run by Lioncare Limited in Epping Forest
Summary
Stephen Collett (lead), Lucy Chapman
What we read, and from where
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- Inspection datesingle source
11 Jan 2017
- Inspectors AI-checked
Lucy Chapman, Stephen Collett
- Helped and protected verified
Inadequate
- Overall effectivenesssingle source
Inadequate
- Postcode verified
IG10 1EG
- URN verified
SC014234
Deep dive
What this report says
In plain English
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Grade profile
Hollow rings show the previous inspection, 2016.
- OverallInadequate
- Helped and protectedInadequate
5% of comparable inspections in the last three years were graded Inadequate (12,716 inspections).
Tone of the report
How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.
In line with other reports of this type graded Inadequate.
Markers show where typical reports of each grade sit.
How the report reads, start to finish
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Strengths
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Concerns
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- There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and their care and experiences are poor and they are not making progress. p.2
- Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that all serious events occurring at p.3
- Behaviour management strategies are weak and are not consistently implemented in practice. p.3
- Poor quality risk assessments do not provide staff with effective tools for keeping children safe and protecting them from harm. p.3
- Leaders and managers do not monitor effectively the quality of care being delivered or take action to address known weaknesses. p.3
Next steps
Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.
- Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. p.6
- In particular, the policy must be implemented so that child protection concerns are reported to the relevant agencies within the timescale stated in the policy. p.6
- The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect. p.7
- Specifically, the policy must be implemented so that allegations of abuse or neglect against staff are reported to the relevant agencies in the manner described in the policy. 01/03/2017 p.7
- The registered person must maintain record ('case records') for each child which includes the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. p.7
- Specifically, ensure case records contain a signed copy of the child's placing authority's placement plan. 01/03/2017 p.7
- The registered person must ensure that records, which may be kept in electronic form, of the use of measures of control, discipline or restraint, are kept in an accessible manner. p.7
- Specifically, ensure there is an accessible record of all restraints of children. 01/03/2017 p.7
What the report dwells on
Topics by how often they come up, coloured by how they are described. Open one for an example.
Leadership & governance9
“Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that all serious events occurring at” p.3Care & placements9
“Practice relating to the physical restraint of children is poor.” p.3
Anatomy of the report
How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.
- Pages
- 20
- Words of findings
- 1,387
- shorter than usual (typical 2286)
- Reading level
- Hard
- Flesch 45, typical 50
- Average sentence
- 20 words
- Next steps
- 8
- typical 8
- Hedged sentences
- 4%
- “some”, “not always”, “most”…
Where the words go
Full report text
Inadequate
There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and their care and experiences are poor and they are not making progress.
p.2
The children’s home provision is inadequate because:
The assessment and management of risk are weak. Poor quality risk assessments do not provide staff with effective tools for keeping children safe and protecting them from harm. Strategies for keeping children safe are not implemented in practice. The standard of practice relating to safeguarding and child protection is poor. The home’s child protection policy is not consistently followed when allegations of abuse are made. There are significant shortfalls in relation to the management of allegations made against staff. The home is not maintained to a standard that ensures the health and safety of children. Action is not consistently taken to prevent avoidable hazards. Practice relating to the physical restraint of children is poor. Physical restraint is not always conducted in accordance with the legislative framework. Insufficient priority is given to hearing the wishes, views and feelings of children.
p.3
The children’s home provision is inadequate because:
Children are not supported to access independent advocacy services or to make use of the home’s complaints process. Leaders and managers do not monitor effectively the quality of care being delivered or take action to address known weaknesses. The registered manager does not demonstrate sound knowledge of some areas of practice. Behaviour management strategies are weak and are not consistently implemented in practice. They have not always prevented children from harming one another, and there has not been a proactive approach to tackling bullying at the home. The process for admitting new children to the home does not assess the likely impact effectively, either on children already living at the home or on the child being admitted. High staff turnover impacts negatively on the children’s sense of stability and consistency. Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that all serious events occurring at
p.3
The children’s home strengths
All children have an educational placement. Staff support them to maintain good attendance and encourage them to do well. Children have access to specialist therapeutic support. Children are supported to develop their interests and hobbies, and have access to a good range of leisure activities. They are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms. Inspectors observed caring and nurturing interactions between the staff and children.
