Children's home run by Lavender Group Homes

Inspection report children’s home: 1183937 1 Registered provider: Dawn Aplin Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children who have learning disabilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 31 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1183937 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children have positive experiences. They make good progress in all areas of their lives. School attendance is high and they are achieving in line with expectations.  Children take part in a variety of activities that improve their social skills and self-confidence, such as helping staff with the weekly shop in a large supermarket. This is significant because it helps those children who can struggle with loud, bright and busy places to develop effective coping strategies. These life skills form the basis of a successful progression into adulthood.  Staff use a variety of communication tools creatively and effectively to ensure that children can express their wishes and feelings and understand their daily routines. Consistent use of symbols and communication boards aids children in feeling calm and settled. This helps to limit frustration that could cause problematic behaviour.  Staff have positive relationships with children. As a result, children are happy

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Key findings from this inspection

and settled. Challenging behaviour decreases and is well managed.  Children are safe because staff know and understand their vulnerabilities. This means that staff are able to assess risks effectively and provide appropriate strategies to minimise these risks.  The manager is a passionate, experienced and child-focused leader. He leads by example. The staff team is equally committed to promoting positive outcomes for children.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Since the home’s interim inspection, there has been a high staff turnover. Although the majority of permanent posts are now filled, this has created a lack of continuity for children. As a result, the majority of the staff team members are still in their probationary period and are unqualified.  As a result of staff shortages, the manager has not been able to focus completely on leadership and management tasks. This has meant that staff, including new staff, have not had the opportunity for regular practice-related supervision.  Areas of the home are suffering from damage and wear and tear. This detracts from the homely environment that the manager and staff are trying to create for the children.  A communal space is temporarily being used as a staff sleep-in room. This is an inappropriate use of space and limits children’s access to areas of their own home.  Staff do not receive specific training to increase their knowledge and

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Key findings from this inspection

understanding of children’s particular needs.  Records of physical intervention are not always reviewed by a person independent of the incident. Inspection report children’s home: 1183937 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 05/07/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1183937 4

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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 registered person must ensure that children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises. (Regulation 21 (b)) 01/09/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, the registered person is required to:

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Requirement Due date

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)) 01/09/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4) (b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the frequency of supervision is consistent with the home’s workforce development plan. 01/09/2017

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the skills to meet the needs of each child (Regulation 13 (2) (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children with autism spectrum disorder and attachment disorder. 01/09/2017

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. 01/09/2017 Inspection report children’s home: 1183937 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (2) (e))

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Recommendations

 Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. In particular, that the record is reviewed by a person who was not involved in the physical intervention. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have new and exciting experiences while living at this home. During the inspection, they returned home from their summer holiday and reported to the inspector that they had enjoyed theme park rides, seen lots of different animals and eaten ‘yummy’ food. Staff do not see disability as a barrier. They do not shy away from supporting children to have these experiences, just like any other child would have. A parent said, ‘We’ve noticed they make a good effort to get my child out and about to youth club, horse riding and swimming. There are so many positives to his care there.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children all have appropriate educational placements and they attend well. The staff monitor their achievement through regular contact with school and attendance at meetings. Staff meet children’s healthcare needs well and use multi-agency partners, such as the learning disability nursing service, for additional support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make noticeable progress in all aspects of their development. A social worker said, ‘My young person previously struggled at mealtimes. Now he is able to sit at the table and he isn’t as easily distracted. Previously, he wasn’t able to complete a meal. He used to have poor sleep, now he has much better sleep. His personal hygiene skills have also improved.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from quality individualised care. They respond well to the clear guidance, boundaries and expectations provided by the staff team. For example, after a meal children are expected to take their plates to the sink and dispose of rubbish in the bin. Children become more able to manage transition times, for instance, getting up and dressed for school in the morning. When children’s needs change, the manager works with the placing authority to consider alternatives. Effective use of communication Inspection report children’s home: 1183937 6 techniques is a strength of the home. Staff use symbol strips to help children to understand what is happening and prepare them for any activities or events. This helps to decrease young people’s anxiety and frustrations. A social worker said, ‘Staff are very good in terms of encouraging his communication: really working hard on communication with him and encouraging him to use words.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy good-quality contact with their family and people who are important to them. As a result of children’s improved behaviour and social skills, family relationships improve.

