Children's Home run by Stanfield Care Services Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 1 SC451152 Registered provider: Stanfield Care Services 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 home provides care and accommodation for up to four children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned by a private organisation.

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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

Date of last inspection: 25 January 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 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

 Placement decisions are not based on a comprehensive risk assessment of the impact that the child will have on the existing children who live at the home.  The number of missing from home incidents remains high, and a number of return interviews have not been carried out.  There are areas of the home that are neither clean nor well maintained.  There are staff vacancies and agency staff are used to fill any gaps in the rota. A number of the core staff are not widely experienced or yet qualified.  Two allegations regarding staff have not been reported in accordance with the home’s policy.  There are aspects of the environment and some resources that are not consistent with the home’s statement of purpose.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff actively encourage the children’s attendance and engagement in education.  The children build emotional resilience and coping strategies; self-injurious behaviours have reduced.  There is a homely atmosphere and a good rapport between the staff and the children.  The staff are enthusiastic and enjoy the collective effort of working as a team.  The home has an experienced and organised manager who addresses concerns and challenges responses from other professionals and local authorities.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/08/2016 Full Requires improvement 16/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/06/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 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

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 and use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to 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(2)(c)(i)) 31/12/2017

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff ensure the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(d)) This is with particular regard to ensuring that food is stored safely. 28/07/2017

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(vii)) In particular, implement the allegations policy. 28/07/2017

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure 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. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)) 28/07/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 4 In particular, implement robust impact risk assessments that consider group dynamics and risks of influential behaviours and risks pertinent to each child. The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the

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Requirement Due date

registered person to 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. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(a)) This is in regard to providing a vehicle for the home. 31/12/2017

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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 helps children to aspire to their full potential and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child and ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(c)) 30/09/2017

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Recommendations

 Ensure that, when a child returns to the home after being missing from care, or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority enables the home to take account of information provided by return interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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improvement to be good

The quality of care and outcomes for children are variable. There are no serious failures, although a number of shortfalls have affected the quality of the care provided. These shortfalls include a new placement decision, low numbers of staff, some of whom have little experience, and a failure to follow the home’s allegations policy. The children are settled again following a period of instability that lasted six weeks. A new placement admission resulted in an unplanned ending for one child and a significant Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 5 disruption for the existing group of children. The admission impact risk assessment used to make a decision about a new placement included details of the child’s history and identified risks. However, there was no analysis of the risk or the potential influence on the existing children. The home benefits from a pleasant and tranquil location on the outskirts of the town.

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improvement to be good

The children can easily access the amenities and enjoy the rural surrounding. Large, paved areas skirt the house. These areas are not kept well; weeds are in abundance and there is some smoking debris and some discarded household items. The barbeque area is used as a smoking shelter and there is discarded smoking debris on the ground. The lounge, dining room and bedrooms have been repainted and have a light and fresh feel. The hall, kitchen and bathroom are dark, with tired and dated decor. Glass cupboard fronts have been removed for safety reasons and not replaced. The environment does not provide a high standard of accommodation as described in the home’s statement of purpose. The integrated appliances used for the preparation and storage of food are old, broken and dirty. There is a residue of food spills in the oven and uncovered meals are stored in the oven overnight. The microwave is dirty and stained with bubbled metal on the

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improvement to be good

interior shell. The sandwich toaster is covered in old melted cheese and stored in a food cupboard with onions and tinned food. The kitchen fridge has no shelves left in the door, one shelf remains inside the fridge. Food is piled in an ad hoc manner, uncovered and unlabelled. There are food remnants in the bottom of the fridge and spillages on the interior white surround. Although, when pointed out, the staff cleaned this immediately, this does not provide hygienic arrangements for the preparation and storage of food, and fails to teach the children how to safely store and prepare their own meals. The relationships between the children and the staff are a real strength. There is an upbeat and relaxed atmosphere at the home. The office is part of the house, children use this space to talk to staff and access the computer to check social media. There is mutual respect; the children compromise with the staff and wait for their quality time or

