Children's home run by Capstone Care Provider Limited in Nottingham

SC404119 Registered provider: Capstone Care Provider Limited

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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 privately owned home that provides care and accommodation for one young person who has 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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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: Not judged

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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

 Staff do not adhere to child protection policies and procedures. They have not promptly reported allegations made by a child against adults working in the home. This means that effective action was not taken to protect the child. Inspection report children’s home: SC404119 2  The manager and staff did not anticipate risk and a child was able to access inappropriate material via digital technology.  Staff who have worked in a children’s home for a number of years do not have the relevant qualifications to inform their practice.  Staff do not demonstrate sufficient knowledge about the complex developmental needs of children.  Staff do not demonstrate an understanding of the particular vulnerabilities and safeguarding needs of the child living in the home.  There are poor quality assurance systems, which mean that the manager and responsible individual do not have an accurate understanding of the quality of

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Key findings from this inspection

care and staff performance.  Partnership working is not effective because care plans are not clear.  Family members have made complaints and professionals have raised concerns. The manager has not responded to these issues effectively.  The concerns identified at this inspection are similar to, or the same as, concerns identified in the last full inspection, which resulted in an inadequate judgement.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The child has good school attendance and is supported well by staff to help him make educational progress.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/03/2017 Interim Not judged 26/04/2016 Full Inadequate 06/01/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 19/08/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC404119 3

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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

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure that children’s needs are met In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must ensure that staff: (d) seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate, having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. 31/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff (i) 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. 31/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard In order to meet the leadership and management standard: (2) The registered person must (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. 31/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

32: Fitness of worker (4) The registered person must ensure (a) that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification by the relevant date. 01/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC404119 4

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Recommendations

 A record of supervision should be kept for all staff, including the manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

This inspection has found that the experiences of children and young people are inadequate due to significant shortfalls in safeguarding practice. Serious failures by staff and managers have left children at risk of harm. The child has been placed in this home following a serious incident at another children’s home that is owned and operated by the same registered provider. The child and involved professionals understood that this was a temporary move. The child did not want to move. Information presented by the manager about this decision, and about care planning for this child, is not clear. This does not demonstrate child-centred planning. Parents report that they are not confident about the care their child is receiving currently. They are unhappy about the decision to move him from his previously settled placement. They believe there is poor communication between themselves and the home’s manager. There are high levels of contact between the child and his family, and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

poor communication is likely to have an impact on the child’s emotional welfare. Parents have also complained about an incident in which a member of staff did not adhere to a clearly stated dietary restriction based on the child’s religion. This incident caused both the child and his parents distress. There have been some difficulties with behaviours in school. Home staff and school staff have liaised to share information about communication needs and strategies to address certain behaviours. This would have been strengthened had information about the change of home been effectively shared with school staff, and had staff observed the child in school. The child has continued to attend the same school. There is good attendance and he is making progress in some areas. The school is some distance from the home, and staff support attendance by ensuring that there are safe and reliable transport arrangements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff prepare for the school journey and have favourite toys and interests ready. This ensures that the journey is a positive experience and supports the child to arrive ready to enjoy the school day. Staff encourage the child to eat a healthy diet and to take regular exercise. In order to support him to make healthy choices, a food diary is in place. There is a difference of opinion between parents and home staff about his diet. This has not been resolved in a Inspection report children’s home: SC404119 5 professional manner. Staff are monitoring and recording weight regularly, but this would be more effective if there was an evaluation of the information and an action plan agreed by all involved. There are weekly consultation sessions, when staff discuss menu choices and plan activities with the child. There is evidence of this child’s views and wishes being captured, including views for planning meetings. However, the child’s very significant

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

view that he does not want to be placed in this home has not been heard. The inspector observed positive interaction between staff and the child after school: staff gently asked about the school day and carefully responded when he did not want to discuss certain topics. There is evidence of established positive relationships. Staff know the child’s likes and dislikes and this helps to support positive communication. Staff support the child to access social opportunities and activities in the community. For example, the child attends swimming and spends time in local parks doing various activities.

