Children's home run by Barnardiston Hall Preparatory School Limited in West Suffolk

Inspection report children’s home: SC443009 1 SC443009 Registered provider: Barnardiston Hall Preparatory School Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home is one of a small group. Care and accommodation are provided for up to six males who have moderate to severe learning difficulties.

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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 inadequate

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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: 15 February 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None. Inspection report children’s home: SC443009 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

 Staff morale is low.  The home uses a large number of bank and agency staff.  Staff do not go far enough in seeking the children’s views and wishes or involving them meaningfully in their placement plan.  The written placement plans do not relate to the written key-work sessions, and these lack focus and purpose.  The quality and extent of staff training does not go far enough to meet the children’s needs.  The system for using sanctions lacks creativity.  On one occasion, advice was not sought from the designated officer.  Arrangements for the recording and dispensing of medication are not consistently robust.  Some staff who are involved in physical intervention have not attended refresher training.  Vetting of agency staff is not robust.  Not all of the staff receive supervision.  Staff appraisal does not include feedback from other people.  The location risk assessment has not been updated.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager has not demonstrated that the regulations and recommendations made at the last inspection are fully met. The independent visitor’s reports do not demonstrate a sufficiently objective overview of how the home is making improvements to promote children’s well-being.  The manager’s and leaders’ aspirations for the children and the staff team are not far reaching enough.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The children present as relaxed, and communicate that they like the home.  Parents and social workers say that their children are happy at the home.  Many of the staff have good relationships with the children.  There is generous space in which each child can relax and be comfortable.  The staff take photographs of the trips and activities that the children are involved in.  The children regularly attend and enjoy going to the school run by the provider.  The children go out with the staff into the community. Inspection report children’s home: SC443009 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/06/2016 Full Requires improvement 19/01/2016 Full Good 14/07/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC443009 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who develop positive relationships with them, engage with them and take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to express views, wishes and feelings, and regularly consult children and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(ii)(iv)) 20/10/17

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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.

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Requirement Due date

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)) 20/10/17

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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. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)) 20/10/17

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)) 20/10/17

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff and children understand how to evacuate from the building safely in an emergency. 20/10/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC443009 5 The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. (Regulation 32(1))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to agency staff. 20/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development and receive practice- related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(a)(b)) 20/10/17

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year, taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46(1)(2)) 20/10/17

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the staff support the children to try activities that are new to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.4)  Ensure any sanction used to address poor behaviour is restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour, and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person is responsible for ensuring that all their staff have been adequately trained in the principles of restraint and any restraint techniques appropriate to the needs of the children the home is set up to care for, as defined

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Recommendations

in the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.57)  Ensure that the annual appraisal takes into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5) Inspection report children’s home: SC443009 6

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improvement to be good

The children using this service require intensive support. Each child has a different and demanding range of social, learning, emotional and behavioural needs. Staff morale is low. Some staff have left, so the current permanent staff team is reduced . The reliance on agency and bank staff means that forward planning is difficult. This limits what the staff on shift can do with the children during the day. This has the greatest impact on the children during the school holidays, because they are in the home for longer periods of time.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, two new children have joined the group. The new children are more socially able. They can use language fluently and can voice their opinions. These children can verbally demonstrate a higher level of understanding. There is a significant range of ability across the current group of six children. The care provided is not delivered consistently, nor is it delivered by a cohesive group of staff who have the experience and skills to provide care that meets each child’s needs effectively. The staff are not able to demonstrate how the care that they provide to each child helps them to reach their potential.

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improvement to be good

All of the children are looked after on a one-to-one basis. Some of the children require two staff at various times of the day. The case files are confusing, because some information is duplicated and information is not stored in the correct sections of the file. Each child has a placement plan, but this has been written by a manager who does not regularly work at the home, and staff say that they are confused by the changes in the paperwork. The staff take photographs of some of the activities that the children undertake, for example when a child uses the washing machine. However, it is not clear how these snapshots link to the placement goals in the children’s plans or to the work that the staff carry out with each child. The lack of information means that progress and outcomes are difficult to track. Many of the key-work session records sampled tell stories about a child being polite or going on an outing to the shops. The key-work

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improvement to be good

reports do not consistently identify actions or show how senior members of staff guide or oversee the content of this work. The records do not demonstrate what is happening to ensure that each child receives effectively planned care.

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improvement to be good

Some of the children use Makaton or picture exchange, but the use of communication aids is basic and limited to a few staff on each shift. The records show that the staff try to meet with small groups of children some of the time. The written records of the meetings with the children describe a basic discussion, for example about food and trips out. It is not clear how or if aids are used to facilitate group communication or to promote inclusion. Overall, the approach and model for engaging and communicating with the children, taking into account their ability and preference for communication, are not wholly effective.