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improvement to be good

staff support. This demonstrates an awareness of others. The children feel that the staff are there for them always, and that the staff genuinely care for them. The children are balanced about the positives and negatives of living at the home. A child said, ‘The staff are really good and understand me.’ Another child said, ‘The staff are brilliant. They have moved me into a new bedroom with a new carpet, and they do a lot for me. Two days a week we actively search for jobs. I have secured a zero-hours contract job locally, using the staff’s local knowledge.’ This supports the children as they move towards independent living. The staff actively support the children’s full-time education, further education and paid employment. There is a defined daily routine, and the children are given incentives for attendance and effort. The children benefit from a predictable structure to the day. Two of the children are in full-time education. One child has been in school for six weeks and

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improvement to be good

this is going well. Another child is attending work experience arranged by the school, and maintaining a placement at a mainstream school. The home works closely with the school’s pastoral staff, who inform the home when the children have difficulties at school. The children show maturity and resilience as they plan for further education and consider their future employability. Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 6 Each child has an activity planner and is encouraged to engage in activities that support their interests. There is some uptake. The staff have created group events with the children at the home. For example, the staff organised a family barbeque during which the children were able to enjoy social time with their families. Photographs capture moments with family in the rural grounds, providing a visual recollection and a memory. The grounds provide ample space to be outside and there is a trampoline, which

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improvement to be good

encourages physical outdoor activity. The children access psychological health support from specialist workers. The children have regular visits from child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) workers and specialist workers, to support their specific vulnerabilities. The staff identify triggers and offer intervention prior to some incidents. The staff are vigilant and supportive in helping the children to increase their emotional stability and to access support. The staff have been successful in reducing self-injurious behaviour. There are two children who live a significant distance from their homes and families. The children’s home is within reach of public transport, but there is no vehicle for the home. This has been promised, but has not yet been provided. There is an over-reliance on staff using their own cars. Staff drive long distances to support the children’s family contact. Agency staff are used and do not use their cars. This can minimise the

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improvement to be good

children’s activity choices and does not fully support the aims in the statement of purpose, which say that contact will be easily facilitated, and that distance is no object.

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improvement to be good

The children all have behaviour management plans and risk assessments, which are updated following any incidents. The children’s risk assessments that support risk-taking behaviours are good, outlining staff’s actions and responses. Staff use a software system to record behavioural incidents. This populates a message to the manager, alerting her about incidents and prompting her to review and sign the records off. This system is working well. It is consistent, monitoring is reflective, and it prompts staff to capture the children’s views. There has been a significant number of missing from home incidents since the last inspection, and a concentrated spate of these incidents were following a new admission. This culminated in two of the children triggering one another to leave the home with regularity, and being away for up to six hours at a time. The children placed themselves at risk locally; they left the home via windows and left the home immediately after the

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improvement to be good

police had brought them back. This was due to one child not agreeing with the placement and encouraging another child. This placed both the children in risky situations and unsettled the whole house. The staff and the police were constantly looking for and returning the children. Following the missing from home incidents, the manager requested follow-up work from specialist support workers, and some welfare checks and return interviews were carried out. These interviews do not correlate with the number of episodes. The children’s social workers are based some distance from the home. However, the return interviews have not been actively pursued by the staff. The incidents have since stopped and there have been no incidents of the children leaving the home for two months. This follows a concerning six-week period that was Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 7 detrimental to the children’s safety, and during which they were exposed to a number of

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improvement to be good

risks. There have been two allegations made about members of staff. One was a minor incident that was dealt with by the manager. The incident follow-up included gaining the views of those involved and directing support and supervision to the staff. The second incident was a serious complaint about the management staff, following a practice issue being raised with a member of the agency staff. A thorough investigation was undertaken by the responsible individual. This was concluded and a summary document was sent to the complainant to say that the complaint was not upheld. Practice issues were detailed as learning points. Although there is a clear chronology of events, the responsible individual and the manager have failed to act in accordance with the home’s policy on how to manage allegations. There was no referral to the designated officer about either matter, despite the seriousness. This does not provide an external

