Children's home run by Castle Homes Limited in North Northamptonshire

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 senior management review to understand and address previous safeguarding failings is under way but not yet fully completed.  Care staff have undergone some training and development in a range of safeguarding topics, including how to escalate their concerns when the responses of managers and leaders are insufficient.  Training, support and guidance have been provided for leaders and managers to address their failure to apply the organisation’s procedures to manage poor staff performance and conduct issues. These failings have not yet been fully understood and the necessary development of leaders and managers in this regard is incomplete.  Staff have undergone training and development to improve their understanding of child sexual exploitation and how to improve their professionalism and objectivity. However, the impact of this process has not yet been established.  Although there are mechanisms in place aimed at listening to the views and

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because:

expressed opinions of the young people, these did not capture their expressions in relation to the failings in relation to their safeguarding. These still require review.

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The children’s home’s strengths

 Leaders, managers and staff demonstrate a willingness to learn lessons and effect the necessary improvements.  The positive and constructive manner in which senior managers within the organisation have responded and the resources they have allocated to address the issues, contribute significantly to the programme of improvement.  Managers and staff have remained focused on the needs and well-being of the young people during a turbulent period. This has helped these young people to resettle and make progress.

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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

12: In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person is required to: (2)(a)(iii) ensure that staff have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; (2)(a)(v) ensure that staff understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(vi) ensure that staff take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(vii) ensure that staff are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. 30/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person must enable, inspire and lead a culture in the home that:

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Requirement Due date

(1)(a)(b) helps children to aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare. (2)(a) ensures that the home is led and managed in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

(2)(c) ensures that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

(2)(f) ensures that the registered person understands 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. 30/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive 30/04/2017 practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Recommendation

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

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Recommendation

 The registered person must seek ways to increase the homely and nurturing atmosphere and environment of the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is managed and run by a private provider. It offers care and accommodation for up to six children with emotional and/or behavioural needs.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 16/11/16 Full Inadequate 08/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/12/2015 Full Good 25/02/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Requires improvement

The consequences of the serious safeguarding incident, explored at the last inspection, had a negative effect for the young people, resulting in disruptive and challenging behaviours. Key persons connected to the disruption in the home have left. The effects of their absence, as well as the disruption caused to the care of the young people, still linger and continue to hinder the progress and well-being of the young people. There is still work to complete in order to convince the young people of the staff’s ability to keep them safe.

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Requires improvement

Despite the difficulties experienced, some young people have made progress and their unwanted behaviours are reducing. Their engagement with staff and learning has improved and a calmer atmosphere is becoming established.

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Requires improvement

During this inspection, the young people presented as more contented and relaxed. Positive and supportive relationships and interaction between the young people and staff are evident. Staff are responsive and show interest in the details of young people’s daily experiences.

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Requires improvement

All of the young people are engaged in learning and education, in accordance with their individual needs, and are making satisfactory progress. Their life experiences continue to expand and positive memories are built through involvement in a wide range of activities outside of the home.

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Requires improvement

The home is well maintained and bedrooms are highly individualised and vividly reflect the interests of each young person. The dining room is a social hub in the home but is lacking in connection with the young people who live there, through, for example, photographs, planned activities and art work. The staff office and registered manager’s annex occupy a large, central part of the downstairs living area. This arrangement detracts from the homely, family feel to the home.

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Requires improvement

The good health and development of young people are systematically addressed through routine health checks and access to therapy and specialist health services when required.

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Requires improvement

Young people are helped to have safe and beneficial contact with their families because staff are vigilant and supportive. They make careful arrangements. Staff intervene when young people’s safety or well-being becomes compromised and are supportive when adults fail to keep to arrangements. Judgement grade

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Requires improvement

Risks to the young people’s safety and welfare remain while all staff’s competence and skills in relation to their safeguarding duties are not yet fully understood by leaders. The management review of the previous serious safeguarding incident is stated to include a skills and training audit of the responsible individual, the registered manager and the staff team. The full process of this, as well as understanding how the previous culture developed, and learning lessons from it, is not yet complete.

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Requires improvement

Some immediate safeguarding training and guidance is under way. Most staff have undergone further blanket training and development in respect of child sexual exploitation, safe and ethical practice, safeguarding procedures and whistle- blowing. This training provision has not been reviewed in order for leaders to be satisfied of its quality. Neither has its impact been evaluated. The registered manager does demonstrate an improved understanding of working in partnership with external safeguarding agencies when concerns arise. She demonstrates that she is more readily confident to alert and involve other agencies, including her own organisation’s safeguarding and disciplinary procedures.

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Requires improvement

Young people are now able to supply the staff with their views and thoughts about their care and experiences, by way of a suggestion box. While this provides the young people with an additional means of communication, it does not address the previous failing of actively listening to, and understanding the concerns that the young people were trying to raise. Additional work, in developing staff’s and managers’ understanding of the need to consider and analyse the feedback from the young people more rigorously, is vital to ensure the young people’s continuing protection.

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Requires improvement

Updated and comprehensive individual risk assessments, signed by all members of staff, provide improved guidance, and early warning signs and strategies, for risk management and risk reduction. Rigour in following missing from home procedures has been maintained. These practices are helping the staff to keep the young people safe on a day-to-day basis and reduce risks.

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Requires improvement

Adequate levels of the supervision of the young people, adherence to routine health and safety checks, good levels of maintenance and a meaningful locality risk assessment, currently assist in helping to keep the young people safe. Judgement grade

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Requires improvement

Serious safeguarding failings resulted in two compliance notices being issued from the previous inspection, in respect of the organisation’s safeguarding practices and its leadership and management. The resulting action plan is comprehensive but it lacks depth and rigour in places. It is focused upon the provision of additional safeguarding training and guidance for the staff prior to completing a full audit of the team’s strengths and weaknesses. It does not sufficiently focus upon understanding the previous dynamics and culture of the home, in order to guard against repeated failings. Nor does it explore the individual competencies of staff and managers to reliably inform their individual training and development plans.

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Requires improvement

Leaders, managers and care staff display different levels of resolution around the previous failures in safeguarding practice and leadership. Varying degrees of guilt, a sense of failure, anger, blame and denial were identified during this inspection. These variances affect the readiness of the staff to resolve issues adequately and learn important lessons. The blanket approach towards much of the staff training and development so far has not taken these factors into account.

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Requires improvement

Despite these shortcomings, staff cohesion and morale have improved and a determination to improve practice is evident. One member of staff said, ‘The team is closer, everyone is more open and willing to express concerns.’ The registered manager displays an increased sense of authority and clarity regarding her role and a renewed awareness of her statutory responsibility and accountability.

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Requires improvement

There is a new structure for staff supervision. Most, but not all, staff have had a supervision session with an outside professional to enable greater freedom to express any concerns they may have. The new supervision arrangements have got off to a positive start but are yet to become embedded.

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Requires improvement

Mechanisms and procedures have been introduced to avoid delays in communicating significant concerns with placing and other authorities. There is clear evidence to show a significant improvement in liaison with external agencies and the recording of this communication.

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Requires improvement

The regulation 44 independent visitor made little impact upon the home and a negligible contribution to the identification, addressing and understanding of the identified failures. A replacement is being sought. Leaders and managers demonstrate a strong desire to affect the required changes. Sufficient progress has been made in response to the regulation 12 compliance notice. Elements of the compliance notice in respect of regulation 13 are repeated because significant areas of weakness remain.

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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 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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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