Children's home run by Priory New Education Services Limited 07221650 in Hammersmith and Fulham

Inspection report children’s home: SC476795 1 SC476795 Registered provider: Priory New Education Services Limited 07221650

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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 registered to provide care for five children who have learning disabilities. The home is operated by a large private organisation. The property is a three-storey house located on the edge of a large city and within walking distance of shops and community facilities.

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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: Good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC476795 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

 The property is not homely or welcoming. The communal areas of the home are not well maintained. Currently, the garden is not a well maintained, child friendly space.  On occasions, staff phone the police to assist them to support children with their behavioural and emotional needs. This has led to some children experiencing time in police custody for damaging property.  Leaders and managers do not keep sufficient records about the allegations that children make about staff. The outcomes of child protection concerns are not recorded.  Leaders’ and managers’ monitoring of the performance of the home does not always provide in-depth analysis or reflection. There is a lack of learning to develop the quality of the care provided.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children make progress at the home. They engage in education and learning when this has previously been a challenge for them. Staff support children to learn new skills, which increases their independence.  Staff show commitment to children and care for them in a nurturing and warm manner. Leaders and managers plan children’s care well. Records about the children’s needs and how to meet them are comprehensive.  Leaders and managers advocate strongly on behalf of children, to ensure that they receive the necessary services to meet their needs.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/10/2016 Full Good 12/04/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/12/2015 Full Requires improvement 15/05/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC476795 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, the 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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to –

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child; and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, take immediate action to improve the quality of the home and garden. 30/11/2017

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure staff can meet the behavioural and emotional needs of children to reduce police involvement in the home and criminalisation of children. 30/11/2017

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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 30/11/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC476795 4 understand the role and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure records are maintained of allegations children make about staff including the outcome of the concern. 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.

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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

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

In particular, ensure records show clear monitoring by leaders and managers and any actions taken to improve the quality of care. 30/11/2017

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Recommendations

 The registered person should agree with their local police force, procedures and guidance on police involvement with the home to reduce unnecessary police involvement in managing behaviour and criminalisation of behaviours. Children should not be charged with offences resulting from behaviour within a children’s home that would not similarly lead to police involvement if it occurred in a family home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.40)

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improvement to be good

The home requires refurbishment to bring it up to a suitable standard. The living areas on the ground floor are run-down, plaster has cracked in places and the wallpaper is peeling from the walls. The door frames are in need of repair. Similarly, the garden is not designed to meet the complex sensory needs of children. Leaders and managers have recognised some of these shortfalls. Quotes are sat within the company’s financial Inspection report children’s home: SC476795 5 system waiting for authorisation. In contrast, children’s bedrooms are personalised to their taste and present a much homelier space for them to spend time in.

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improvement to be good

Children living in the home are making progress. The staff team sets children realistic targets and supports them to achieve these. All children are engaged in some form of education or learning. Staff set out creative plans around education to maximise children’s attendance. Children learn daily living skills that help to increase their independence and opportunities in the community. A parent said, ‘My child has moved on so much and has become much more independent.’

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improvement to be good

Staff take time to get to know the children and their individual needs. Staff attend training in autism and utilise these skills and understanding to plan children’s days with routine, structure and social stories. Children’s care plans and records reflect this knowledge and commitment to providing children with care that meets their needs and helps them to develop.

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improvement to be good

Children have good access to a range of health services required to meet their needs. Staff support children to attend their health appointments and help them to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Children are encouraged to try new foods, stop smoking, and become more active. As a result, children’s diets have become more varied and balanced.

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improvement to be good

Staff recognise the importance of children maintaining relationships with their family and friends. A parent said, ‘I feel very involved and communication is good between me, the home and my child.’

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not keep well-maintained child protection records. Records that detail a serious allegation a child made about a member of staff are not available. Leaders and managers have limited documentation to show the actions that they took to protect the child. There is no record of the outcome of this allegation.

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improvement to be good

The relationships that children have with one another in the home are unpredictable. On occasions, children have harmed or provoked one another. Leaders and managers have implemented a strategy that directs children to lock their bedroom doors to keep them safe from each other. Children spend very little time out in the communal living areas. On occasions, a child has been locked in their bedroom with staff as a safety measure to protect them from another child. When the child requested to leave their bedroom staff have blocked their exit resulting in the child becoming physically aggressive towards them. On one occasion this led to the staff restraining the child in their bedroom. This is not conducive to a safe and homely environment.

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improvement to be good

Children have individual detailed risk assessments and plans that staff follow to support them to behave in a positive manner. Staff have a good understanding of why and when children may need extra support with their behaviour. Staff follow the basis of these plans well and there are good examples of staff de-escalating situations where children’s Inspection report children’s home: SC476795 6 behaviour is becoming challenging to them. However, this is inconsistent and, on a number of occasions, staff have called the police to the home to assist them to manage children’s behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Children have experienced restraint by the police, spent time in police custody and, on occasions, children have been criminalised for their behaviours. There is no plan in place with the local police about how staff intend to minimise police involvement and reduce children being unnecessarily criminalised. Leaders’ and managers’ monitoring of these incidents is poor. There is lack of reflection and analysis from incidents that involve the police and how they impact children.

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improvement to be good

Children have good access to services that support their mental health. Leaders and managers commission specialist health professionals to ensure that children have access to the support that they require. Staff help and encourage children to engage in these services, and see the benefits in improvements in the children’s emotional well-being.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers ensure that staff vetting and recruitment checks are in place before staff start work at the home. This includes staff recruited through an agency. The provider audits the quality of agency recruitment to ensure that it meets the required standard.

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

The registered manager has sufficient skills and experience to manage the home. They are registered to attend a level 5 diploma course in leadership and management for residential childcare which is almost complete. Monitoring systems do not demonstrate a good understanding of all of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Leaders and managers have not identified all of the shortfalls identified during this inspection.

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

Leaders’ and managers’ oversight of restraint and incident records does not improve the quality of care. There is no challenge or reflection when staff phone the police to assist them to manage children’s behaviour. Leaders and managers believe that the use of the police is proportionate to the risks posed at the time when staff phone for their support. There is no plan in place to reduce the frequency with which the police are called.

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

The home’s development plan identifies some areas for improvement, including the need to refurbish some areas of the home and garden. A date for commencement of this work has not been established. Leaders and managers have made some progress with their development plan in other areas, including recruiting a more permanent staff team.

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

The home went through a period where staffing shortfalls were covered by agency workers. More recently, leaders and managers have recruited a permanent team. Staff new to the home complete an induction and shadow period to enable them to get to know the children. The impact of a large number of new staff means that there are few staff with a level 3 qualification.

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

Staff attend regular team meetings, which creates the opportunity to reflect on the care Inspection report children’s home: SC476795 7 that they provide to children. Leaders and managers supervise staff on a regular basis. Staff have access to an online training module as well as face-to-face training opportunities. Staff have training in key skills to meet the children’s needs, including autism and child protection.

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

Leaders and managers work well with other organisations to meet the needs of children living in the home. Children have the opportunity to express their views about the care that they receive. Children have access to services because the manager builds bespoke packages of care around their individual needs.

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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: SC476795 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Priory New Education Services Limited 07221650

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Catherine Lethbridge

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Inspector(s)

Nicola Lownds, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC476795 9 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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