Children's Home run by Platform Childcare Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC479230 1 SC479230

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Registered provider: Platform Childcare Ltd 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 provides care for two young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 26 to 27 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

Date of last inspection: 12 January 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC479230 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

 Education arrangements, including home tuition, are poorly monitored.  Leadership and management require improvement. This has resulted in a poor handover of managerial responsibilities.  Collaborative work between the provider and the placing authority are poor.  Risk and behaviour management plans do not provide staff with accurate and up-to-date information and guidance.  Staff turnover is high and does not provide good continuity of care for young people.  Management monitoring is not robust.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff meet the young person‟s physical and emotional health needs well.  Staff build trusting relationships and support the young person to make improvements in behaviour.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/01/2017 Full Requires improvement 02/06/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/12/2015 Full Requires improvement 15/09/2015 Full Inadequate Inspection report children‟s home: SC479230 3

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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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child‟s placing authority effectively in the child‟s care, in accordance with the child‟s relevant plans

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority‟s or a relevant person‟s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child‟s needs are met in accordance with the child‟s relevant plans

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children‟s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5(a)(c)(d)) 10/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child‟s education and training targets, as recorded in the child‟s relevant plans

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child‟s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing 10/11/2017 Inspection report children‟s home: SC479230 4 authority to support the child‟s education and training and to maximise the child‟s achievement

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child‟s relevant plans. (Regulation 8(1) and (2)(a)(i)(iii)(vi)(x))

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‟s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home‟s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b) and (2)(a)(e)(f)(h)) 10/11/2017

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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.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home‟s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14(1)(a) and (2)(a)) 10/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which are kept up to date (Regulation 36(b)). This is with particular regard to compatibility and risk assessments. 10/11/2017 Inspection report children‟s home: SC479230 5

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improvement to be good

The young person does not receive full-time education, and is currently home tutored. His placing authority has agreed this. Earlier education placements in mainstream schools, which were arranged by the manager and staff, have resulted in permanent exclusion. The manager and staff have poor insight into the challenges that the young person faces. This has added to the young person‟s sense of failure and poor experiences of education.

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improvement to be good

The young person‟s engagement in education at the home is minimal, as he is only provided with three hours of formal tuition a week, which is in maths. At this inspection, the young person was observed to be engaging with his maths tutor, and both are pleased with the progress he has made.

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improvement to be good

Weekly education plans show that staff support sessions such as English, geography, art and sport. However, inconsistent recording means it is hard to evaluate the young person‟s engagement, achievements and progress. These part-time education arrangements do not promote the young person‟s academic potential.

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improvement to be good

In-depth knowledge about the young person‟s family background, childhood experiences and emotional resilience enables staff to promote safe and appropriate contact between the young person and his family. Staff ensure that the young person and his family undertake a range of activities (including shopping trips, birthday parties and trips to the park) during their visits to the home. The staff provide photos and an ongoing journal so that everyone involved has memorabilia about the visits. This sensitive approach helps the young person to build emotional resilience while he lives away from his family.

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improvement to be good

The nurturing and understanding approach taken by staff enables the young person to verbalise his emotions, better regulate his anger and seek out affection from staff. The young person feels more understood because staff are skilled in understanding how autism spectrum disorder affects the young person. With staff support, the young person is more able to understand and communicate his emotions and needs, and understand what is happening around him. For example, the use of feelings cards has been a useful communication tool that enables the young person to let staff know how he is feeling. Consequently, staff have been able to intervene more quickly and offer him more support. As the young person feels more understood, he is more able to build trusting relationships with staff.

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improvement to be good

The young person‟s behaviour has improved. There are now fewer incidents during which the young person physically hurts staff and there has been a decrease in the need for staff to use physical interventions. Building trusting relationships with staff, Inspection report children‟s home: SC479230 6 particularly his key worker, has enabled the young person to reason with adults and better reflect on how his behaviour impacts on those around him.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a clear understanding of the risks that the young person poses both to children and adults. Staff supervision when the young person spends time with other young people, vetting of potential friends and liaison with their parents effectively manage such risks and the young person has experienced positive friendships with his peers. This is a positive and valued experience for the young person, who has consistently struggled to make and maintain friendships throughout his childhood.

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improvement to be good

The young person‟s physical health and emotional health have improved. He has a better understanding of how to promote his own good health. As a result, he now agrees to attend health appointments with staff support. This includes recent engagement with a therapist. A range of physical activities keep the young person fit. Improved relationships with staff and mixing with other young people in the community benefit his sense of emotional well-being.

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improvement to be good

An informative and user-friendly young person‟s guide provides an opportunity for the young person to develop an understanding of what it is like to be looked after at the home. The young person knows about, and has used, the home‟s complaints process, and has a full understanding of the operation of the home.

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improvement to be good

Consultation with the young person is good. Day-to-day discussions and interactions are positive and staff are keen to encourage the young person to express his views and feelings. Key-working sessions and young people‟s meetings help the young person to be involved in the running of the home and in discussing plans for his care.

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improvement to be good

The young person lives in a well-maintained home and staff make every effort to make the house homely. Regular servicing and health and safety checks ensure that the young person and the staff live in a safe environment.

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improvement to be good

Care and safeguarding plans are fragmented and records are difficult to access. Impact risk assessments are poorly written and information about the young person is not clearly or consistently identified. Strategies for managing the impact of a young person‟s admission are generic. For example, there is no mention of how risks, such as sexualised and aggressive behaviours, may have an impact on the other young person who is living in the home at the time.

