Children's home run by Leicestershire County Council in Blaby

Inspection report children’s home: SC043405 1 SC043405 Registered provider: Leicestershire County Council

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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 is a local authority children’s home and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

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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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Declined in effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: SC043405 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home requires improvement to be good because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Since the last inspection, the registered provider, managers and staff have not managed to improve the functioning of the home adequately. The home’s manager remains away from work.  Leaders and managers are not sufficiently aware of the level at which the home is currently functioning. Their monitoring of the quality of care has not picked up on the majority of shortfalls identified at this inspection.  The registered provider has made poor decisions about the admission of one young person. The most recent admission has not been made in the best interests of all young people and has had a negative impact on the care and safety of the young people already living at the home. This has given rise to a significant increase in the level of incidents of challenging and unsafe behaviours.  Young people do not always receive high-quality personalised care to enable them to have new experiences or to feel nurtured.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Important information about identified risks is not always included in young people’s risk assessments. This means that staff do not have all the information they need to keep young people safe.  Activities that young people take part in, such as being transported in the home’s car, are not always risk assessed. This means that consideration has not been given to the potential danger of, for example, transporting a child in a car that has defects.  The registered provider has not ensured that all recruitment information is available for people who work unsupervised in the home. The provider cannot demonstrate how it knows that all members of staff are suitable and safe to work unsupervised in a children’s home.  There have been delays in reporting significant incidents to Ofsted. This has an impact on the regulatory body’s ability to monitor the functioning of the home. The children’s home’s strengths

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Key findings from this inspection

 Despite the shortfalls identified at this inspection, two of the three young people living at the home are making positive progress with their lives. All young people are engaged in education.  The majority of the staff team members are committed to ensuring that young people have a good experience of care and are given opportunities to reach their potential. Staff said that they feel well supported by managers.  Most incidents are well managed. Staff understand young people’s needs and use their skills to bring situations quickly under control.  As a temporary measure, the provider has appointed an interim manager to help with managing the home. The impact of this new arrangement is yet to be Inspection report children’s home: SC043405 3 seen, but it is positive that the provider has identified the need for additional management oversight.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 28/09/2016 Full Requires improvement 11/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 03/11/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC043405 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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who:

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6(1) and (2)(b)(iv)) 07/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

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 ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that staff 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

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. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(i) and (b))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to ensuring that young people’s risk assessments give clear details of all identified risks, and the actions to take to meet their needs and minimise identified risks. In addition, activities that young people take part in, such as car journeys, must be subject to an assessment of risk. 07/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered 07/07/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC043405 5 person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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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

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-b) and (2)(f)(h)) The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14(1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to ensuring that staff can meet the needs of children referred to the home, and that admission practice takes into account the needs of the existing group of children and the child being referred, to ensure that they are compatible. 07/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. This includes obtaining documentary evidence that all the required checks have been obtained for all staff contracted to work at the home. (Regulation 32(3)(d)) 07/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(b) and (e)) 07/07/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC043405 6

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improvement to be good

A judgement of requires improvement has been given due to the number of shortfalls identified, which have had a negative impact on young people’s safety and care. Since the home’s interim inspection in March 2017, improvements in the functioning of the home have been slow.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, one young person has left the home and another has moved in. There has been little consideration of the needs of the current young people living at the home, and those of the new young person and of whether they would be able to live together safely. In addition, there was limited time to have a properly planned transition. The new young person is struggling to settle in, and there has been an increase in significant incidents, including damage to the home, damage to the home’s car, threats to the safety of other young people and missing from home events. Young people who were already living at the home reported feeling uncomfortable and at times fearful. A shortfall in placement matching was identified at the home’s full inspection in September 2016, demonstrating that the provider has failed to sustain improvements made in this area.

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improvement to be good

The home is still not always giving young people good enough, well-planned and good- quality care. For example, during a recent school holiday, poor planning in conjunction with low numbers of staff, disruption caused by a young person and lack of availability of the home’s car meant that young people did not have the opportunity to take part in planned activities or to have new experiences. Although they were active and took part in trips to the park and swimming, this is a missed opportunity and does not demonstrate good enough care. A shortfall in young people receiving personalised care was identified at the home’s last inspection in March 2017. The requirement is repeated.

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improvement to be good

Despite these shortfalls, there are examples of positive practice. The majority of staff have the best interests of young people at heart. There are warm relationships between young people and their keyworkers for the majority of the time. Most staff know young people’s individual needs and personalities well. For example, one member of staff has organised for a young person who has an interest in antiques to go to the ‘Antiques Roadshow’, which he is really looking forward to.