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improvement to be good

Recording systems do not demonstrate how the children obtain feedback on their Inspection report children’s home: SC443009 7 contributions or on their grumbles about the quality of care. For example, one child raised a grumble about poor internet connection, yet it is not clear what feedback he received about his concern. Other children said that they would like to go swimming more often, but it is not clear how the staff at the home took this forward. The staff’s efforts to discover and take into account each of the individual children’s views and wishes do not demonstrate that each child is sufficiently engaged in their placement.

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improvement to be good

During the school holidays, some of the staff take some of the children out into the local community at times. The children go on walks or visit local attractions. The home routinely has access to two vehicles. However, a number of the staff do not drive and this has reduced the frequency of trips out. During the school holidays, some of the children who might be more challenging to manage in the community spend more time in their bedrooms using their electronic equipment. This, alongside shifts that are not as well planned as they might be, means that opportunities are missed to encourage the children to do more or to try new things.

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improvement to be good

The children who are of school age attend the education establishment run by the provider, and this is a short car journey away. Attendance is excellent. During term time, the routine and structure provided by attending school are of significant benefit to the children. The children have opportunities to be involved in a range of stimulating trips and activities, including sports, swimming and horse riding.

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improvement to be good

The staff do not put the children under any pressure and some of the staff are doing their best to help the children to make progress. For example, they encourage the children to practise skills that promote independence in the way that a good parent would. The staff are competent at ensuring that the children’s basic needs are met. For example, there is a routine of regular mealtimes, and the children have a varied and nutritional diet. Sometimes, the children who are more able are encouraged to become involved in making or preparing meals. The permanent staff share meal times with the children, and this helps to promote positive interaction.

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improvement to be good

The staff are good at helping children to have contact with their families. They will take children to wherever they need to be and will wait with them during contact visits, if this is in the local authority plan. A number of the children have regular visits from their family members and their social workers, and this level of involvement with them provides an additional level of safeguarding for those children. Feedback from social workers and parents varies. This is because there is an acknowledgement that the staff who have been working at the home for some time work hard, and are caring and reliable. However, they say that the quality of communication between the staff is inconsistent, and this leads to monthly reports not being sent out or health appointments needing to be rescheduled, and parents having to prompt the staff for information.

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improvement to be good

Children’s bedrooms are highly personalised. The provider has a handyperson available to maintain the physical environment. The children are encouraged to decorate and make improvements to their room. Some children have televisions in their room, and they like this. The building provides generous space for each child and the layout Inspection report children’s home: SC443009 8 means that some of the children can have time away from other children if this is needed. Because of the size of the building, the children can go through their personal daily routines without disruption. For example, many of the bedrooms have en suite facilities. The garden is easily accessible from the patio doors in the living room, and this encourages those who like to be outside to use the basketball hoop, for example. There is a hot tub in the garden that is readily available to those children who like to relax in this way.

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improvement to be good

The staff say that the majority of children are well behaved most of the time and present no particular behavioural issues. The registered manager said that when the children who are new to the home become angry or upset, he asks that staff take a step back and wait for the child to calm down. This works well, to a certain extent. One child said: ‘I do feel safe here. The staff are patient and that helps me to calm down when I get angry.’ However, the same child told the inspector that he also felt safe because, after an agency member of staff had sworn at him, the agency member of staff had been told not to come back to the home. This child’s allocated social worker is aware that he had raised an issue at that time. However, the matter was not referred to the designated officer. This does not demonstrate that staff have sufficient knowledge of the procedure to follow when a child makes an allegation.

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improvement to be good

Staff have recently begun to implement sanctions, on occasion, for some of the children. This is a new approach, because of the change in the needs of these children. For example, until the arrival of the two newest children, it had been more than one year since staff had used a sanction. The staff have had no guidance on how to work together to address poor behaviour. The sparsely written records do not show clearly enough the rationale for a sanction or how it is linked to the child’s care plan. Without clear records, there is no demonstration of how the staff help the children to learn about meaningful reparation.

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improvement to be good

Previously, this home rarely used any physical intervention. However, since the arrival of the two newest children, the number of physical interventions has risen. Although they are few, the increase represents a change in direction for this home because some of the children present different kinds of challenge, for example swearing, causing damage and hurting staff. Some of the staff are not sufficiently trained or have not completed refresher training within the required timeframe identified by the provider. This practice is unacceptable, because it places staff at risk of allegations and increases the likelihood of children coming to unnecessary harm.

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improvement to be good

Children do not go missing from the home. The provider ensures that up-to-date information is available for the local police, should an incident occur. This helps in some way to ensure that, should any child go missing, the home is in a position to work effectively with the police and other agencies.

