Children's home run by Beaufort Care Group Ltd in Dorset

Inspection report children's home: 1233003 1 Registered provider: Beaufort Care Group

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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 privately owned children’s home is operated by an independent provider, as part of a small group of four services in the south of England. It is registered for two children and young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account:

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Good

How well children and young people are helped and protected Good

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Good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Requires improvement to be good

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Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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Good

Date of last inspection: 14 February 2017

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Good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None. Inspection report children's home: 1233003 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff provide children and young people with nurturing, supportive care. They show a strong commitment to keeping young people at the home. As a result, most children and young people make good progress in the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The home’s managers have worked hard to promote the children and young people’s right to an education. They liaise well with schools to support the children and young people’s needs.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Some young people have unmet care needs. They require an urgent reassessment to inform their care planning. The home's managers have worked assertively with other agencies to take this forward.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The home's managers respond appropriately when it becomes clear that children and young people are incompatible. When children and young people have to move on for safeguarding reasons, the managers support them to do so in a planned way.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff work very hard to engage the children and young people in positive and rewarding activities that promote their health and development.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children's home's areas for development

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Key findings from this inspection

 The home has not matched the children and young people well enough to prevent unhelpful relationships.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The children and young people's behaviour has proved very difficult to manage safely. This has resulted in 31 serious incidents and 25 physical interventions in a 14-week period.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Some notifications sent to Ofsted have lacked important details. Some serious incidents have not been notified at all.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The home has not had access to updated psychiatric assessments for some of the children and young people. This means that it has been impossible to evaluate whether the home can meet their needs.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Some children and young people have caused serious damage to the fabric of the home. It has proved difficult for the maintenance crew to keep up with repairs.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Some of the staff do not yet have the confidence required to work with very complex behaviour. Further training would support them in their work. Inspection report children's home: 1233003 3  The company has generally robust staff recruitment practice, but two files had not been audited to ensure that there were no gaps in employment history. The human resources department remedied this during the inspection.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 24/08/2016 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 1233003 4

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) 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(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— understand the children's home's overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children's needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— understand and apply the home's statement of purpose; provide personalised care that meets each child's needs, as recorded in the child's relevant plans, taking account of the child's background; help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect; help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult; ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to— meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(2)(b)(i)(iv)(v)(vi)(c)(i)).

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to ensuring that:

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Requirement Due date

the care provided is informed by an up-to-date assessment of the child's psychological needs; greater care is taken when matching children whose needs have not been fully assessed; all staff understand the child's needs and have been adequately trained to support them; the quality of the environment is improved to provide a homely and comfortable living space, in which any damage is repaired quickly. 07/07/2017 Inspection report children's home: 1233003 5 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all serious incidents are notified to Ofsted and that the notifications contain all the relevant details of the incident. 07/07/2017

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Recommendations

 Ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, ensure that all new applicants have recorded their employment history in full before they are considered for appointment and that for existing staff, any gaps in employment history are identified and actioned when necessary. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the registered person notifies Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious (40(4)(e)). Examples of incidents that are likely to be considered serious affecting the welfare of a child include: a child being the perpetrator of a serious assault or a serious incident of self-harm. Homes should also consider the frequency of incidents and judge whether their cumulative effect makes notification appropriate, even if in isolation each event would not warrant this. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 63, paragraphs 14.10 and 14.11)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This home was judged good at the full inspection in August 2016. At the interim inspection on 14 February, it was judged to have improved in effectiveness. This was because the home had achieved good outcomes for both of the young people who were placed there at the time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since then, the home has been through a period of turbulence. There have been changes in the population of young people and staff. Some young people’s natural development took them into an emotional stage in their lives. External events also played a part in Inspection report children's home: 1233003 6 destabilising the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

As a result, there have been serious incidents, some of which have been potentially harmful to children and young people and staff. Some of the incidents raised concern in the neighbourhood. There was a brief period when the home was not providing positive outcomes for the children and young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has been rated good because the children and young people’s experiences have been generally positive. The home’s managers took swift and decisive action to resolve the difficulties. They responded appropriately to the deteriorating relationship between two children and young people. Their actions reduced the risks to the residents and helped to keep them safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One of the three children and young people who have lived in the home since the interim inspection was working towards independence. The staff helped him to engage with home tuition, after many years out of education. He obtained a job and achieved his goal of moving on into his own accommodation. The staff helped this young person to overcome major challenges and to turn his life around.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This young person moved out in mid-March, and a much younger child was admitted. The outcomes for this child were not good because, with hindsight, he was not a positive match with his peer. In spite of a risk assessment, the two children and young people proved to be incompatible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The present resident has been in the home for nine months and, for much of this time, she has made good progress. For example, the staff helped the young person to re- establish contact with her mother and sisters. For many years, she had been placed a long distance from her family and it was difficult to keep in touch with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person did not attend school regularly before she came to live in this home. The staff supported her with home tutoring, so that some learning could take place. The home’s managers listened to the young person’s wish to have some company. They obtained a school place for her but, to do so, they had to challenge the education department.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person likes to go out with the staff to participate in constructive activities. She is 'never still' and she enjoys energetic activities and learning new skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person finds the inspection process difficult, but did tell the inspector that she receives good-quality care. She enjoys positive relationships with most of the staff, particularly her key worker. The staff show impressive commitment to supporting the young person through her difficulties. One member of staff described how she has sat with her for hours during the night, when she needed comforting. Her key worker has encouraged the young person to go swimming. This requires great courage for her to overcome her fears.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has advocated, alongside the placing authority, to encourage other agencies to provide essential services for the young person. As a result, the child and adolescent Inspection report children's home: 1233003 7 mental health services (CAMHS) have now agreed to carry out an assessment. This will establish the young person's needs and will inform future care planning. This is nine months into the placement, so to reinforce the importance of an accurate, up-to-date assessment of need, the inspector has made a requirement.