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

This inspection has identified serious safeguarding failings. Staff do not adhere to child protection policies and procedures. They do not follow guidance and instruction provided by the registered manager in relation to safeguarding. Staff do not understand procedures in place regarding allegations against adults who work with children. They do not understand the reasons for the procedures and the risks to children when procedures are not followed. As a result, staff have responded poorly to two allegations made against staff by a child. This has left the child at risk of harm. This is particularly concerning, as staff were aware that the child had moved to this home following an alleged significant safeguarding concern in the previous placement. The allegations that have been made are subject to multi-agency investigations and scrutiny. There are plans in place to closely monitor the child while the placing local authority is seeking an alternative placement.

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

External professionals report that they are also concerned that staff have not followed policies and procedures and have not immediately reported allegations that have been made. Some have expressed concern about the safety and welfare of the child in this home. Risk assessments reviewed during the inspection did not include essential information about recent significant risks, such as risks associated with access to digital technology. However, the assessments did include unsubstantiated information about the child making ‘false allegations’, which was likely to be unhelpful to staff in safeguarding the child. Risk assessment and risk reduction plans are of a poor quality. They lack clarity, often repeating information. This also applies to behaviour management plans. Some of the descriptions of behaviours demonstrate a limited understanding of the needs, including Inspection report children’s home: SC404119 6

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

the communication needs, of a disabled child. On one occasion, the child accessed inappropriate adult material, using digital technology, despite risk assessments in place to monitor and support the child. It is clear that what the child viewed had an impact, because he went on to demonstrate some sexualised behaviours. It is a concern that this risk had not been anticipated and that relevant safety filters had not been put in place. The risk assessments, and staff practice, demonstrate that the staff, together with the leadership and management, have failed to understand core child development principles, particularly for a child with complex needs, including sexualised behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

This inspection has identified significant weaknesses that are the same or similar to previous inspection findings. This demonstrates that managers and staff have a limited capacity to improve safeguarding practice. Although some action has been taken to address previously identified shortfalls, such as improving the appearance and décor of the home, safeguarding arrangements are still inadequate. Also, despite the provision of additional training, the skills and knowledge of staff remain inadequate and do not meet the needs of children in residential care. The manager is experienced. She has worked with children and young people for a number of years. She has gained a relevant qualification in leadership and management since the last inspection. The manager takes responsibility for a high degree of direct work with the child. For example, she completes many of the one-to-one sessions with the child and has developed a social story to help him understand puberty. She also

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

assists with routine transport arrangements and completes much of the daily paperwork. She routinely contacts the home when she is not at work to support staff and guide them. However, it is not clear that staff have the skills and knowledge to develop resources and undertake good-quality direct work without considerable support from the manager. This has hindered the manager’s ability to robustly assess the quality of care provided. The manager reported that she is receiving supervision from her manager. However, there were no records for the inspector to review. Without records, it is not possible to assess the quality of support given to the manager. It is also not possible to assess whether the manager is receiving opportunities for personal development or being professionally challenged. Staff lack qualifications and have not received relevant training to inform their practice. This has resulted in a risk of harm to the child. The majority of staff do not have a

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

suitable childcare qualification. Some of the staff who are not qualified have worked for the registered provider for over three years. The arrangements for monitoring and quality assurance are inadequate. The report of the most recent visit by the independent visitor lacked detail and evaluation. Although the manager is auditing records on an almost daily basis and updating information, there remain deficits in risk assessments and behaviour management plans. In addition, staff Inspection report children’s home: SC404119 7 have not adhered to risk and behaviour management plans, despite clear guidance and up-to-date information being available to them. Given that the last full inspection raised concerns about ineffective quality assurance systems, it is a concern that this inspection has identified the same shortfalls. The registered manager and responsible individual should have rigorously reviewed systems

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

to ensure that they provide an accurate assessment of the quality of care being delivered by staff. It is not clear whether the registered manager and responsible individual have a shared understanding of the performance of individual staff and there is no evidence that poor performance is being addressed. This inspection has found that there is poor partnership working. This child has complex needs and a complicated care plan. A decision was made for the child to move in to this home for a short time. This has been extended, but it is not clear why. This has not been challenged by the home manager. The manager is aware of the complaints and concerns raised by parents. She has not requested a meeting to discuss and resolve concerns in the best interests of the child.

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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. 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

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Information about this inspection

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: SC404119 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Capstone Care Provider Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Renewal Trust Business Centre, 3 Hawksworth Street, Nottingham NG3 2EG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Trevor Edinborough

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Inspector

Cathey Moriarty, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC404119 9 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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