Children's home run by Beacon Childcare Ltd in Cheltenham

Inspection report children’s home: SC482141 1 SC482141 Registered provider: Beacon Child Care Ltd Full inspection

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for four young people up to the age of 18. The home offers care for young people who have behavioural and/or emotional needs. The home is privately owned.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

p.1

inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

p.1

inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

p.1

inadequate

Date of last inspection: 14 February 2017

p.1

inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

p.1

inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: SC482141 2

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is inadequate because:

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Staff have failed to promote the safety and welfare of young people in their care.  Managers do not give sufficient attention to safe recruitment.  The manager has failed to ensure that serious safeguarding concerns are notified to local authorities.  Managers do not always record complaints and do not always investigate complaints made in young people’s meetings.  Staff do not give young people their prescribed medication as required.  Significant changes to staffing are impacting negatively on young people’s sense of stability.  Some areas of the home are not of a good standard of cleanliness to create a homely environment.  Managers and staff do not follow fire regulations.  Managers do not make sure that the premises are secure.  Staff fail to identify or plan for reducing risk.  Staff fail to record measures of control, discipline and restraint in accordance with the regulations.  Managers have failed to escalate concerns when information is not provided by

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

partner agencies.  Not all staff have completed the level 3 diploma within the required timescales.  The manager does not have a sufficient understanding of staff development.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 One young person has achieved full attendance at college and achieved a BTEC level 1 award.  One young person’s episodes of going missing from care have reduced over the past 12 months. Inspection report children’s home: SC482141 3

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 05/12/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 23/05/2016 Full Good 25/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC482141 4

p.3

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

p.4

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that the registered person must ensure that staff 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. * (Regulation 12(2)(a)(i) 02/10/2017

p.4

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that the registered person must ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person and take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(v)(vi)) 02/11/2017

p.4

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that the registered person must ensure 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. (Regulation 12(2)(b)) 02/11/2017

p.4

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that the registered person must ensure that the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. * (Regulation 12(2)(d)) 02/10/2017

p.4

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard requires the registered person must ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; and ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13(2)(c)(d)(e)) 02/11/2017

p.4

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)) 02/11/2017

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines into the home. (Regulation 23(1)) 02/11/2017

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person must take adequate precautions against the risk of fire including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’ home. (Regulation 25(1) (a)).This includes regular routine checks of fire equipment and lighting and proper 02/11/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC482141 5 use of fire doors. The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. * (Regulation 32(1)) 02/10/17

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that any individual who works in the home in a care role has achieved the appropriate qualification by the relevant date. The relevant date is, in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32(5)(a)) 03/12/2018

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that 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 the time of the measure, there are written details of any methods or steps taken to avoid the use of the measure and the effectiveness and any consequence of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(iii)(v)(vii)) 02/11/2017

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that, within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person authorised by the registered person to do so, has spoken to the child about the measure, has signed the record to confirm it is accurate and within 5 days of the use of the measure adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)) 02/11/2017

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39(3)) 02/11/2017

p.5

Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

p.5

Recommendations

 Where the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child’s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home must challenge them to meet the child’s needs (see regulations 5(c)). (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8)  The registered manager must ensure that there is a workforce plan in place which can fulfil the requirements of regulation 16 schedule 1. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

p.5

Inspection judgements

Inspection report children’s home: SC482141 6

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the last inspection, there have been significant changes to the group of young people living at the home. Nine young people have moved in and seven young people have left the home. In some instances, young people have moved from the home shortly after admission. This has been because staff were not able to meet their needs. A member of staff told the inspector, ‘Admissions and discharges have been an absolute nightmare. It’s not fair that there have been so many changes of young people. It’s not helped that risks have clashed.’

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Poor matching has negatively affected the daily experiences of young people who have been exposed to challenging behaviours including violence, aggression and damage to property. This poor matching and challenging behaviours leave some young people at risk of significant harm. One young person told the inspector, ‘I’ve been subject to behaviours I didn’t want to be subject to, for example, smashing the television with a brick. It was horrible.’

