Children's Home, Residential special school run by Rowden House School Limited in Herefordshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC035625 1 SC035625 Registered provider: Rowden House School Limited

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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 is a privately owned residential special school, which is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 30 young people who have 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 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:

None Inspection report children‟s home: SC035625 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 are still inconsistent in their approach to safeguarding young people.  Some young people do not have their cultural needs fully explored, and their cultural needs are not recorded on their plans.  The practice of door locking, without the agreement of placing authorities, does not promote a homely environment.  Not all risk assessments are updated after safeguarding incidents, and some behaviour management guidance is confusing.  Staff do not have sufficient awareness of internet safety.  Quality assurance processes are not yet effective.  Young people and staff are not debriefed after a physical restraint.  The independent visitor reports lack details relating to restraints and incidents.  Agency staff are not safely recruited.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff support young people well to prepare for moves to new placements.  Young people maintain good school attendance.  Young people are able to make choices that affect their everyday life.  Young people are able to maintain positive contact with people who are important to them.  Professionals and parents are complimentary about the home, and said that the managers and the staff work in partnership with them.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/06/2017 Full Inadequate 21/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 02/11/2016 Full Good 13/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC035625 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

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children‟s home‟s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standards in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that the care is delivered by a person who has the experience, knowledge and skills to deliver that care. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(3)(c)(i)) 08/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills. (Regulation 9 (1)) 08/12/2017

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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 uses monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) 08/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that any limitation placed on a child‟s privacy or access to any area of the home‟s premises is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; is necessary and proportionate; is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)). 08/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to any individual employed 08/12/2017 Inspection report children‟s home: SC035625 4 to work in the children‟s home in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that 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 (“the authorised person”)— has spoken to the user about the measure and 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. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(c)) 08/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child that include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3. The records must be kept up to date, and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1) (a)(b)(c)) 08/12/2017

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Recommendations

 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)

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improvement to be good

Most young people receive individualised care and support. This enables them to make good progress from their starting points. However, some young people do not have their cultural needs explored or recorded on their plans. For example, one young person requires her own hair and skin care products. This is not reflected on her care plan. Another young person does not have access to a prayer mat, despite being at the home for over a year. This lack of written detail leads to inconsistencies in practice and results in young people not always having their cultural needs met.

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improvement to be good

Staff support young people to make successful moves to new placements. This helps young people to manage periods of change.

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improvement to be good

Partnership working with professionals, such as speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and psychologists, is strong. Inspection report children‟s home: SC035625 5 This support ensures that young people are able to make positive progress in areas of their development.

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improvement to be good

Young people are able to make choices that affect their everyday lives. The staff work closely with an advocacy service. As a result, young people are able to express their views.

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improvement to be good

Young people enjoy a range of activities. These include using the play equipment on the grounds, going for walks, and visits to soft play areas.

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improvement to be good

Staff facilitate family contact. Families can stay on site at no cost to themselves. This has enabled young people to have contact with those who are important to them. Family members are included in celebrations, such as birthday parties.

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improvement to be good

Professionals and parents are complimentary about the home. They reported that the management team and staff work in partnership with them. A parent told the inspector how the staff had made „a massive improvement‟ to their son‟s life and that staff are „very supportive‟.

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improvement to be good

The different houses are clean and individualised. However, the practice of door locking, without the agreement of placing authorities, does not promote a homely environment. Furthermore, in two of the houses, inspectors found that young people‟s files were not confidentially stored. The interim manager resolved this during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Staff still do not take prompt action when safeguarding concerns emerge. For example, there has been one incident in which a young person ate a potentially harmful material and staff delayed in seeking medical advice.

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improvement to be good

The staff team does not understand internet safety. For example, staff believed that additional safeguarding software, which prevents young people from accessing certain material online, had been installed. However, this was not the case. This level of confusion leaves young people at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff receive training in helping them to understand the risks that young people can face by going missing, such as child sexual exploitation. However, no young person has gone missing or been at risk of exploitation.

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improvement to be good

Medication discrepancies have continued to decrease. Staff feel supported by the additional measures put in place by the health care team. Some of the patterns and trends have been analysed to assist learning. Changes in practice are beginning to bring about positive change. Inspection report children‟s home: SC035625 6 Managers make sure that fire drills take place so that young people and staff know how to respond in an emergency.

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good

A new manager has recently been appointed and is awaiting employment checks prior to commencing their role. Another manager from another home in the organisation is covering the post in the interim.

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good

The staff team benefits from regular team meetings, supervision and appraisal. Staff spoke positively of the recent positive management changes, and they share the vision of improvement.

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good

Staffing levels have improved. There is currently only one vacancy. Training has improved, and staff are on target to meet the requirements of having their level 3 diploma in residential childcare.

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good

The children‟s guide is in an accessible format. This means that young people are clear about the services that the home provides.

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good

Quality assurance processes are not yet effective, with poor oversight of physical restraints and complaints. For example, although independent visitor reports are very detailed they do not sufficiently consider restraints and incidents.

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good

Permanent staff are safety recruited. However, the same level of scrutiny is not applied to agency staff. For example, it is unclear that references have been sought and verified. This means that there is the potential risk that unsuitable adults may be in contact with young people.

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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 Inspection report children‟s home: SC035625 7 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: SC035625 8

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Rowden House School Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 St. George‟s, Vernon Gate, Derby, Derbyshire DE1 1UQ

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Inspectors

Louise Battersby, social care inspector Sue Young, social care inspector Dawn Bennett, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC035625 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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