p.4
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.
p.5
Requirement Due date
7: The children's views, wishes and feelings standard
p.5
Requirement Due date
In order to meet the children's views, wishes and feelings standard, with particular reference to advocacy support and ensuring children are given the opportunity to make complaints, the registered person must ensure that each child:
p.5
Requirement Due date
*7(2)(b)(iii) is given appropriate advocacy support;
p.5
Requirement Due date
7(2)(d)(ii) knows how to make a complaint or representations in relation to the home or the care the child receives and how any such complaint or representations will be dealt with. 01/03/2017
p.5
Requirement Due date
In order to meet the positive relationships standard, particularly in respect of bullying, the registered person must ensure that staff:
p.5
Requirement Due date
11(2)(xiii) have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. 01/03/2017
p.5
Requirement Due date
In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to the assessment and management of risk, children harming one another, taking effective action to ensure children's welfare and implementing the home's child protection policy, and protecting children from hazards, the registered person must ensure:
p.5
Requirement Due date
*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;
p.5
Requirement Due date
12(2)(a)(iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; 01/03/2017 *12(2)(a)(vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare;
p.5
Requirement Due date
*12(2)(a)(vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies;
p.6
Requirement Due date
*12(2)(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 from harm;
p.6
Requirement Due date
*12(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. 13: The leadership and management standard
p.6
Requirement Due date
In order to meet the leadership and management standard, with particular reference to monitoring the quality of care, staff having relevant knowledge and skills, the likely impact of new admissions to the home and the relationship between the quality of care being delivered and children's day-to-day experience, the registered person must:
p.6
Requirement Due date
*13(2)(c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;
p.6
Requirement Due date
13(2)(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;
p.6
Requirement Due date
13(2)(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 01/03/2017
p.6
Requirement Due date
In order to meet the care planning standard, with particular reference to the timely review of the plans effectiveness and ensuring that plans are implemented in the home, the registered person must ensure that children;
p.6
Requirement Due date
14(1)(a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home. 01/03/2017
p.6
Requirement Due date
Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20(2)) 01/03/2017 The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children's home from abuse or neglect. (Regulation 34(1)(a)). In particular, the policy must be implemented so that child protection concerns are reported to the relevant agencies within the timescale stated in the policy.
p.6
Requirement Due date
The registered person must prepare and 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)). Specifically, the policy must be implemented so that allegations of abuse or neglect against staff are reported to the relevant agencies in the manner described in the policy. 01/03/2017
p.7
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: details of the child's behaviour leading to the use of the measure; a description of the measure and it's duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(ii)(iv)(v)(vii)) 01/03/2017
p.7
Requirement Due date
The registered person must maintain record ('case records') for each child which includes the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36(1)(a)). Specifically, ensure case records contain a signed copy of the child's placing authority's placement plan. 01/03/2017
p.7
Requirement Due date
The registered person must ensure that records, which may be kept in electronic form, of the use of measures of control, discipline or restraint, are kept in an accessible manner. (Regulation 38(h)). Specifically, ensure there is an accessible record of all restraints of children. 01/03/2017
p.7
Requirement Due date
*The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40(4)(c)) 01/03/2017
p.7
Requirement Due date
* These requirements are subject to statutory requirement notice.
p.7
Recommendations
To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations: Provide staff that sleep in the home overnight with appropriate accommodation and facilities to do so. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.26) Specifically, if two therapeutic care staff remain in the home overnight to cover for the absence of a waking night member of staff, ensure that no staff sleep on the landing outside children’s bedrooms. Ensure that every effort is made to achieve continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1) Ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. (‘Guide to the children’s homes
p.8
Recommendations
regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)
p.8
Information about this children’s home
The home is run by a private organisation and is registered to provide residential care for seven children who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. Children are able to access the organisation’s school and therapeutic support services.
