Children's home run by Jamores Limited in Bexley

Requires improvement

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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because:

 A high-risk young person was admitted to the home without an appropriate risk assessment, placing staff and other young people at risk.  The liberty of one young person was restricted without the knowledge of his placing local authority or his parents.  Levels of missing-from-care behaviour are high and managers fail to evaluate these behaviours and plan effective interventions.  Staff do not follow the restraint policy in full after episodes of restraint.  The registered manager does not receive regular supervision from his line manager, which prevents a full assessment of the weaknesses and challenges in the home.  Not all staff have the required first aid certification. This lack of training poses a potential risk to young people.

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The children’s home strengths

 Staff are committed to helping young people achieve positive change and to improving outcomes.  Young people form relationships with staff and make progress in education.  Feedback from placing professionals and parents is positive. They commend staff for ‘doing their best with difficult young people’.  Managers understand the outcome of the inspection and are committed to addressing requirements and recommendations.

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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

The registered person must ensure that: (c) any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises: (iv) allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe.(Regulation 21(c)(iv)) 15/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

(3) The registered person must ensure that: (c) Within 5 days of the use of a measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(c)) 15/02/2017

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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. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) 15/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

(2) The registered person must ensure that: (a) at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification.(Regulation 31(2)(a)) 15/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

14: The care planning standard In order to meet the care planning standard with particular reference to appropriate admissions to the home: (2) The registered person is required to ensure that: (a) children are admitted to the home only if their needs are with the range of needs for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation. 15/02/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 Accept placements for children when they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, and when they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. ('Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Recommendations

 Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents in which children go missing from the home. (Regulation 36, Schedule 3 (14)). This information should be shared with the placing authority and, where appropriate, with the child’s parents. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge of staff, or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.31)

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Information about this children’s home

 The home is a privately owned home, registered to care for up to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Requires improvement

This is a new children’s home. The home was registered in September 2016 and became operational on 17 November 2016. The home is comfortable and well maintained. At the time of this inspection, the home had been operational for less than a month. Two young people have been admitted to the home since registration. Both were missing from the home during the inspection and were therefore unable to express their wishes and feelings.

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Requires improvement

One young person’s placement was inappropriate and outside of the remit of the home as recorded in its statement of purpose. Managers failed to assess fully the high level of risk and the impact of the placement on the young person already resident in the home. The young person has a history of going missing and is subject to a court order restricting his liberty. His arrival disrupted the progress of the existing young person. The high-level needs of both young people resulted in high levels of staffing in the home. Given the size of the building, this meant that the home did not offer a warm, family-style environment.

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Requires improvement

During the current absconding incident, the young person subject to an order restricting his liberty was met by accomplices who threatened care staff. Staff had not informed the parents of the young person or the placing authority of the other child about the locked front doors and the subsequent restriction of liberty for the relevant young people. All of these factors posed a significant risk to staff and young people.

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Requires improvement

Feedback from professionals is positive and there is evidence of multi-agency work. One placing social worker commented, ‘They are doing their best with challenging young people.’ Professionals confirm that staff support young people in attending appointments and seek to share behavioural management techniques. This helps to ensure consistency and promote positive outcomes. Feedback from parents is equally positive, and they report regular contact and a good exchange of key information. One parent commented, ‘I was really impressed by the help they gave him to get into education. Nobody has achieved that before.’ Young people show signs of engagement in education. The use of daily planners and good use of financial incentives offer structured routines and effective motivational strategies to engage young people in education. In the absence of formal education provision, staff pressed the local authority for tutorial support and

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Requires improvement

used their initiative to explore the internet for learning materials. One young person sustained 80% attendance at college in the two-week period before he went missing from the home. His teacher reported ‘excellent updates and daily communication’ from staff. Attendance was monitored on a daily basis. On ascertaining that gang affiliations may present risk on a particular route to school via public transport, the home provided extra funding for an alternate route in order to ensure a risk-free journey to school. Staff strive to offer activities and positive choices to young people. This is achieved by regular and effective key-working sessions. On ascertaining that a young person had a specific interest in music, staff obtained extra funding to subsidise recording- studio sessions. This offered an opportunity for the young person to explore a specialist interest and had the positive result of the young person engaging with

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Requires improvement

staff and building a trusting relationship. Case recordings show that young people engage positively in the preparation of meals both for themselves and for staff.

