Children's Home run by Idem Living Limited in Somerset

Inspection report children’s home: SC489223 1 SC489223 Registered provider: Idem Living Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This service is operated by a private organisation. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. Since the last inspection, only one young person has lived in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

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

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children’s home: SC489223 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is inadequate because

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Key findings from this inspection

 The safeguarding practice of staff across all levels of the service is poor. Leaders, managers and staff failed to act in response to a serious allegation made by a young person about a member of staff.  The organisation’s safeguarding policy was not followed, and leaders and managers failed to report the allegation to the designated officer, the placing authority and Ofsted as required.  Some of the young person’s behaviours place him and staff at significant risk of harm. Boundary setting about what is safe and acceptable is starting to improve. However, this needs to improve further.  Risk assessments do not always reflect what is expected by the placing authority in order to keep the young person safe. This weakness does not enable staff to provide continuity and consistency of care.  Leaders and managers’ monitoring, scrutiny and evaluation of some of the home’s records lack rigour.  The young person is not attending school and has minimal alternative

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Key findings from this inspection

education. Although life skills such as cooking are completed, there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that staff are engaging the young person in suitable structured activities that promote his educational development.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young person says that he feels safe living at the home. He has good opportunities to share his worries with others and feels confident to talk with staff and his social worker.  Positive feedback was received from the young person and his social worker about his progress to develop independent life skills. The young person said, ‘I can cook now.’ A social worker said, ‘He’s definitely moved forward and he’s engaging more with the staff.’  Staff are provided with a comprehensive placement plan that is regularly reviewed and updated.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/09/2016 Full Good 08/02/2016 Interim Not judged Inspection report children’s home: SC489223 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure-

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non- attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (2) (a) (viii)) 18/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on-

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour.

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure:

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour.

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding.

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practice skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone. 18/07/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC489223 4 communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1) (a) (b) (c) (2) (a) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v)) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to-

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm.

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Requirement Due date

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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare and

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Requirement Due date

be familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies.

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Requirement Due date

ensure 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.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. In particular, ensuring the hazards in the rear garden are removed.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (2) (a) (i) (iii) (v) (vi) (vii) (b) (d) (e)) 28/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that:

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the 18/07/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC489223 5 registered person to-

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (a) (2) (a) (e) (f) (h)) After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home, and so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of a fire. (Regulation 25 (1) (a)) 18/07/2017

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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)) 18/07/2017

