Children's home run by Jamores Limited in Bexley

Inspection report children's home: 1234166 1 Registered provider: Jamores Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned, and is registered to provide care for up to three children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

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

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

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.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 12 December 2016

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

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

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 Children do not make good progress from their starting points.  Managers’ monitoring systems are insufficiently robust and do not highlight Inspection report children's home: 1234166 2 deficiencies in staff’s recording.  Staff do not display an understanding of the difference between missing person’s protocols and those of children who are absent without permission.  The staff’s training programme does not equip staff with sufficient skills to ensure that children make significant progress.  Leaders impose sanctions inappropriately and do not record them accurately.  The independent visitor’s report fails to accurately analyse the staff team’s ability to promote the well-being and protection of children.

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 Children have good relationships with most staff and feel that staff are interested in their well-being.  New auditing systems are now under development to help improve managers’ monitoring of the service.  Staff’s communication and liaison with external partners are good.  The manager provides the staff team with a high level of support and supervision.  Despite some children’s extremely challenging behaviour, there have been no incidents of staff restraining children since the last inspection in December 2016.  Staff manage complaints appropriately.

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/12/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children's home: 1234166 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 leadership and management standard, the registered person must -

p.3

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(2)(h))

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to establishing and implementing a more effective system for monitoring the recording on case files to ensure records are clear and accurate. In particular, to include behaviour management plans, medication records, the documentation of sanctions and records of unauthorised absences and missing persons. 02/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.3

Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33(4)(a))

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, that staff training has a focus on attachment, loss, abandonment and trauma. Staff training also needs to focus on improving staff’s understanding of unauthorised absences and missing incidents. 02/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the positive relationships standard, the registered person must ensure that staff -

p.3

Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; 02/10/2017 Inspection report children's home: 1234166 4 help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively. (Regulation 11(2)(iii) and (iv))

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep under review and, as necessary, revise the home’s child protection policies. In particular, to simplify the home’s missing policies in order to ensure staff have a good understanding of relevant protocols. (Regulation 34(6)) 02/10/2017

p.4

Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

p.4

Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44(4)(a)(b))

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular the independent visitor’s evaluation of (a) and (b) must be supported by information contained in the report. 02/10/2017

p.4

Recommendations

 Managers should accept placements for children only where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person must demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted, including ensuring that the employment of temporary staff will not prevent children from receiving the continuity of care that they need. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1)  Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home. (regulation 36 (schedule 3 (14)) This information should be shared with the placing authority and, where appropriate, with the child’s parents. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any

p.4

Recommendations

gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, pages Inspection report children's home: 1234166 5 45 and 46, paragraph 9.31)  The registered person should ensure that any sanction used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

p.4

improvement to be good

Children receive individualised care. However, they do not make good progress from their original starting points. A child’s guardian visiting the home during the inspection says of the child’s progress, ‘It feels like he’s just been treading water.’

p.5

improvement to be good

Children’s educational success is variable. Some children attend school and complete GCSE exams; others do not engage in education and training and so their learning outcomes are not as positive. This is also the case for children’s outcomes in relation to their health care needs. Children do not regularly attend medical appointments, take prescribed medication or take responsibility for their own health care. Some continue to misuse substances. Staff recording of the administration of medication is not clear. This means that medication practices need to improve to ensure that children in receipt of medication have it given to them safely. Children enjoy healthy, nutritional diets and sometimes participate in meal planning to ensure that meals are to their liking.

p.5

improvement to be good

Children have opportunities to participate in planned activities. However, they rarely choose to take part, preferring to socialise with their friends; children are often absent from the home in order to do so. As a consequence, the frequency of children being absent without permission or missing from the home is exceedingly high. The home is equipped with recreational activities such as DVDs, board games and computer games for children’s use. Children also have access to trips and outings such as go-karting, trips to the cinema and attending a local life skills project. However, despite these opportunities, some children complain of being bored and having little to do.

p.5

improvement to be good

Children are generally satisfied living in the home and feel that staff meet their needs. Staff devise relevant placement plans that reflect the placing authority’s care plans. This is important to ensure that all parties are clear about placement objectives. Children participate in key work and one-to-one sessions that are relevant to placement issues.