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Requires improvement

There has been one allegation made by a young person against staff. This was dealt with promptly by managers and is presently being investigated by the host local authority. Ofsted was notified of this incident. Managers have introduced a development plan and identified further training for the staff member concerned.

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Requires improvement

One restraint has occurred in the home. The recording did not evidence any consultation with the young person concerned or any record of their wishes and feelings. The restraint record offers only the staff perspective on events. Consequently, strategies for avoiding repetition have not been fully evaluated . T here is evidence of some positive behavioural management techniques and de- escalation. Staff display a keen understanding of young people’s behavioural triggers to help reduce anger outbursts. When young people barricaded themselves into the living room area of the home, staff handled the situation calmly and gave young people ten minutes to leave the area prior to the electricity being turned off. Young people acknowledged this and followed staff direction.

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Requires improvement

Missing-from-care episodes are high. Despite an in-depth risk assessment and three staff being present, one young person absconded from the home. The other young person has been missing on two occasions and absent on a further six occasions. Staff respond well to missing-from-care incidents. On the young person’s return, an independent return-to-care interview was provided. This offered the young person concerned an important window to voice his wishes and feelings. Case files indicate that staff behave proactively during incidents. For example, a car registration plate was noted and the information was passed on to police. However, effective evaluation of these statistics by managers is lacking. Therefore, the home is unable to propose alternative strategies to combat this risky behaviour. Young people enjoy safe access to the internet in the home. Controls over the internet provision stop any access to inappropriate websites from the home. Key-

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Requires improvement

work records show that staff advise and guide young people regarding the dangers presented by the internet and social media.

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Requires improvement

Staff prioritise healthy living. Weekly menus reflect a healthy, balanced diet. Advice on smoking cessation is on offer. Young people enjoy good access to primary care resources, such as the local general practitioner and dentist.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager was approved during the registration process of the home. He is a qualified social worker with a level 4 qualification in management. He has over 16 years’ experience in residential settings. The manager is supported by a deputy manager who has over 12 years’ experience in residential settings and is due to enrol on the level 5 qualification at the conclusion of his probationary period. Regular formal supervision of the registered manager is weak. His last direct supervision session occurred in September, leaving him without formal support and guidance at a crucial period for the home. Managers recognise the shortfalls outlined in this inspection and are committed to ‘tightening things up and improving outcomes’.

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Requires improvement

The admissions procedure requires strengthening and revising. Despite the inappropriate referral being refused in the first instance, it was later approved by senior managers above the registered manager following a second referral. The statement of purpose was revised during the inspection. It now offers clear guidance on the admissions procedure, staff qualifications and the ability of the staff team to meet the needs of young people.

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Requires improvement

Managers are presently building a permanent staff team via ongoing recruitment. Recruitment is safe and conducted with full verification of employment history and references. This helps to ensure the safety of young people. Despite recent events, staff report morale is strong and the staff team is beginning to bond. Staff report strong leadership and support from managers who role-model positive care practices with young people.

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Requires improvement

Staff report a broad range of training, both online and classroom based. At present only two staff members have the required first aid training. This represents a possible risk to young people and a gap in the knowledge base of the staff.

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Requires improvement

Case files show good management oversight of risk assessments and evaluation of behavioural incidents. Given the short nature of the placements, managers work proactively with staff and young people to ‘unpick’ behaviour and try to introduce more appropriate coping mechanisms for young people and interventions for staff.

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Requires improvement

Managers advocate for young people effectively. They recently obtained extra funding for clothing for one young person. Managers challenge issues of drift and delay effectively. They pushed a local authority to convene an urgently required professionals meeting. This meeting was required to ensure an effective and coordinated response to a young person who was missing from care, in order to keep him safe.

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Requires improvement

Managers are attempting to engage with the local community. Efforts have been made to contact the local police community support officer and local services for young people. This will broaden the range of experiences on offer and improve outcomes.

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Requires improvement

Managers ensure that the home is a safe and well-maintained environment. Risk assessments are completed satisfactorily. An update to local area risk assessment gives staff clear information regarding gang affiliations and crime levels in the local area.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children’s home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children’s home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children’s home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of children looked after is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place. However, the children’s home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children’s home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or that result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children’s home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference that adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people 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 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased 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

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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