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Recommendations

 Ensure that any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and circumstances of the restraint into account. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, and paragraph 9.60)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. This applies to a wide range of records that are kept by the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, and paragraph 14.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Inspection report children’s home: SC489223 6 A serious safeguarding concern that was not managed by the staff, leaders or managers was identified during this inspection. This significant weakness does not ensure that young people are protected and their welfare is promoted effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The current young person is positive about living in the home; he states that he likes living there and feels safe. He states that he loves the activities and ‘gives 10/10 for these’. He is confident to speak with staff if he is worried and also with his social worker. Staff help the young person to keep in touch with his family and others who are important to him. A social worker gave positive feedback and said, ‘My perspective is that things have been positive for the young person, and there has been progress since his starting in the home; this needs to continue to build.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff encourage the current young person to develop independent living skills. At the time of the inspection, the young person was helping staff to lay the table for the evening meal, make a cup of tea, and use the washing machine. The young person is in good health and staff ensure that he has access to specialist help and support as required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The current young person is not in full-time education and is refusing to attend school. Although leaders and managers have challenged education providers, the young person is receiving minimum structured education. The outcome following a recent planning meeting is for him to return to full-time education, but no date has been set for his return. In addition, leaders and managers have failed to keep a detailed record and an evaluation of the suitable structured activities that are in place to promote his educational development. Life skills such as cooking and managing personal care are supported.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Leaders, managers and staff have failed to respond effectively to a serious child protection concern. They have not followed the organisation’s safeguarding policy and have not alerted the designated officer, the local authority and Ofsted of this serious concern. The referral to the designated officer was not made until prompted by this inspection.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Despite a detailed safeguarding policy being in place, staff and managers have not demonstrated a good working knowledge of this document. It is not evident that all staff have read the policy. The safeguarding policy refers to additional statutory guidance being made available to staff in the home. This includes ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children, March 2015’ and ‘What to do if you are worried a child is being abused, 2015’. Neither of these documents could be located by the manager or by the quality assurance and compliance manager.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Some of the behaviours that have recently been exhibited by the current young person place him and staff at risk of serious harm. These behaviours include: throwing stones Inspection report children’s home: SC489223 7 and bricks at staff; causing damage to the home’s environment; spraying aerosol in a staff member’s face; accessing the house and car keys from staff; driving the car in the driveway; and threatening self-harm. A more recent incident necessitated the police being called to assist in the management of this behaviour.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Leaders, managers and staff state that previously, boundaries about what is safe and which behaviours are acceptable have not been implemented firmly. They state that these are now being applied more effectively and with more consistency. However, this practice needs to improve further as incidents where the young person has obtained the house or car keys have occurred on four occasions.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Leaders and managers gather data on incidents, consequences and rewards. The data is then evaluated to look for triggers and trends. Further work is needed to use the information from this analysis to inform behaviour management strategies and reinforce effective boundaries.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Although risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated, leaders and managers have not ensured that they are all clear and explicit. An example is that they do not align with the placing authority’s requirements on the young person’s access to the internet. As a result, staff are not supervising the young person when they should be.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not ensured that all staff have received fire drill training. This refers specifically to the most recently appointed member of staff.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Since the previous inspection, there has been an increase in the use of restraint. Records pertaining to the use of restraint are maintained in line with the regulations. The manager audits these records to ensure that the interventions were appropriate. However, not all records clearly evidence that the views of the young person have been obtained in respect of the measure used. All staff have received training in de-escalation and restraint.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

The young person has not been missing since he started living at the home. This is a positive outcome as previously this was regular behaviour for this young person.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

The interior of the home is safe and well-maintained. The majority of items that present hazards for young people who may self-harm have been made safe. However, a damaged shed remains in the garden and may pose a risk to the young person. Inspection report children’s home: SC489223 8

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not ensured that there is a strong and effective safeguarding culture in the home. They have failed to follow safeguarding procedures and ensure that allegations or suspicions of harm are shared with the appropriate agencies, including Ofsted. In addition, they have failed to ensure that staff have a robust understanding of, and follow, safeguarding procedures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The service lacks continuity and consistency in the leadership and management of the home. A registered manager was in post in February 2016, but resigned in May 2016. Another manager was appointed in June 2016 and resigned shortly afterwards. A manager was appointed in August 2016 and she became the registered manager in February 2017. However, she resigned in March 2017. The current manager who was previously the deputy manager of the service was appointed following the registered manager’s resignation and is in the process of submitting her application to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers’ monitoring, scrutiny and evaluation of some records lack rigour. This is particularly evident in the ‘behaviour log’ and ‘daily records’. Staff have recorded child protection concerns in these records but have failed to include sufficient information about the concern. The manager failed to identify the weaknesses in these records and lack of action taken by staff to manage the child protection concerns. In addition, staff and managers are failing to record important discussions with others involved in the care of the young person to provide evidence for action taken or good practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive a detailed placement plan that provides them with information about how to meet the young person’s needs. The plan is regularly reviewed and updated, and includes information about the young person’s progress in meeting the aims and objectives of the plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive regular supervision. They state that they feel listened to and supported by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers ensure that there is a robust approach to the selection and safer recruitment of staff.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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 Inspection report children’s home: SC489223 9 children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC489223 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Newlands, 1a Huyton Hey Road, Liverpool L36 5SE

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Inspector

David Kidner, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC489223 11 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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