Children's home run by Broadwood Education Services in Rossendale

Inspection report children’s home: SC363350 1 SC363350 Registered provider: Broadwood Educational Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.  The home is owned by a large national provider. 

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

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

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 12 December 2016

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Two compliance notices were issued as a result of the last inspection. Since that inspection, three monitoring visits have taken place: one to review the notices; and two in response to complaints made to Ofsted by children living in the home. Reports following those visits have been published. Inspection report children’s home: SC363350 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is inadequate because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Failings are serious and widespread. This home is not managed effectively.  Children are not protected and the arrangements to safeguard them are ineffective.  Children’s day-to-day experiences are poor and their outcomes are weak. The one child currently living in the home is not making good progress.  The manager and staff team do not learn from previous events in the home or from children’s poor experiences. As a result, weaknesses remain. The requirements raised at the last inspection remain unmet.  Staff do not have the skills to identify or respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns. Allegations made by children about the staff are not always recognised or acted upon. Allegations are not always referred to safeguarding agencies because managers and staff do not believe the children.  A number of significant incidents have happened in the home since the last inspection. Some of these incidents have been unsafe and lasted a long time. At

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Key findings from this inspection

times, the children have held the balance of power and control in the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 A new provider has taken over this home and is working with Ofsted to improve the standards of care provided. Wider organisational decisions that have been made are starting to result in better and safer care for children.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/12/2016 Interim Declined effectiveness 11/05/2016 Full Requires improvement 30/11/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/07/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC363350 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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard (1) In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard the registered persons must ensure that children receive care from staff who— (a) understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; (b) use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (a) understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose; (b) ensure that staff— (i) understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose; (ii) protect and promote each child’s welfare; (iii) treat each child with dignity and respect; (iv) provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background; (v) help each child to understand and manage the impact of any

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Requirement Due date

experience of abuse or neglect; (vi) help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult; and (ix) make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. In particular, leaders and managers must review whether the needs of young people are met by staff, and take effective action when this is not happening. 06/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC363350 4 7: The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard (1) In order to meet the children’s views, wishes and feelings standard the registered person must ensure that children receive care from staff who— (a) develop positive relationships with them; (b) engage with them; and (c) take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to

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Requirement Due date

matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (a) ensure that staff— (i) ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare; (ii) help each child to express views, wishes and feelings; (iii) help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child; and (iv) regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. 06/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

8: The education standard In order to meet the education standard the registered person must ensure that staff— (a)(iii) understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers; (iv) help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; (v) promote opportunities for each child to learn informally; and (vi) maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement. In particular, staff must be supported to develop and implement daily plans for young people who are not in education, training or employment in order to maximise the opportunities for informal learning. 06/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

9: The enjoyment and achievement standard In order to meet the enjoyment and achievement standard the registered person must ensure— (1) that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, 06/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC363350 5 intellectual, physical and social interests and skills. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff help each child to— (i) develop the child’s interests and hobbies; (ii) participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and (iii) make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and (b) that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. 11: The positive relationships standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the positive relationships standard the registered persons must help children to develop, and benefit from, relationships based on— (1)(a) mutual respect and trust; (b) an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and (c) positive responses to other children and adults. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff— (i) meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans; (ii) help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; (iii) encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; (iv) help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; (v) communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations

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Requirement Due date

in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; (vi) help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful; (vii) help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship; (viii) strive to gain each child’s respect and trust; (ix) understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive 06/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC363350 6 relationships with children; (x) are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the

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Requirement Due date

same; (xi) de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children; (xii) understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and (xiii) have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and (b) that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. 12: The protection of children standard (1) In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must ensure that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff— (i) 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; (ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

(iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; (iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; (v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; (vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and (vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; (b) 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; and (e) that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. 06/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard (1) In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered persons must provide an environment that enables, 06/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC363350 7 inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— (a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (a) 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; (b) ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; (d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; (e) ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to

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Requirement Due date

each child; (f) 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; (g) demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— (i) research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and (ii) feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 14: The care planning standard (1) In order to meet the care planning standard the registered person must ensure that children— (a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and (b) have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the

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Requirement Due date

registered person to ensure— (a) 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; (b) that arrangements are in place to— (i) ensure the effective induction of each child into the home; 06/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC363350 8 (ii) manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and (iii) plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority; and (c) that each child’s relevant plans are followed. 36: Children’s case records In order to meet this requirement the registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which— (a) include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in