p.9
Recent inspection history
Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 11/05/2016 Full Good 26/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/06/2015 Full Good 10/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness
p.9
Inadequate
The standard of care provided means that children do not consistently enjoy a positive day-to-day experience of life at the home. Shortfalls in practice often mean that the needs of these vulnerable children are not met and that they are not consistently protected from harm. Some positive interactions were observed between staff and the children during the inspection, and the approach taken by the registered manager was seen to be particularly caring and nurturing. The children spoken to during the inspection said that they would speak to a member of staff if they had any worries.
p.10
Inadequate
At the last full inspection of the home in May 2016, a recommendation was made that children should be helped to understand the role of an independent advocate and how to access one. There has not been a proactive response to this recommendation. The registered manager has not contacted any local or national organisations to establish the availability of advocacy services in the area. One child has been requesting an independent advocate, and subsequently an independent visitor, since August 2016. Although the registered manager has made the child’s social worker aware of these requests, no firm action has been taken to ensure that the child’s requests are met. Furthermore, the inspectors could find no evidence to suggest that consideration has been given to offering a child the support of an independent advocate during discussion following an incident of physical restraint.
p.10
Inadequate
Several children have made allegations that they have been mistreated by staff. No consideration has been given to offering children the option to address their grievances through use of the complaints system. This is a missed opportunity to address the matters raised and to ensure that the views, wishes and feelings of children are heard. There have been no recorded complaints made by children since the last full inspection.
p.10
Inadequate
There are weaknesses in the care planning process. The registered manager informed inspectors that the strategies in place at the organisation’s school to support one child’s specific needs were replicated at the home. However, the inspectors established that no copy of the assessment report was held at the home and that his individual care plan did not refer to the use of any strategies adopted at the school. This indicates a lack of aspiration for the children and a failure to ensure that they make progress in relation to their specific needs.
p.10
Inadequate
All but one of the children attends the organisation’s school. Staff offer support, encouragement and practical assistance to ensure that they maintain good levels of attendance. A proactive approach has also been taken to ensure that the one child who attends an external education establishment receives an appropriate level of tuition. Children are encouraged to develop their personal interests and hobbies at home, and these are reflected in how some children have personalised their bedrooms. Children currently have no access to a computer or the internet, preventing them from accessing information related to their interests. A computer in the kitchen-diner, intended for children’s use, was not working and in a state of disrepair.
p.10
Inadequate
The home ensures that children can access a range of activities. The one most commonly referred to by the children was swimming. However, the records indicate that children have enjoyed activity-based holidays and one child is currently receiving guitar lessons. Children’s achievements are recognised and celebrated, and a wall in the entrance hall of the home is used to display their certificates of achievement.
p.11
Inadequate
The organisation ensures that children have good access to appropriate therapeutic support. Most children engage positively in the weekly therapeutic counselling that they receive. However, the standard of care that they receive at the home gives a poor message in terms of how they are valued. This has the potential to undermine the positive messages that they receive in counselling. The physical environment is not conducive to the therapeutic ethos described in the home’s statement of purpose and not indicative of children being treated with dignity and respect. Several hazards were identified that compromised the health and safety of the children. This issue is covered further in the health and safety section of this report.
p.11
Inadequate
The support that children receive to manage conflict and develop positive peer relationships is not effective. Children spoken to stated that bullying goes on at the home. One child has a risk assessment which states that he is at high risk of being bullied. There is no specific plan for lowering the risk. The risk assessment only states: ‘Staff to use bullying policy to address issues.’ This does not provide the staff with specific, individualised strategies to follow to prevent further bullying and improve peer relationships. The approach taken has been insufficiently proactive in resolving this issue. No work was undertaken during ‘Anti-bullying week’ and no specialist organisations have been consulted with a view to developing good practice.
p.11
Inadequate
Although clear boundaries and expectations of behaviour are communicated to the children, there have been occasions when staff have not implemented these successfully. For example, a child on a one-to-one staff supervision plan was able leave the home without permission.
p.11
Inadequate
Staff are familiar with the anxieties that children can experience when planning and attending family contact meetings. They generally deal sensitively with these issues and have noted that one child has recently been making comparisons between how little she sees her family compared to other children in the group. It is unfortunate that this is the child who has requested an independent visitor and that this has not yet been achieved.