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improvement to be good

safeguard or objective oversight and contravenes the home’s policy on how to manage allegations. This had the potential to compromise children’s welfare. The staff know how to act if a child makes a disclosure. The staff receive up-to-date training in safeguarding, and safeguarding is discussed and explored during supervision. There is very little use of restrictive physical intervention. Staff are trained in safe holds, but rarely use these. On the occasions that these holds are used, the manager monitors the records of the incidents. The manager ensures that children’s views are recorded and that staff are questioned about their rationale for using the hold. Reflections of practice are good and enable the children and the staff to look back and properly consider their actions. Safety checks demonstrate that the appliances are safe and utilities are serviced regularly. The home is rented by the organisation and there is a drive to have some of

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improvement to be good

the maintenance completed to bring the home back up to a high standard. A focused period of work is underway to ensure that repairs are made and maintenance improves. Recruitment files for the new staff are difficult to navigate. These files are held between the head office, the home and on an online human resources system. The files show that checks are made prior to employees starting work and that their suitability is determined using background checks. The monitoring and oversight of these checks are made difficult by the fact that the records are not easily accessible. The files are being collated to make the monitoring of the checks easier. This is in process and is, therefore, not raised as a shortfall.

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

The home is led by an experienced manager who was registered by Ofsted in November 2016. She has a wealth of experience and she holds a relevant level 5 qualification. Although the overall judgement remains the same as at the last full inspection, plans to improve the home are acknowledged. However, the impact of improvements on the quality of the children’s care is yet to be fully realised. Five staff have left the organisation. This has left the home reliant on agency staff to support some shifts. Half of the core staff are not qualified. This means that there are Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 8 inexperienced staff, who are in their probationary periods and not yet qualified, working with agency staff. One shift record sampled showed that there were two staff on duty, despite a risk assessment detailing that three staff were required. At times, the children are not being cared for by confident and experienced staff. This can influence the

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

children’s behaviours and result in prolonged incidents that are preventable. The small core team is cohesive and the staff work well together. The staff use one another’s strengths to support the children’s needs and preferences. This helps the children to build attachments with the staff. There are clear induction and probation processes for the staff. These are recorded and evidenced in each staff file. The records show that supervision is regular and that it is responsive to practice. This helps to unpick the management of incidents and encourages learning points. The manager has a good oversight of the team and a realistic understanding of individual’s areas for development. Staff are encouraged to reflect on interactions with the children and interventions. This promotes an environment where the children’s views are always sought and valued. The manager has a realistic oversight of the home and the identified shortfalls. There is

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

a desire to improve the home. A development plan is in place to improve the standard of the accommodation. The manager has persevered in refreshing the decor. Planned actions have been delayed because of a lack of budgets that have been promised. The staff recruitment campaign continues. The manager is keen to make the right appointments and to ensure that good-calibre staff who have the right skills are employed. The home accepted an admission of a child, despite the admission presenting significant risks to the existing children. The impact risk assessment does not evaluate the information or look at the potential impact properly. There are no comments recorded and the decision-making is not concluded using any rationale or assessment of the impact on the existing group. This led to another child, who had not been leaving the home, going missing every day and taking a number of risks. This was detrimental to the

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

child’s safety and had an effect on her progress. The manager acted quickly and gave immediate notice on the new child’s placement, although it took six weeks to find another placement. During this period, there were repeated challenges made by the manager to ensure that the local authority identified another placement. The manager escalated this to senior levels and challenged the local authority’s responses and timing. This took time and a balance was gained between the duty of care to both of the children. The manager has a strong and detailed knowledge of each child and the progress that they make. The aims and objectives in the home’s statement of purpose are not fully met. There are claims about the standard of accommodation, easily facilitating transport and admission criteria that are not being met. The feedback from social workers and professionals is mixed. The consensus is that the children do generally make progress and that their safety is improved by being at the

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

home. There are some issues that cause concern in regard to the influence of the other Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 9 children at the home, the staff’s knowledge and understanding, and the care of the environment.

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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: SC451152 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stanfield Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 57 Newbury Road, Newtown Community Centre, Birmingham B19 2SW

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Inspector

Deirdra Keating, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 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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