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

Staff know the children well and understand their complex needs. Staff benefit from regular team meetings where each child’s needs are discussed in detail. This enables them to make assessments of risk that inform appropriate strategies to minimise these risks. The children are highly vulnerable but appropriate measures are in place to ensure their safety. For example, each child has a protocol for staff to follow in the event that they go missing, in recognition of how vulnerable they would be should this occur. A social worker said, ‘They feel safe in the home. It’s lovely.’

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

Behaviour is well managed. Staff have a clear understanding of the triggers which may lead to episodes of challenging behaviour. They have detailed written support plans that give consistent guidance so that behaviour is managed appropriately. Staff use de- escalation techniques well to support young people when they display potentially risky behaviours. This works effectively and physical restraint is used only when such techniques have not been successful. As a result, there is minimal use of physical intervention. When physical intervention is used, this is appropriate, well recorded and subject to managerial oversight so that lessons, where relevant, can be learned. However, on occasions when the manager has been involved in the physical intervention, he also reviews and signs the record. This system would benefit from increased independence to ensure that the record has proper scrutiny.

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

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and are fully aware of their responsibilities in terms of whistleblowing if staff practice is poor. Recruitment practice helps to protect children from the risk of harm. The registered provider ensures that all staff, including agency staff, have had all the required recruitment checks. This means that the manager can be assured, so far as can be ascertained, that all staff are suitable to work with children.

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

The manager has a clear understanding of the current functioning of the home, its strengths and its areas for development. He is committed to providing the best possible care and achieving the best outcomes for the young people in the home. However, the impact of this is limited by current instability within the staff team. This instability limits the ability of the manager to drive forward positive changes and developments. The manager is working towards achieving the level 5 qualification for managers within Inspection report children’s home: 1183937 7 children’s residential care, as required by regulation.

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

A recent high turnover of permanent members of staff has meant that there has been a reliance on agency staff. In addition, the majority of permanent employees are new and are still in their probationary period. The manager has tried his best to ensure that there is consistency for young people wherever possible by covering shortfalls himself, using staff known to young people or using regular agency staff. While parents and professionals told the inspector that they were happy with staffing arrangements and did not feel there was any significant inconsistency, this arrangement has the potential to risk continuity of care for children. The provider is committed to recruiting quality members of staff and recruitment for permanent staff is ongoing.

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

The manager wants to build a staff team which works in a child-centred way. The new staff team feels well supported on a day-to-day basis. Regular discussions in team meetings help staff understand how to implement care plans in practice. However, staff receive formal, practice-related supervision infrequently. This means that staff, including new staff, do not have protected one-to-one time with a senior member of staff to reflect on their practice or consider their continuing professional development.

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

New members of staff receive an induction training when they start working in the home, to enable them to provide an appropriate quality of care to children. They receive basic training in areas such as first aid and techniques of physical intervention. This enables them to care safely for young people. However, managers do not provide further training to increase staff knowledge and understanding of the specific needs of disabled children such as autistic spectrum disorder or attachment difficulties.

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

The manager and staff team strive to create a ‘home from home’ environment. A parent said, ‘My son runs into the home, he can’t wait to get back in.’ Recently, the home has benefited from some improvements to the fabric of the building, such as new radiators. However, the home shows signs of wear and tear and these issues are not always rectified quickly. The bathroom has black mould in the grouting as well as peeling paint on the windowsill. Areas of damage to walls or holes left behind by the removal of old radiators have not been filled in. Areas of damage on the outside of the building require attention. This detracts from the homely feel. In addition, the conservatory area is being temporarily used as a staff sleep-in room. This is an inappropriate use of a communal room.

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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 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 Inspection report children’s home: 1183937 8 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.

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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: 1183937 9

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Inspector(s)

Catherine Honey: social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1183937 10 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.

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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