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

The manager and staff work very hard to keep the children and young people safe in this home. The managers write comprehensive, regularly updated risk assessments. These documents provide the staff with detailed strategies to help them respond to the children and young people’s behaviours.

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

The serious incidents placed both children and young people and the staff at risk of harm. The children and young people planned each day's challenging behaviour together. They climbed onto the roof, harmed each other and the staff, and placed themselves at risk by running into traffic on the road. They also inflicted a great deal of damage to the home.

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

Some local residents raised complaints to Ofsted about the conduct of the home. The inspector investigated these concerns as part of this inspection. The home’s managers went to see the neighbours to talk with them about the incidents. They have also taken steps to support the neighbours with any repair work needed, to help improve relationships.

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

Managers made good decisions about the need to protect both the young people. Again, they worked well with the placing authorities to respond to the situation. They successfully challenged a plan to move one of the children and young people to a 28-day disruptor placement, because such a move would have been very damaging for the young person.

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

Senior managers increased the home’s staffing levels to help keep the children and young people safe. The staff kept the children and young people busy with separate activities. The younger child was moved, in a planned manner, to another house operated by the same company. The inspector was told that he has made good progress since he moved.

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

The staff and manager receive regular consultation sessions with a clinical psychologist. These meetings help them to review behaviour management strategies.

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

The current young person has been involved in 23 serious incidents since the last inspection. There have also been 17 restraints. Restraints, which are usually of short duration, are always a last resort. The interim manager monitors all restraints and incidents. She debriefs the staff and the young people to help them to learn from incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The leadership and management of the home requires improvement to be good because the quality of the environment fluctuates. Currently, some parts of the home are badly Inspection report children's home: 1233003 8 damaged as a direct result of the young person's emotional state.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The managers understand that it is important to remedy damage promptly to support the young people’s sense of security and self-esteem. To this end, the young person's previous bedroom has been nicely redecorated after being systematically and repeatedly damaged. The flooring, which was soaked with urine, has been replaced, but the room still has broken windows. The young person’s present room is badly damaged by graffiti. Maintenance is usually one of the company’s strengths, but the sheer volume of damage is exceeding their capacity to repair it.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Some staff, understandably, find it difficult to deal with the complex emotions behind the frequent serious incidents. The young person becomes increasingly heightened, and attempts at de-escalation can be counterproductive. Some staff may benefit from additional specific training to help embed their existing knowledge into practice. The interim manager has already highlighted this as an area of development for the team. This shows that she has insight into the home’s strengths and weaknesses. In response, senior managers are considering increasing access to clinical psychological consultation. This will enable the staff to receive further attachment-based training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The staff usually receive regular supervision, but during recent difficulties, the schedule slipped. The interim manager now has supervision back on track. She has also scheduled appraisals, so there is no recommendation made regarding this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The notifications sent to Ofsted have all been appropriate, although one notification failed to include some important information. The regulatory shortfall is that the manager has not always notified serious incidents to Ofsted. Examples of omissions include incidents when staff received injuries, when there were aggression between the children and young people and attempts at serious self-harm. There was also an incident of racial abuse between children and young people, which was not notified. One incident report (2 April 2017) has not been fully completed. Although there is a degree of discretion for the manager regarding which incidents should be notified, most people would regard these examples as ‘serious’. A requirement and a recommendation have been made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff recruitment practice is generally robust. In some respects, it is exceptionally good. However, there were two staff files that showed apparent gaps in employment history. The manager responsible had not identified or followed this up before the inspection. They remedied this immediately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is now on its third manager since it was first registered in April 2016. Since the interim inspection, the home’s newly registered manager has left. A new interim manager is now in post. These changes are beyond the home’s control. However, this has had an impact on management continuity for the children, young people and the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The new interim manager is experienced in managing staff and working with children and young people in crisis. She holds a qualification at Level 5 in leadership and management. Although she has only been in post for a short time, she already has ideas for the home’s further development. Inspection report children's home: 1233003 9 The new manager is well supported by a very able practice manager. The company’s head office is nearby, and senior managers are always on hand to provide support when needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The interim manager ensures that the home receives effective internal monitoring. The independent visitor visits monthly and writes clear reports, with fair and proportionate recommendations. The manager acts upon these before the next visit, to ensure continuing improvement.

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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 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: 1233003 10

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Beaufort Care Group

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 42 Lytton Road, Barnet, Hertfordshire EN5 5BY

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Jennifer Kendall

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Inspector(s)

Heather Chaplin, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 1233003 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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