Children's home run by Dorset County Council

Inspection report children‟s home: SC032250 1 SC032250 Registered provider: Dorset County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children‟s home is operated by a local authority. It provides long-term placements for up to five young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 20 to 21 September 2017

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children‟s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Two compliance notices were issued following the full inspection in June 2017 because of the home‟s failure to comply with the protection of children, and the leadership and management standards. A monitoring visit was undertaken on 2 August 2017 and both areas of compliance were deemed to be met. Inspection report children‟s home: SC032250 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

 This is the second full inspection this year, following an inadequate judgement in June 2017. Overall, improvements have been made, but further work is required.  The local authority has not been successful in recruiting a manager. As a result, the registered person continues to oversee the operation of this home.  Management oversight of the quality of care provided to young people has improved. Young people are safer and the quality of care they are provided with is of better quality. However, this is not yet fully evidenced within the written records completed by staff.  Young people‟s educational progress is not maximised because staff are not provided with completed personal education plans, and statements of educational needs are out of date. This weakness hinders the staff‟s ability to support the young people‟s learning during the evenings and holidays.  Written records completed by staff continue to have omissions; for example,

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Key findings from this inspection

dates, times and the signature of the author are not always included. The quality of direct care and support that staff give is not detailed in the written records.  Leaders and managers have reviewed the arrangements to assess whether the home can meet young people‟s needs suitably and whether young people can be matched safely together. Senior leaders have not considered or placed any new young people since the previous full inspection. As a result, these new assessments have not been tested out for effectiveness.  Young people are living in an environment that is tired and where soft furnishings are worn. This is not conducive to a warm, welcoming and comfortable home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people are now spending more time in the home because their relationships with staff have improved.  Young people ‟ s attendance at school has improved because the times when they go missing from home have reduced.  Young people ‟ s health and well-being have improved because care staff now plan, purchase and cook nutritious meals. Inspection report children‟s home: SC032250 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/06/2017 20/02/2017 Full Interim Inadequate Sustained effectiveness

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/12/2016 Full Requires improvement 11/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC032250 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on: mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff:  meet each child‟s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child‟s relevant plans; and  understand how children‟s past 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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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(2)(a)(ix)) 03/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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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 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 experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;  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; 03/11/2017 Inspection report children‟s home: SC032250 5  demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on: research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and  use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (a)(b)(2)(c)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

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 for the young people are sufficient in number and have the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the young people placed.

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

 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 all of the elements listed in regulation 35(3)(a)(i–vii).  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 has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate.  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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35(1)(2)(3)(a)(i–vii)(b)(i,ii)(c)) 03/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which includes the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 36(1)(a,b)) 03/11/2017 Inspection report children‟s home: SC032250 6 This specifically relates to records relating to missing from home incidents and how young people‟s special dietary needs are met. The registered person must ensure that all case records are kept up to date.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that all records are accurate, detailed and factual.

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Recommendations

 For children‟s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments that are well maintained. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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improvement to be good

At the last full inspection, the home was judged as inadequate and two compliance notices were issued. At the subsequent monitoring visit, Ofsted concluded that leaders and managers had taken sufficient action to meet the two notices.

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improvement to be good

Since the monitoring visit, two young people remain living at the home. The quality of care that they receive has improved and they are safer. Young people‟s progress and experiences are better because the relationships they now have with staff have developed. During this inspection, young people were seen to seek out individual staff with whom they enjoy spending time. Young people spoke positively and fondly about individual staff.

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improvement to be good

Young people are safer. There has been a notable decrease in young people being at risk of exploitation, causing damage to the home, bullying, misusing substances and being involved in criminal behaviour. Missing from home episodes do occur; however, they have reduced in frequency and duration. Young people are now spending more time at the home interacting with each other and staff. Young people now enjoy inviting their friends to the home.

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improvement to be good

The young people‟s school attendance and attainment have improved. This is because missing from home incidents have reduced and young people‟s health and well-being have improved. One young person has expressed an interest in working with information technology. The care staff are fully supporting and encouraging his newly identified aspirations. Despite this good work, staff are unable to maximise the support and intervention that they provide young people because their education plans and statements of educational needs are either significantly out of date or incomplete. Inspection report children‟s home: SC032250 7 Young people‟s health has improved because they are, in the main, provided with a healthy, balanced diet. Staff are more vigilant now about what food they buy. Young people have unlimited access to fruit. Menu planners detail the variety of food on offer that considers the young people‟s preferences, but is also balanced and nutritious.

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improvement to be good

Despite this good work, written records do not consistently and comprehensively reflect what food is actually eaten.

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improvement to be good

Revised care plans and risk assessments have been introduced. These documents are in their infancy of development and require further improvement. Information within the new plans is now current and more informative. However, these plans do not comprehensively provide staff with clear instructions and guidance on how to identify, meet and respond to the young people‟s daily needs. Neither do they align with the aims or actions identified in one young person‟s child in care review.

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improvement to be good

Since the previous inspection, one young person has continued to spend his leisure time in the local community. Staff are now more aware of where he is and with whom. Contact with the young person when he is out of the home has improved significantly. Individualised missing from home protocols that have been agreed with the local police are in place and are effective. Staff spoken to demonstrated a clearer understanding of safeguarding. A weakness is identified within the records that staff complete; they do not consistently document their actions and how they advocate for the young people‟s safety.

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improvement to be good

All staff are now provided with clear instructions and guidance on what actions they are required to take when young people go missing. Missing from home incidents have reduced. When they do happen, young people are provided with an independent return home interview. Despite this improvement, information that staff gain about the young person‟s whereabouts and associates remains limited.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have introduced new central recording systems. Staff are provided with clear guidance on how to complete records about restraint, sanctions and complaints. Most of these systems have not yet been tested out for effectiveness because there have not been any physical interventions or complaints. Three sanctions have been imposed, all of which were restorative in their approach and proportionate. Staff have ensured that the views of the young people have been sought and recorded in these records. The manager‟s monitoring of these sanctions has been effective.

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

The acting manager has, with the support of the responsible individual, been instrumental in addressing all of the shortfalls identified at the last full inspection. Together, they have worked hard to strengthen safeguarding procedures and improve Inspection report children‟s home: SC032250 8 the quality of care. While progress has been made, further time is required in order to ensure that good practice is soundly embedded and that the new reporting and recording systems are tested out for effectiveness. The responsible individual and acting manager have provided the staff team with a period of stable management and support. Team meeting records reflect how they are promoting good practice for all staff. Formal supervisions take place regularly, and staff are now provided with an opportunity, individually and as a team, to reflect on their work. The acting manager devised a quiz for staff so that she could test their learning

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

and understanding. As a result, the responsible individual and acting manager have a clearer understanding of the team‟s development needs. Despite these opportunities, not all care staff have taken their personal and professional development seriously; they have not prioritised or completed the online training courses that the acting manager has requested. A number of auditing errors were identified during the course of this inspection. These include placement plans not aligning with the local authority targets and actions. Education plans are out of date or incomplete and inappropriate terminology is used in key-worker sessions. Since the previous inspection, the statement of purpose has been reviewed. New systems to manage complaints have been introduced. Since the previous inspection, no complaints have been raised. As a result, the new systems have not yet been tested for effectiveness.

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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 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: SC032250 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1XJ

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Inspector:

Sharron Escott, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC032250 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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