Children's home run by Marlowe Child & Family Services Limited in Tewkesbury

Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC061952 1 SC061952

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is registered to accommodate up to four children and young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is owned by a private organisation that also operates other children’s homes and a registered school in the locality.

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This monitoring visit

At the full inspection on 26 and 27 April 2017, serious and widespread weaknesses were identified that placed young people at risk of harm. The home was judged inadequate, and three compliance notices were issued as well as a notice to suspend the children’s home registration. No young people have lived in the home since the registration was suspended.

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This monitoring visit

A notice of proposal to cancel the registration was served on 13 June 2017. Representations against the notice of proposal to cancel have been received and will be reviewed at a representations panel on 3 August 2017. The registered persons have provided a number of documents to set out their plan to improve practices at the children’s home.

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This monitoring visit

Following receipt of these representations, a monitoring inspection was completed on 25 July 2017. Staff from the children’s home have been redeployed to one of the organisation’s other children’s homes. Repairs and maintenance of the premises have not yet been completed. As a result, the home is not in a position to be able to admit children or young people.

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This monitoring visit

The registration of the home remains suspended and monitoring visits will be completed to review and assess any action taken to comply with the requirements of the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC061952 2

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Recent inspection history

Inadequate 06/12/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 30/06/2016 Full Requires improvement 30/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/08/2015 Full Requires improvement

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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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard*

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6. (1) The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who:

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

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(b) use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to:

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(a) understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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(i) understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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(ii) protect and promote each child’s welfare; 02/06/2017 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC061952 3 (iii) treat each child with dignity and respect;

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(iv) provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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(vi) help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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(vii) provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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(viii) provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding; and

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(ix) make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice;

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(c) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to:

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(ii) enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home.

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Staff must understand and apply the statement of purpose. Staff must understand the individual needs of the young people. Staff must ensure that the premises are kept clean, tidy and well maintained. 11: The positive relationships standard*

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11. (1) The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on:

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(b) an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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(c) positive responses to other children and adults.

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(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure: 02/06/2017 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC061952 4 (a) that staff:

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(i) meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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(ii) help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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(iii) encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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(iv) help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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(v) communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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(viii) strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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(ix) understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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(x) are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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(xi) de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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(b) that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others.

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Young people should receive care from a staff team who they know, who know individual young people’s needs and how these are to be met. 12: The protection of children standard*

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12. (1) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. 02/06/2017 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC061952 5 (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure:

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(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;

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(ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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(iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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(iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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(v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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(vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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(vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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(b) 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;

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(c) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are safeguarded effectively;

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(d) that 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; and

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(e) that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly.

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Staff must have a working knowledge of safeguarding procedures and ensure that child protection concerns are managed effectively. 13: The leadership and management standard* 02/06/2017 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC061952 6 13. (1) The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that:

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(a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to:

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(a) 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;

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(b) ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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(c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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(d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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(e) ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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(f) 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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(g) demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on:

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(i) research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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(ii) feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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

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Leaders and managers must ensure that monitoring systems are effective and that they are used to highlight weakness and areas for development to improve practice. In addition, leaders and managers need to ensure that the staff caring Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC061952 7 for the young people are sufficient in number and have the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the young people placed. 14: The care planning standard

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14. (1) The care planning standard is that children:

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(a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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(b) have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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In particular, care plans need to be current and identify how young people’s needs will be met. In addition, staff need to have a good understanding of these plans and consistently implement them. 02/06/2017

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16. (1) The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (‘the statement of purpose’) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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(2) The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI.

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(a) keep the statement of purpose under review, and where appropriate, revise it; and

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(b) notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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(4) If a home has a website, the registered person must ensure that a copy of the statement of purpose is published on that website unless the registered person considers that such publication would prejudice the welfare of children in the home.

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(5) Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. 02/06/2017

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19. (1) No measure of control or discipline which is 02/06/2017 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC061952 8 excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child.

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25. (1) After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must:

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(c) make arrangements for persons working at the home to receive suitable training in fire prevention; and

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(d) ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. 02/06/2017

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32. (1) The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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(a) employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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(b) if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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(a) the individual is of integrity and good character;

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(b) the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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(c) the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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(d) full and satisfactory information is available in relations to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. 02/06/2017 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC061952 9 33: Employment of staff

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33. (4) The registered person must ensure that all employees:

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(a) undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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(b) receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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The registered person must ensure that this provision also includes staff employed from an external agency. 02/06/2017

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35: Behaviour management policies and records

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3) The registered person must ensure that: (a) within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes:

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(iv) a description of the measure and its duration;

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(v) details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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(vii) a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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(b) within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so:

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(i) has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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(ii) has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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(c) within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. 02/06/2017

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36. (1) The registered person must maintain records (‘case 02/06/2017 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC061952 10 records’) for each child which: (a) include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; (b) are kept up to date.

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38. The registered person must ensure that the following items, which may be kept in electronic form, are kept in an accessible manner: (h) records of the use of measures of control, discipline or restraint; (i) children’s case records; (j) other records.

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In particular, young people’s files must be well maintained and ensure that staff have access to the up-to-date records. 02/06/2017

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(3) The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. 02/06/2017

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*These requirements are subject of a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. It will, in most cases, be a homely, domestic environment. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations; however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC061952 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Marlowe Child & Family Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Staverton Court, Staverton, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL51 0UX

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Inspector(s)

Wendy Anderson, social care inspector Paula Lahey, regulatory inspection manager Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC061952 12 to 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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