p.11
Inadequate
Practice is weak relating to the protection of children and ensuring that they do not come to harm. The registered manager is not familiar with some aspects of good child protection practice and does not consistently implement the home’s child protection policy. Senior managers in the organisation have failed to follow the policy and procedures on several occasions. Senior managers do not monitor and challenge the standard of practice at the home effectively and, consequently, shortfalls in the standard of safeguarding practice have become widespread.
p.12
Inadequate
The assessment and management of risk, particularly in relation to children’s individual needs and vulnerabilities, are ineffectual. It was of concern that the registered manager had to ask the inspector what child sexual exploitation meant, despite it being a pertinent issue for one child at the home. Further exploration of this issue identified that the registered manager was not aware of the source of this concern. Consequently, no child sexual exploitation risk assessment has been undertaken. This leaves the child vulnerable to being exploited by other children living at the home who are demonstrating high levels of sexualised behaviour.
p.12
Inadequate
When risk assessments are in place, the strategies contained within them are not consistently implemented in practice. Following an allegation of inappropriate sexual behaviour between children, the strategy for preventing a further occurrence was not to allow the children to sit together. However, in December 2016 staff failed to implement this strategy and a further incident took place. This failure to implement the strategies identified in care plans and risk assessments has resulted in children being able to harm one another.
p.12
Inadequate
Managers and staff do not consistently consider the implications for children’s safety following a serious incident. In November 2016, an exceedingly vulnerable child was absent without permission with other children from the home for a period of 40 minutes. Following this incident, the child’s risk assessment was not reviewed and updated to reflect these new circumstances. Inspectors could not find any evidence that this matter had been discussed with the child in a care coordinator session.
p.12
Inadequate
Since the last full inspection in May 2016, there have been eight occasions when children have been absent from the home without permission. On each occasion, the relevant authorities have been notified in a timely manner and the children have returned after a short period. However, the records of these incidents do not always contain a detailed account of the circumstances. One ‘absent without permission’ form examined by the inspectors does not give any detail about the efforts made by staff to follow and locate the child. It contains no description of what the child was wearing when he left the home. The report records that the child was returned to the home by the police, who engaged in discussion with him about the dangers of running away. The report does not record anything that the child said about this incident. This is indicative of a generally poor standard of record keeping. Insufficient detail in reports has the potential to inhibit effective
p.12
Inadequate
In recent months, there have been periods of high-level disruption in the home, often resulting in children perpetrating acts of aggression and violence towards staff and one another. In October 2016, the home’s independent visitor made reference to ‘contagion’ within the group and questioned whether children were safe, due to the level of violence. A social worker spoken to during the inspection said: ‘I visited one evening. There was a knife and fork fight going on and I had to intervene. It was very volatile.’
p.13
Inadequate
One of the actions taken in response to this situation was to work in partnership with a placing authority to develop an intensive care programme for a child. This programme, which was still in place when this inspection took place, involves removing the child from his peers and caring for him in a one-to-one staffing arrangement. This has resulted in a decrease in the number of violent episodes. However, over Christmas 2016, this plan was varied without consulting the placing authority or undertaking a risk assessment. The child concerned physically assaulted one of his peers during this period.
p.13
Inadequate
Although each child has a behaviour management plan, the strategies adopted have not consistently been effective in reducing the frequency or seriousness of challenging behaviour. Sexualised behaviour between the children is common. A quality assurance manager from one placing authority, when speaking to the inspectors about behaviour management in the home, said: ‘The other children displayed very sexualised behaviour in front of [the child] and we are not convinced that this was well managed by the home.’
p.13
Inadequate
Information provided by the registered manager shows that there have been 120 incidents involving physical restraint of children since the last full inspection in May 2016. Evidence was found during the inspection to demonstrate that not all incidents of physical intervention are recorded as such. This error has not been identified consistently by senior management. One incident report examined by the inspectors clearly makes reference to a physical intervention. Inspectors were informed that this report had been sent to one of the organisation’s service managers, who did not notice that the restraint recording section of the report had been missed.