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Young people are encouraged to attend routine appointments with general practitioners, dentists and opticians. However, inadequate sharing of medical information at admission has resulted in staff over-administering prescribed medication to one young person. A social worker told the inspector, ‘Handover between placements was really sloppy. When he came to the home, his mum noticed that he was like a zombie. It became apparent that the staff were over-medicating him. They were giving him four times the amount of medication that he was supposed to have.’ This serious lack of attention to making sure that young people receive the correct medication means that young people’s health, safety and well-being have been compromised.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff are failing to make sure that the home’s day-to-day care routines provide the support necessary to secure young people’s safety. Despite high staffing ratios, one young person was able to leave the home for a number of hours without staff being aware. The young person told the inspector, ‘I was out for nine hours and no one noticed I had gone. I don’t get it. They should be supervising us.’ The manager failed to ensure that a review of the young person’s risk assessment was completed after this incident. This means that staff remain unclear about what needs to happen to keep the young person safe. One member of staff told the inspector, ‘We check her every 30 minutes now.’ Another member of staff commented, ‘I’m not sure if anything has changed as a result.’ Lack of clarity regarding day-to-day routines and supervision arrangements leaves young people at risk of significant harm.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Managers and staff give inadequate attention to the home’s physical conditions. For example, there are no arrangements to ensure the safe maintenance of external bins to prevent hazards to young people. As a result, bins to the front of the property are overflowing with rubbish. External areas to the front of the property are unkempt. Internally, the coffee table in the lounge is broken, there is no shade on the hallway ceiling light and a toilet in a young person’s bathroom is leaking and has been requiring attention for some time. In the dining room, two dining chairs require repair. Walls to Inspection report children’s home: SC482141 7 the ground-floor hallway are dirty. Painting to the walls of the laundry is patchy in areas. The cleanliness of the home is poor. A bedroom, which has been vacant for a number of weeks, has not been cleaned. Kitchen cupboards are soiled. Food left in the cooker overnight has gone undetected by staff. Doors and skirting boards are grubby. Detailed

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

cleaning of the home is absent. The manager said, ‘I have no excuse for the poor cleanliness. It should be done.’ The numerous shortfalls do not provide an environment that demonstrates that young people are valued, and there are clear health and safety risks.

p.7

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Despite the concerns, young people make some progress in key areas. Last term, one young person achieved full attendance at college and achieved a BTEC level 1 award. Two of the young people have education placements identified for the autumn term, and another young person is in the process of securing education. Staff encourage young people to engage in leisure activities. One young person enjoys attending sea cadets. Another young person who has a history of going missing from care has not gone missing since living in the home. Young people have developed positive relationships with the staff in the home.

p.7

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

Managers and staff do not have sufficient understanding of the importance of safeguarding young people. Staff fail to update risk assessments in a timely way following complaints, allegations or incidents. For example, one young person recently complained about bullying by other young people at the home. None of the young people’s risk assessments reflected this or the specific strategies that staff should use to minimise the risk of further incidents. In another instance, the manager confirmed that a recent allegation against a former resident had not been investigated or risk assessed. The absence of up-to-date risk assessments and accompanying safety plans means that staff do not have an understanding of their roles and responsibilities to keep young people safe. These failures leave young people at risk of significant harm.

p.7

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

Staff recognise the importance of young people staying in touch with family and friends. However, guidance is not followed and staff do not have sufficient information to make sure that they discharge their responsibilities safely. For example, staff have dropped off a young person without checking the identity of the relative with whom they are leaving them. Records are lacking essential details such as addresses that the young person must not be taken to. A lack of clear guidance, incomplete records and insufficient information result in staff being ill informed about whom the young person can and cannot see to ensure that she remains safe.