p.5

improvement to be good

Children’s relationships with the staff team are generally good, and children are able to share their views openly. One child told the inspector, ‘The staff here is calm. The manager is cool. He has standards and tries to help me, particularly with school. You can have confidential chats with him and I like going for drives with him. And he can cook, really cook!’ However, this same child commented on him not enjoying having to work with a number of differing staff. He told the inspector, ‘Man has to know exactly who is sleeping overnight when you wake up.’ Inspection report children's home: 1234166 6 Staff treat children with dignity and respect and pay attention to any identity needs. They help children build emotional resilience and develop a positive sense of self- esteem. One file entry for a child states, ‘D got his hair cut and really liked it. He feels a lot more confident having his new hairstyle.’ Staff receive clear guidance to meet the

p.5

improvement to be good

particular needs of children. For example, an entry on the file of one child who has a learning disability advises staff, ‘Clear communication is needed so as to ensure D understands fully what is being said as he appears to struggle with retaining and recovering information.’

p.6

improvement to be good

Children receive support to have contact with family members, even when parents are overseas. This helps children to maintain a sense of their family background and cultural heritage. Children can attend their chosen places of worship if they choose, and receive traditional meals that reflect their culture and ethnicity. Recently, a child worked with a musician to pursue his musical interests. The musician spoke the same first language, French, as the child. This connection enhanced the relationship between them.

p.6

improvement to be good

Children have a good understanding about the home’s complaints procedure. Since the last inspection, the home has received three complaints. All three were resolved satisfactorily.

p.6

improvement to be good

Some children engage with staff to develop independent living skills in preparation for them leaving the home. Staff support them to develop practical life skills such as budgeting, meal preparation and the completion of laundry.

p.6

improvement to be good

Children’s family members and friends are welcome at the home, and staff make good efforts to support contact. Staff encourage children to develop and build on existing positive relationships, and discourage relationships that are not in their best interest. Children are no longer subject to unnecessary restrictions. This issue was highlighted at the last inspection, and has now been resolved.

p.6

improvement to be good

Children say they feel safe at the home, but cannot elaborate why they feel this way. The frequency of children going missing or being absent from the home without permission is extremely high. This is of serious concern as staff’s attempts to curb this behaviour is largely ineffective. Staff do not have a clear understanding of the difference between going missing and unauthorised absences. Therefore, records of both events are incorrect and do not readily provide a true picture of the nature of children’s absences. This does not assist managers and others to accurately review trends and offer effective strategies that help keep children safe.

p.6

improvement to be good

Managers do not hesitate to prompt multi-agency strategy meetings to address persistent episodes of unauthorised absences and missing. Staff speak with young people on their return home to try to establish where they have been, with whom and whether any new risks are emerging. No young person is involved or suspected of being involved in child sexual exploitation. Inspection report children's home: 1234166 7 Children’s behaviour is at times extremely challenging. Staff’s management of such instances is adequate. Risk assessments highlight known and anticipated risks and identify strategies that attempt to reduce risk. Staff work closely with other professionals to try to achieve this reduction.

p.6

improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, staff have not restrained any child. Staff devise behaviour management plans that support their practice. Staff review and update these plans regularly. However, staff’s updated information can get lost on existing forms, where updates are not apparent. For example, following a serious injury to a child, managers advised that under no circumstances should staff attempt to restrain this child. Elsewhere on the same form, there was a description of approved restraint techniques to be used on this child in the event of a critical incident. Managers and staff must ensure that they make clear where previous information is no longer applicable. This is to avoid confusion and potential harm to children.

p.7

improvement to be good

Staff make use of a rewards and incentive system to promote positive behaviour. However, this has little effect in curbing poor and challenging behaviour. A child said he had little interest in whatever incentives the home was offering to help keep him from leaving the home without permission.

p.7

improvement to be good

Records indicate that staff do not impose sanctions, and they do not promote restorative justice as an approach to address critical incidents. Children do not therefore learn to take responsibility for their actions and behaviour. This does not prepare them to manage conflicts and difficulties well.

p.7

improvement to be good

There are no entries in the home’s sanctions log. However, other records highlight the refusal of one of the directors to allow a child’s request for a bigger bed, as a direct result of the child’s verbal aggression towards him on one occasion. Therefore, this indicates an imposed sanction. There appears to have been little resolution of the situation with the child following the incident. The action taken was neither proportionate nor justified. Furthermore, staff failed to record the decision as a sanction and the action taken did not positively support the child to address his own poor behaviour.