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improvement to be good

Young people all have school placements and, although levels of attendance can fluctuate at times, they all attend regularly. Staff work in conjunction with education providers to monitor young people’s attainment and their experiences at school. One young person is currently sitting his GCSE examinations. Another young person has changed schools to one which is nearer the home. This has been an extremely positive decision. The young person can now walk to school, has more opportunities to engage in extra-curricular activities and has made local friends. This means that the young person Inspection report children’s home: SC043405 7 is more integrated into the local community and is more likely to succeed.

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improvement to be good

Staff work closely with a range of professionals who support them to meet young people’s emotional and psychological health needs. A worker from the child and adolescent mental health services team visits the home regularly to provide advice and support to staff. Staff use this advice on a daily basis to help young people to have a positive day. Some young people are very involved in their own health management plans and access specialist services when they need to. However, some young people are less willing to engage and have refused to engage with annual health assessments, which means that important information about their health may not be known.

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improvement to be good

Important safeguarding information is not always shared appropriately among staff and managers. During a recent visit by an independent person, a safeguarding concern was identified. The visitor passed their concerns on to a staff member, who did not pass the information any further, so members of staff and managers could not act on this information. In addition, during a recent significant incident involving a young person trying to harm themselves, the home’s interim manager and responsible individual were only made aware of the incident by the inspector during the inspection, despite a senior manager being made aware of the incident the day after the event. When lines of communication are not clear, there is the potential for information to be lost and for staff to give inconsistent care as a result.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s assessments and plans do not always reflect their needs. For example, after an episode of fire setting, a young person’s risk assessment was not updated to reflect this incident. This demonstrates that staff are not provided with written guidance to enable them to identify possible warning signs and triggers and implement strategies to prevent or minimise risk. In addition, staff do not always consider young people’s safety prior to carrying out activities. For example, the home’s car was used to transport a young person, despite it having faults, and no assessment of risk was made. Although in both these examples young people have not come to any harm, there is the potential for inconsistent practice or poor care as a result.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment practice is generally safe. However, at the last inspection, a shortfall was identified in relation to lack of recruitment information held in the home about a member of domestic staff. Although some recruitment information is now held, it is not sufficient to demonstrate that suitable checks have been carried out to ensure that this person is safe to have unsupervised contact with young people. This requirement is repeated.

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improvement to be good

There has been a rise in young people going missing from care. Staff are aware of the protocol that should be implemented if a young person goes missing and they follow this well. On their return, young people are offered food and a warm drink and encouraged to talk about where they have been, if they want to. Positive behaviour is promoted through positive reinforcement, although one young person is struggling to adapt to living at the home. There is a significant drop in incidents of challenging behaviour for Inspection report children’s home: SC043405 8 the other two young people, in relation to their starting points.

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

The manager remains away from work, and this has had an impact on how the home functions, as a key figure in the home’s management structure is missing. Concerns identified at this inspection demonstrate that leaders and managers are struggling to improve the functioning of the home. Shortfalls identified in the quality of care have not been identified by management monitoring systems, and managers are not always completely aware of what is happening at the home. As a temporary measure, the provider has appointed an interim manager to help in managing the home. This is in conjunction with the responsible individual and the home’s two assistant managers. It is positive that the provider has recognised the need for further management oversight. However, the impact of this new arrangement is yet to be seen.

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

The provider has an action plan, which leaders and managers have been working towards, to improve the functioning of the home. As a result, the majority of the five requirements and two recommendations made at the previous inspection are met. However, two remain unmet and a further four requirements have been made.

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

Health and safety in the home have improved: trailing wires and the overuse of extension leads are no longer a risk. There is now a better system in place to ensure the safe administration of medication, resulting in less risk of mistakes being made. Fire safety systems have been given a greater priority, which has resulted in young people, staff and visitors being safer. Staff are now more knowledgeable about the home’s computer systems so that any information held on a central database can be transferred to young people’s plans when needed. Staff have had the opportunity for training in autism awareness and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender awareness. The provider is sourcing further opportunities for staff to have substance misuse and self-harm training. This will enable staff to have a better knowledge and skills to meet young people’s needs.

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

Despite the current challenges at the home, staff said that they feel well supported by the management team. Since the interim manager has started working, staff have had more regular one-to-one supervision sessions. This better enables them to reflect on their practice.

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

Some reports have not been sent to Ofsted within the required timescales, including the independent visitor’s monthly reports and six-monthly review of quality of care. Notifications of significant incidents are not always sent to Ofsted without delay, as required by regulation. This impacts on the ability of the regulator to monitor the functioning of the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC043405 9

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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 whom 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: SC043405 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Leicestershire County Council, Chief Executive, County Hall, Leicester Road, Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8RA

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Inspector

Catherine Honey, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC043405 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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