p.7

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

Behaviour management strategies are unclear. Management oversight of the measures of control used by staff is inadequate. A member of staff told the inspector that they use consequences such as loss of activities. However, there is an absence of up-to-date recording to reflect this practice. Physical interventions are poorly recorded. For example, the location and duration of each restraint are not always recorded. It is not clear whether young people are offered medical advice after a physical restraint. The Inspection report children’s home: SC482141 8 records fail to show whether a young person is given the opportunity to talk about their feelings after they have been physically restrained. These weaknesses compromise young people’s opportunities to reflect on incidents and the manager’s opportunities to review staff practice.

p.7

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

House meetings and key working sessions provide young people with the opportunity to express their wishes and feelings. As a result, young people are able to choose their meals and their activities. Young people know that there are systems for making and managing complaints, and they have made complaints. However, the manager does not make sure that records of complaints are kept in accordance with guidance. For example, although young people confirmed that their complaints have been resolved, records do not always reflect this. The manager cannot be assured that all complaints, including safeguarding concerns, are appropriately addressed.

p.8

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

Managers have failed to appropriately vet staff. Agency staff start their duties without identification, references and evidence of qualifications. Gaps in employment histories are not checked. In one instance, a suitability assessment of an employee who had a history of convictions did not take place. Inadequate attention to vetting staff means that there is the potential for unsuitable adults to work directly with young people.

p.8

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

Managers and staff give insufficient attention to health, safety and security. The doorbell to the rear of the property does not work. It is therefore decided that patio doors, which are used as the main access into the home, should remain open. This leaves the home vulnerable to trespassers and compromises everyone’s safety. In addition, a garage to rear of the property, which is used for the storage of tools and maintenance products, is not secure; this presents a health and safety risk to young people. Managers lack understanding about fire safety. The manager was not aware of a signed fire evacuation route that leads to a locked gate. The absence of a fire evacuation plan, non-completion of weekly fire checks and lack of evidence of an annual inspection of the emergency lighting system all demonstrate a lack of regard for the safety of everyone in the home.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Since the last inspection, significant changes in staffing have created instability for young people. A new manager has been in post since June 2017 and has submitted an application to Ofsted to become the new registered manager. The previous registered manager left in April 2017.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are seven full-time members of staff in post. Three are new to the home and two remain within their probationary period. The home also has one permanent night waking officer. Of the staff team, two members are qualified to the level 3 diploma in childcare. Three members of staff have not achieved their level 3 diploma within the required timescales.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The team has three full-time vacancies, one of which is a team leader post. Agency staff cover gaps in the rota. One young person told the inspector, ‘I liked this place when I Inspection report children’s home: SC482141 9 first came as I knew who all the staff were. There are too many agency staff now, and I have to ask who is coming on duty. This is unsettling for me. We don’t like it. We should know who is caring for us. Different people don’t just come in and out of my mum’s house, so why should they here?’ A social worker told the inspector that they are very disappointed with the service that their young person has received because there have been a lot changes.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager recognises that staff inconsistencies undermine the delivery of care to young people. The manager is trying to employ regular agency staff to help reduce young people’s feelings of instability and anxiety. However, rota planning does not always ensure that the staff on duty have sufficient experience, skills and training to meet the young people’s needs and to keep them safe. In addition, the manager does not have an up-to-date staff training record. This means that rota planning does not adequately take account of shortfalls in experience and training, leaving young people vulnerable.

p.9

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has formed positive relationships with the young people and has a commitment to improving the service. A young person told the inspector, ‘She is implementing changes that actually work.’ A social worker told the inspector, ‘I can see some improvements under the new management.’

p.9

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have access to supervision and said that they feel supported. However, the manager has not yet developed a workforce plan or familiarised herself with the most recent review of the quality of care. This hinders her understanding of the strengths of the home and the areas needing development. This impacts on the manager’s ability to make sure that young people are safe and their welfare is promoted.

p.9

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

p.9

Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC482141 10

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Beacon Child Care Ltd

p.10

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hazlewoods, Windsor House, Bayshill Road, Cheltenham GL50 3AT

p.10

Inspector

Alison Cooper, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC482141 11 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.10

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.11

Inspector

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

p.11

Inspector

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

p.11