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improvement to be good

Care planning and risk management formats do not provide easy or accurate access to information. For example, the young person‟s most recent risk management and behaviour plan has a score of zero for self-injurious behaviours and sexualised behaviour. The zero score denotes the frequency of these behaviours over the past month, and is misleading as these behaviours remain a significant risk. Although these Inspection report children‟s home: SC479230 7 documents do not show accurate and up-to-date information, staff practices and staffing levels keep the young person safe.

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improvement to be good

The current risk management and behaviour plan is meant to be a working document, but only identifies progress, as opposed to also alerting staff to the potential risk that the young person has presented and continues to present. The lack of consistency between information provided by the placing authority and information in the home‟s compatibility assessment compromises placement planning goals for the young person.

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improvement to be good

Despite these issues, well-trained staff have clear insight into the young person‟s risks. Although earlier decisions made by managers and staff regarding education arrangements placed other young people and education staff at risk, high levels of staff supervision now promote the young person‟s safety and protect others from potential harm.

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improvement to be good

The young person is kept safe with clear and consistently implemented missing-from- care protocols. Staff supervision protects the young person. Staff are vigilant and follow the young person if he does not adhere to the agreed boundary that he remains in sight of the staff at all times. Reporting procedures are prompt and reflect the level of risk for the young person. On the few occasions that the young person has walked away from staff, he has been quickly located by the staff and returned to the home safe and well.

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improvement to be good

There are no concerns about child sexual exploitation or exposure to radicalisation at the home. The young person is currently the home‟s only resident, so there is no potential for bullying within the home. Staff are vigilant regarding the young person‟s interactions with his friends in the community in order to make sure that everyone is safe.

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

The home has not had a registered manager since the beginning of September 2017. A new manager is already in place and her application to register with Ofsted is being processed. The new manager was not available during this inspection.

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

All statutory requirements from the previous inspection have been met. For example, staffing levels now meet the high staff-supervision needs of the young person currently living at the home. New staff are inducted and all staff are appropriately trained. Staff report improvements in consistency, and now say that they work well as a team. Staff have clear insight into the young person‟s risks and organise their day-to-day care to mitigate these. Medication cabinets are now in place to make sure that medication is stored safely. However, new shortfalls have emerged in terms of leadership and the protection and education of young people.

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

Staffing levels now meet the needs of the young person. However, during the eight- month period since the last inspection, there has been a high turnover of staff that has included eight new staff and seven staff leaving the home. Staffing changes also include a new manager being appointed to the home recently. Inspection report children‟s home: SC479230 8 The high turnover of staff was also exacerbated by the transfer of staff from other homes. Decisions regarding these transfers are not always child centred. For example, the home now has three deputy managers. Two are from other homes, and now work at this home to better suit their personal circumstances.

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

There has been a lack of consistent management and a lack of management strategy. For example, the responsible individual has failed to harness the opportunity to have a detailed and in-depth transition between managers. The new manager is now at a disadvantage due to poor handover arrangements and the early exit of the previous manager. It is now essential for the new manager and the responsible individual to cement and retain the current staffing arrangements, so that the young person does not experience further changes.

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

Communication between the provider and the placing authority is poor. This causes contradictions in placement planning decisions and the aims and objectives for the young person. The recent change in managers at the home and the inconsistent handover of information have further exacerbated these tensions.

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

For example, managers and the staff at the home state that they have put education arrangements in place in the best interests of the young person. However, the young person‟s social worker feels that these actions have led to failure and distress for the young person, as these early education placements quickly failed. These outcomes mirror the young person‟s experiences before coming to this home, and are the foundation of the placing social worker‟s decision to arrange home tuition.

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

In addition, the managers have recently arranged additional alternative education outside of the home. This arrangement had not been authorised by the placing authority and was put in place just prior to a statutory review for the young person, where all decision-making professionals would have been present.

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

There is confusion about the arrangements in place for the young person to have supervised contact with his friends. While staff manage these arrangements well, the placing social worker and the independent reviewing officer are not aware of the full extent of the arrangements.

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

There is also confusion about the placing authority‟s understanding of the home‟s statement of purpose. For example, the young person‟s initial placement plan states, „It was felt that he required a small therapeutic placement. [The home] accommodates a maximum of two young people and offers a therapeutic focused intervention by experienced staff.‟ The home‟s statement of purpose does not cover specialist therapeutic care, nor does it offer this service. The responsible individual and the staff are unable to identify how professionals have developed these expectations. While the reason for the young person‟s placement is clearly identified in his placement plan, there is no evidence that the responsible individual or the manager of the home have challenged this information and reiterated the home‟s statement of purpose. Inspection report children‟s home: SC479230 9 Staff value their inductions and a drive in staff development has meant that all staff are

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

suitably qualified and trained to look after young people in residential care. The deputy manager is also completing the level 5 diploma in leadership and management, to enhance leadership in the home. Staff supervision is regular and the young person is looked after by well-trained and knowledgeable staff.

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

Independent monitoring reports are regularly received by Ofsted, and evaluate the quality of care in the home. However, these and the internal monitoring have failed to identify and address the shortfalls as identified by this inspection.

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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: SC479230 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Platform Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 32, Anglesey Business Centre, Anglesey Road, Burton-on-Trent DE14 3NT

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Inspectors

Elaine Cray: social care inspector Balsinder Jaspal-Mander: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC479230 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.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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