p.13
Inadequate
The physical restraint of children is not consistently implemented in accordance with the legislative framework. A restraint report from November 2016 indicates that the child concerned was not at risk of injuring himself or others or of causing damage to property immediately prior to the physical intervention’s taking place. It is of concern that the registered manager’s monitoring comments on this report state that the restraint was necessary. This is indicative of a poor understanding of the legislation underpinning the physical restraint of children.
p.13
Inadequate
Evidence was also found that physical restraints are not consistently carried out in accordance with the organisation’s restraint training programme. This programme indicates that staff should not physically restrain a child on their own, yet a physical restraint recorded in December 2016 makes reference to a child being restrained by one member of staff. It is of concern that this child, who is frequently subject to physical restraint, is currently on a one-to-one staffing ratio and is often supervised in the community by just one member of staff
p.14
Inadequate
Children have made a number of allegations that they have been mistreated by staff. The registered manager does not keep a running record of these allegations. Written information provided during the inspection states that there have been no allegations made. This is not the case. Consultation with the designated person at the local authority has not taken place every time that an allegation has been made. This is not in accordance with the process outlined in the organisation’s child protection policy. Furthermore, there have been occasions when the registered manager has interviewed children about their allegations before discussing the issue with the designated officer. This has resulted in some children withdrawing their allegation before the designated officer has been made aware of the situation and had the opportunity to give advice on how the matter should be investigated.
p.14
Inadequate
The child protection policy has not been consistently followed in terms of reporting allegations of abuse to the local authority safeguarding children team. The policy states that there should be no delay in reporting allegations. An allegation of inappropriate sexualised behaviour between two children known to be at risk, which was made in December 2016, was not reported to the local authority until six days after the incident occurred.
p.14
Inadequate
Significant concerns regarding the physical environment of the home emerged during this inspection. In communal areas, inspectors observed a broken light fitting, a wall-mounted fire extinguisher on the floor in the kitchen, a damaged fridge that could no longer store fresh food at a safe temperature and a computer for children’s use with its plastic protective casing no longer in place. Throughout the building, many of the windows would not close securely.
p.14
Inadequate
A number of hazards were identified in children’s bedrooms. These included a working shower cubicle with no door, and another shower cubicle in which the electric fan and light fixture above the shower had come away from their casing. This was left hanging from the ceiling. In one bedroom, the plaster had been gouged from the ceiling in one area. Inspectors were informed that the child climbs on top of a wardrobe to gouge out the plaster. The wardrobe in question had not been fixed to the wall to prevent it falling. Other concerns include the hinge on a bedroom door not being fixed to the wall and damaged furniture with protruding screws. In one bedroom there was a strong, unpleasant smell. The registered manager informed the inspectors that the smell had been present since October 2016, and its source was the bedroom carpet. A new carpet had been ordered.
p.14
Inadequate
Action was taken by the registered manager during the inspection to rectify some of the immediate health and safety risks after these had been identified by the inspectors. However, there has been a clear failure to ensure that children living in the home are consistently provided with a safe environment which protects them from physical harm.
p.15
Inadequate
The home has an experienced registered manager who holds the level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. During this inspection, she did not demonstrate sound knowledge across all aspects of practice and legislation applicable to the role of registered manager. In particular, her understanding of good practice relating to the identification and prevention of child sexual exploitation and knowledge around the statutory provisions for providing children with accommodation were lacking. The registered manager was not aware that, in one case, the home does not have a local authority placement plan giving signed consent from the parent to accommodate the child under section 20 of the 1989 Children Act.
p.15
Inadequate
Systems for monitoring the quality of care being delivered are weak. The registered manager’s monitoring of serious events, such as the physical restraint of children and allegations against staff, has not consistently identified shortfalls in practice and breaches of regulation. Consequently, on some occasions there has been no effective challenge when staff have restrained children inappropriately. Neither has there been challenge when the relevant agencies have not been informed of safeguarding concerns or when there has been a significant delay in reporting these.