p.7

improvement to be good

The staff team has access to child protection procedures. Safeguarding features in staff meetings, training and induction. However, the home’s child protection policies and procedures require review. This is particularly the case for guidance relating to unauthorised absences and when children are missing from the home. This review is required to simplify the expected procedures and make sure that staff have a good understanding of them. This is not the case currently.

p.7

improvement to be good

Children and staff benefit from the home’s training, policies and procedures about the management of allegations. Since the last inspection there have been no allegations made against any staff member. The local authority designated officer reports that staff initiate appropriate communication and seek consultation as required. This helps to keep children safe. Inspection report children's home: 1234166 8 The organisation’s staff recruitment and vetting practices are safe. This ensures that the home employs suitable people to work with children.

p.7

improvement to be good

The home’s premises are physically safe and appropriately secure. Staff routinely conduct health and safety checks, and there are appropriate fire precautions in place.

p.8

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

The registered manager is an experienced, skilled professional, with appropriate formal qualifications. He leads the staff group by example and has realistic ambitions for the service. However, managers and leaders of the home are yet to produce a development plan that outlines plans to improve the quality of the service. A local authority social worker says of the registered manager, ‘The unit manager has been very proactive in terms of the local authority’s request to hold placement support meetings.’

p.8

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

Managers and leaders are visible in the home and make themselves available to children. Staff regularly ask children for their views about placement progress and issues. The home’s monitoring systems are in development and are not sufficiently robust. For example, systems do not highlight shortfalls in staff’s recording of children going missing from the home, the administration of medication, and information on behavioural management plans.

p.8

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

The organisation has recently appointed a new independent person to conduct the home’s monthly regulation 44 monitoring visits. Subsequent reports review key areas of the home’s function and operation, and comment on staff’s ability to promote children’s well-being and safety. However, in the most recent report, the consultant’s analysis of children’s welfare and safety is not in accordance with serious concerns highlighted elsewhere in the same report. The report, therefore, does not provide managers with an accurate critique of the effectiveness of the home’s safeguarding measures and the promotion of children’s well-being.

p.8

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

The registered manager’s support and supervision of the staff team is good in ensuring that they are equipped to meet the needs of children. Staff supervision sessions are regular and meaningful. The staff team has experience of working with vulnerable children. Its members have, or are working towards achieving, appropriate qualifications to meet the needs of those they care for.

p.8

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

Staff training is adequate, and staff have access to training that equips them to work with children. Recent training includes safeguarding, challenging behaviour, care planning and communicating effectively. Staff access the majority of this training online. The staff do not currently receive dynamic, focused training, to improve their understanding of children’s complex, emotional needs. Staff only undertaking individual online training runs the risk that opportunities to enhance their skills as a group, and so promote the team’s collective learning and development, are missed.

p.8

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

Staff have access to some specialised, classroom-based training. Recently staff have Inspection report children's home: 1234166 9 received training in de-escalation techniques, risk of suicide, self-harm prevention and gang activity. This has been in response to the identified needs of children at the time. Team meetings and individual supervision are also forums for staff learning and development.

p.8

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

The home’s statement of purpose is a detailed document that outlines well the aims and objectives of the service and the nature of the care provided. This is to ensure that stakeholders are aware of the services available. The children’s guide is a user-friendly document for children’s use. The handbook is a creative summary of services provided, and includes good information about making complaints and independent advocacy.

p.9

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

The quality of professional relationships between staff, key external partners and families is good. Communication between the parties is consistent. This promotes the involvement of others in the care planning process and helps to keep children safe. Staff share a particularly effective working relationship with social workers, educational professionals and the police.

p.9

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

Feedback about the service from local authority representatives is largely positive. A social worker comments, ‘F has been actively supported by the staff to attend education. The staff went the extra mile to enable F to achieve positive outcomes in education by transporting him to and from school. Staff have been very proactive in establishing a relationship with the birth mother and communicating with her on a regular basis.’

p.9

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

The home’s overall effectiveness requires improvement if the home is to have a greater impact on the protection, progress and experiences of children.

p.9

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 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.

p.9

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: 1234166 10

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Thames Innovation Centre, Studio 52, Veridion Way, Erith DA18 4AL

p.10

Inspector(s)

Sandra Jacobs-Walls, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 1234166 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.

p.10

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.11

Inspector(s)

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

p.11

Inspector(s)

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

p.11