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improvement to be good

A number of the children take medication. This is stored in a locked cabinet in the staff Inspection report children’s home: SC443009 9 sleep-in room. The children do not routinely have access to this room. The system to evidence that medication is at all times administered carefully and safely is disorganised and not effective. For example, the record of the number of tablets did not tally with the actual number of tablets held at the children’s home, for one child. There was no written explanation to help the staff on shift to account for this error. This child was at the family home during this inspection, so there was no evidence to demonstrate that this shortfall had a direct impact on this child. However, arrangements which are not robust and not being monitored efficiently lead to mistakes which could have a direct impact on children’s health.

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improvement to be good

The staff complete regular health and safety checks around the home. This includes checks to ensure that the building and the equipment meet the required fire safety standards. However, a night-time fire drill has not been carried out in the past year. The personal emergency evacuation plans for the children who require these have not been reviewed consistently or sufficiently. This failure to continually and actively assess risk has the potential to place the staff and the children at risk, in the event of an emergency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has been in post for one year. He continues to work towards the required level 5 leadership and management diploma. The registered manager is familiar with the local area and the home. He knows the children who have been living there for some time well, and he works professionally with parents and other agencies. He is responsive when issues are brought directly to his attention. He is patient and works long hours. However, in his role as manager, he frequently continues to take on the responsibility of shift leader. As a result, he is not quality assuring, overseeing or scrutinising practice across the home sufficiently. For example, the staff do not receive feedback about their written work, so they do not know whether what they are writing about is making a difference to the overall plan for the child. This means that the staff team lacks direction.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The provider has done some work to meet some of the regulations made at the last inspection. For example, a meeting was held with each member of staff to ensure that they understand safeguarding and how to trigger the home’s whistle-blowing policy. Yet a safeguarding issue has not been referred in line with policy, and this means that the efforts made by the managers to bring about change have not been sufficiently effective. In addition, aspects of the wording of the safeguarding policy require a more in-depth review to demonstrate a more current professional understanding of areas such as child sexual exploitation. The registered manager was not able to demonstrate that the regulation raised at the last inspection has been met and, as a result, it is raised again in this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager was not proactively involved in the decision to admit the newest children to the home. This means that he was not able to ensure that all staff are sufficiently competent, skilled and experienced to meet the children’s needs. The registered manager’s recent focus has been to ensure that there is a sufficient number Inspection report children’s home: SC443009 10 of adults physically present in the building to care for the children. This means that there is limited time spent on encouraging the staff to work as a team and on inspiring the children to fulfil their potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The current permanent staff either have the required level 3 qualification in residential childcare or are working to achieve this within the required timescale. The arrangements for the vetting of the agency staff do not meet regulation. The registered manager receives a basic overview of any potential agency staff prior to their arrival to work at the home. Information about the qualifications that an individual has is not sufficiently clear. The content of any references sought by the recruitment agency is not shared with the registered manager. With this lack of information, the manager is unable to make an informed choice about the quality, skill and experience of the individuals coming to work at the home. These arrangements do not ensure that unsuitable individuals have no access to vulnerable children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has undertaken annual appraisals for the small group of staff who have worked at the home for over a year. This process offers these staff some opportunity to reflect on their work with the children. However, the appraisals sampled show that there is no feedback from parents, staff or other professionals to provide substance to staff members’ strengths and areas for professional development. The appraisals are not of sufficient quality to help the staff to develop their professional practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

During the school holidays, some of the staff who work with the children at the school come to work at this children’s home. This means that some of the staff who are filling in are familiar to the children. However, these staff, and some of the agency staff who have been working at the home more frequently, do not receive any supervision. Some of these staff are involved in undertaking key-work sessions with the children. Some of the staff say that they have not seen the children’s care plans. This does not ensure that all staff have the opportunity to reflect on the quality and purpose of their time spent with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive some training, and this is a combination of face-to-face and online. However, the range of training available is not sufficient, because of the range of needs that the children have. For example, staff do not receive training routinely in alternative ways to communicate with children, such as Makaton. Staff do not receive guidance or support to help them to understand the impact of attachment or how to effectively manage teenage behaviour. This means that the staff are not professionally developed well enough to meet the diverse range of needs of this group of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The location risk assessment has not been reviewed in this calendar year. The provider has made the decision to admit to the setting children who have the ability to meet up with friends and therefore access the community alone. As such, an up-to-date location risk assessment is needed to equip staff with current knowledge of the local community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

An independent person visits the home at least once a month. The reports provide an overly positive perspective on the impact that the staff make and the effectiveness and Inspection report children’s home: SC443009 11 quality of the care provided. For example, the reports say that agency staff are working at the home and that staff are undertaking key-work sessions. However, the recommendations to the managers are not rigorous enough, because they do not challenge the provider to consistently drive improvement at this home.

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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 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: SC443009 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Barnardiston Hall Preparatory School Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Garland House, Garland Street, PO Box 10, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 1EZ

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Inspector

Rosie Davie, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC443009 13 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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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