p.15
Inadequate
These failings extend to more senior managers within the organisation. On one occasion, a service manager failed to identify that a physical restraint had not been recorded as such. Neither did he report a child’s allegation of assault by a member of staff to the designated person at the local authority. The service managers have not been effective in identifying and taking action to address the serious shortcomings prior to this inspection taking place. There is not a strong culture of learning from mistakes and serious events. In July 2016, another of the organisation’s homes was judged to be inadequate at a full inspection. Many of the shortfalls identified at that inspection were noted during this inspection, six months later. This indicates that learning is not disseminated across the organisation.
p.15
Inadequate
The inspectors were informed by senior managers that they had identified concerns more than a year ago regarding the registered manager’s performance. A number of documents were provided to demonstrate how the registered manager has been supported to improve her performance and the functioning of the home. The evidence gathered at this inspection demonstrates that senior managers’ plans for raising standards at the home have not been effective. Despite this, the registered manager expressed the view that the service manager has provided her with good support to manage the home effectively. This support has not extended to providing timely annual performance appraisals. The registered manager’s appraisal was due in October 2016, but had not yet been undertaken when this inspection took place.
p.16
Inadequate
Leaders and managers do not consistently demonstrate a child-centred approach to accepting new admissions to the home. The standard of assessment regarding the likely impact of new children joining the group is poor. An assessment for a child admitted in July 2016 did not acknowledge that the child was demonstrating high levels of sexualised behaviour. At this time, the established group of children were demonstrating highly disruptive behaviour, much of which was sexualised behaviour towards one another. There is no analysis in the assessment of the likely impact of introducing another child with similar behaviours into the group.
p.16
Inadequate
There has been a high turnover of staff since the last full inspection in May 2016. Seven members of staff, constituting more than half the workforce, have left during this period. This has resulted in children experiencing inconsistency in their lives and impacts negatively on their ability to form attachments. Staff shortages, particularly in relation to waking night staff, have meant that permanent staff have sometimes taken on additional duties. These have included sleeping on the landing overnight outside children’s bedrooms to compensate for the fact that no waking night member of staff has been available.
p.16
Inadequate
The organisation provides a range of training opportunities for staff. Many of the courses available, including safeguarding children, are delivered online. Training records viewed by the inspectors indicate that the registered manager did not complete refresher training on safeguarding and child protection between 2011 and 2016, when she completed the online course. Records also show that, at the time of this inspection, only three out of 14 staff had completed the organisation’s ‘honour-based violence and forced marriage’ training course. Leaders and managers have not consistently ensured that staff undertake training in a timely manner to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge to meet the specific needs of vulnerable children.
p.16
Inadequate
Leaders and managers do not always maintain effective partnership working with placing authorities. A professional from one authority said: ‘We had difficulty in getting full details of incidents. The information provided was not clear.’ Managers have not always ensured that children’s plans are reviewed with placing authorities in a timely manner. This is particularly relevant for one child, who was on an ‘intensive care programme’ at the time of this inspection. In practical terms, this means that he is cared for in a one-to-one staffing arrangement away from the other children. This plan was to be reviewed with the placing authority after four weeks. The child has been on this plan for nine weeks. No review meeting, with a placing authority representative attending, had taken place when this inspection was conducted.
p.16
Inadequate
In recent months, the home has been working towards storing all records electronically. The registered manager sometimes struggled during the inspection to provide inspectors with the documents and reports that were being requested. She was not always able to provide a clear audit trail to demonstrate the response to serious events. No running log is kept of incidents when physical restraint of children has taken place and there is no log of allegations made against staff. Information is not easily accessible. The annex A form requesting information about the home, which was completed by the registered manager during the inspection, contains inaccuracies. These are partly attributable to shortfalls in how information is gathered and stored.
p.17
Inadequate
There has been a failure to notify Ofsted consistently of serious events occurring at the home. Examples were found of allegations against staff not being notified. Neither was Ofsted notified of a referral made to the local authority regarding a child protection matter. This shortfall had not been identified by the senior managers overseeing the performance of the registered manager and is a further example of how monitoring systems fail to identify breaches of regulation.
p.17
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
p.18
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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