Children's Home run by Amicus Residential Care Ltd in Reading

Inspection report children's home: SC059221 1 SC059221 Registered provider: Causeway Care Homes Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is privately run and provides emergency as well as long-term placements for up to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 11 January 2017

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make reasonable progress due to the care they receive.

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 Education is strongly promoted and encouraged by the staff. Inspection report children's home: SC059221 2  The young people are kept safe by the staff.

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 Young people benefit from thoughtful admission processes.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 The manager is lacking appropriate support, guidance and external monitoring in her dual role as registered manager and responsible individual.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Independent monitoring reports and notifications to Ofsted have not been systematically or effectively undertaken.

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/01/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 19/07/2016 Full Good 07/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 01/07/2015 Full Requires improvement . Inspection report children's home: SC059221 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the health and well-being standard the registered person is required to ensure that–

p.3

Requirement Due date

(b) children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being. (Regulation 10(1)(b)) 02/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records for each child which: (b) are kept up to date; and (c) are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(b)(c)) 02/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must without delay notify HMCI of any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers serious. (Regulation 40(4)(e)) 02/10/2017

p.3

Recommendations

 The registered manager should plan staffing levels to ensure that they meet the needs of children and can respond flexibly to unexpected events or opportunities. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.15)

p.3

Recommendations

 Whenever possible, staff in day-to-day contact with children should include staff from different gender groups. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.22)

p.3

Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes Inspection report children's home: SC059221 4 regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

p.3

Recommendations

 A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4) (b). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

p.4

Recommendations

 The registered provider should also ensure that the independent person they appoint has the skills and understanding necessary to relate to children in a home’s care, assess all relevant information and form an impartial judgment about the quality of the home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8)

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

After the home suffered a decline in effectiveness at the interim inspection in March, appropriate steps have been taken by the staff to improve the experience of the young people. The young people are starting to make reasonable progress as a result of the good quality of care provided by the staff. Care is given by an experienced staff team which remains committed to the young people even when they are reluctant to engage.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people feel listened to and can confidently express their views to the staff. Children’s meetings enable their views to be heard, and actioned when possible. Key- working sessions are often held off site, providing young people with quality one-to-one time with staff, without interruptions. Staff also communicate with children’s advocates, which provides an additional resource for gathering the views of young people.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person has been admitted to the home since the last inspection, and this involved a pre-planned process. The manager was able to review key information while undertaking a visit to the young person’s previous placement. In addition, pre-arranged visits to the home enabled the current residents and staff to engage with the young person. Staff received training that prepared them to meet the young person’s needs.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and support the young people to ensure that their health needs are met. Their support includes scheduling appointments, and attending with the young people.When young people refuse to attend certain health appointments, the staff discuss the importance and purpose of the appointments with the young people, and continuously encourage attendance.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The complex needs of the young people are addressed through staff training and frequent consultation with experts. These processes include the reviewing of medication and prompt referrals to child and adolescent mental health services.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are effective at supporting and encouraging young people with education. The majority of the young people have good attendance, which is a good accomplishment Inspection report children's home: SC059221 5 based on their history. Those young people who are not in full-time education receive alternative forms of learning, as staff are proactive in securing alternative provisions. One young person with a history of poor attendance has been nominated for an award by the staff based on how far he has come in relation to his educational starting point.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people benefit from safe and appropriate family contact arrangements. Staff enable young people to spend time with those who are significant to them by facilitating and supervising contact, allowing young people to maintain family ties and develop their cultural identities. Staff are now extensively monitoring the friendships that young people are developing in the community. Through this practice, staff attempt to deter the young people from being negatively influenced.

p.5

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

The young people are safe. Staff have good knowledge of the processes to follow should any safeguarding concerns arise for the young people. All young people confirmed that they feel protected within the home and receive guidance from the staff on keeping themselves safe.

p.5

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

Staff understand the risks associated with the young people. Risk assessments have improved since the last inspection. They correctly identify the risks, and offer a plan of action to combat them. Group risk assessments take into account how young people can potentially affect others in the home.

p.5

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

Records indicated that the manager has taken effective steps to keep a young person safe who has a history of placing himself at risk. Proactive engagement with the placing authority has enabled a deprivation of liberty application to be made on behalf of the young person, and this is being considered by the courts. This process has ensured that precautions are put in place to manage and protect him.

p.5

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

Staff are competent in their ability to manage missing-from-care incidents. They follow the missing-from-care policy and work in partnership with the placing authority and the police. In all instances, young people have returned safely due to staff consistently contacting the young people to ascertain their whereabouts. Staff also put strategies in place to deter future incidents.

p.5

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

The location risk assessment identifies any concern in the local area that could affect the young people. Regular monitoring of health and safety takes place to make sure the home is physically safe and secure. All fire and maintenance checks are completed and documented. Staff and young people are aware of fire procedures, and what actions to take in the event of a fire.

p.5

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

There is no effective structure in place to provide the manager with constructive criticism Inspection report children's home: SC059221 6 in her dual role as responsible individual and registered manager. The manager does not have formal, purposeful supervision that allows her to reflect on her well-being and practice. The lack of formal supervision is preventing the manager from being held accountable and having her decisions challenged, and this contributes to the shortfalls found.

p.5

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

External monitoring of the home is insufficient. Two different independent visitors have conducted visits to the home since the last inspection. Their reports failed to offer a critical analysis of the home that could be considered by the manager. In addition, due to an error in procedures, no reports were submitted to Ofsted for six months.

p.6

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

Significant incidents were not notified to Ofsted. The manager admitted that she failed to report the numerous incidents of high-risk young people going missing that warranted police involvement. The lack of transparency prevented the service from being monitored correctly by Ofsted.

p.6

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

The manager has breached the smoking policy of the home. A young person was seen utilising a vape in the home, as agreed by the manager. There was no reasonable explanation or documentation as to why this decision was made, and it was accepted by the manager as a flaw in judgement.

p.6

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

Insufficient staffing levels have had an impact on the last two full inspections. On this occasion, the inspector had to leave the home for an hour as both members of staff were otherwise engaged. One was involved in the collection of a young person, and the other was attending a meeting. Considering that three young people are currently residing in the home, having two staff on shift does not allow flexibility in the event that an emergency arises. In addition, the manager has still not addressed the need for a diverse staff team that includes both male and female members to care for the three male residents of the home.

p.6

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

The manager completed the majority of the records reviewed on inspection. There is no system in place to ensure that the manager’s work is reviewed, therefore numerous key documents for the young people were not signed and dated.

p.6

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 differences 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, 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.

p.6

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 Inspection report children's home: SC059221 7 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: SC059221 8

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Causeway Care Homes Ltd

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 118B Oxford Road, Reading RG1 7NQ

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Angela MacDonald

p.8

Inspector(s)

James Harmon, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC059221 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.8

Inspector(s)

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, 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 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector(s)

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector(s)

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9