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Requirement Due date

relation to each child; (b) are kept up to date; and (c) are signed and dated by the author of each entry. 06/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

37: Other records In order to meet this requirement the registered person must— (2)(a) maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; and (b) ensure that the records are kept up to date. In particular, the visitors’ book must include a record of all visitors to the home, and to children, including the visitors’ names and the reasons for their visit. 06/12/2017

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inadequate

Children’s day-to-day experiences are poor and they do not make good progress. Staff have failed to provide structure and routine for the one child who is currently living in the home. The child is not attending education or training. The staff do not plan day-to-day activities for the child. The child spends most of the day watching television or shopping. At the time of the inspection, in the previous seven days, the child had not been out of the home apart from one visit with their family and once when they had left the home due to distress. Staff fail to provide stability, security and consistency for children. This is largely due to staff not understanding the needs of young people. For example, some staff fail to demonstrate that they have a good understanding of attachment difficulties and emotional distress for children. This means that staff are unable to help children to develop resilience.

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inadequate

The wishes, feelings and views of the children do not inform care planning sufficiently. While some staff and managers can state what children’s views are, there is no evidence that their views are acted upon. The child is worried that staff caring for them may be taken ill, leaving the child with staff whom they do not know. The child has repeatedly expressed anxieties to staff about other children Inspection report children’s home: SC363350 9 coming to live in the home and the negative effect this has on their behaviour. No action has been taken to deal with these worries; the voice of the child has not been listened to. Children are not consulted effectively when there are plans for other children to move into the home. Staff fail to prepare children or involve them meaningfully in the planning process. The assessment process for matching children with each other is ineffective. The majority of children who have lived in this home over the

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inadequate

previous 12 months have not been compatible with each other. As a result, children’s behaviours have had a negative effect on the stability and safety of all of the children living in the home. At times, staff fail to manage some of the children’s behaviours and keep control of the home. In one case, it was only a few weeks before the provider served notice to a child to move out because the team was unable to manage their behaviour, demonstrating the poor quality of the assessments and matching processes carried out before children move into the home. Relationships between the staff and the child living in this home are not always positive. The child finds it difficult to cope with male carers. Despite this child’s anxiety, leaders and managers have appointed two male staff to work in the home. In addition, multiple staff changes have occurred that have also had a negative effect on children’s stability and security.

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inadequate

The manager does not always recognise allegations made by children about the staff who care for them as safeguarding concerns. The manager has failed to address one allegation stemming from a prolonged incident and a physical intervention in the home. Another child made a different allegation about staff that was not acted on by the manager. The safety of the children in both of these incidents was not prioritised and the allegations have not been investigated. At times, prolonged and, sometimes, dangerous incidents have happened in the home. Staff do not always manage these incidents well and at times staff have no authority. For example, on one occasion, staff locked themselves in the office and called the police and managers from other homes in the group to come to the home to manage the situation. Children who live in this home are not protected by staff and the arrangements to safeguard them are not effective. Staff caring for children do not understand the

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inadequate

indicators of abuse and exploitation. On one occasion, a child who is assessed as being at high risk of exploitation and abuse was dropped off by staff in an unknown area to spend the evening there. The child later phoned the home under the influence of alcohol. Staff failed to respond immediately to this concern and did not go to collect the child for another hour. This left the child in a vulnerable situation and at risk of harm and exploitation. In addition, staff failed to alert the manager and safeguarding agencies about information the child had disclosed after this incident. No action was taken to protect the child or to follow up the Inspection report children’s home: SC363350 10 safeguarding concerns that were disclosed. In one case, staff were not aware that a child had gone missing from the home. A child left the home without the knowledge of the staff and was missing for a period of time before staff realised the child was absent. Staff failed to respond in

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inadequate

line with the child’s care plan or to alert the police that the child was missing. The record staff made about this incident is inaccurate; staff failed to describe what had actually happened or that the child was missing. Management oversight of this incident was poor and the serious deficits in practice were not identified. Staff fail to recognise that some television programmes that they watch with children are inappropriate due to the child’s needs and history. As a result, a child watched a programme that was potentially highly distressing to the child without staff recognising the possible detriment to their well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leadership and managerial oversight in this home are poor. Some safeguarding documentation and records kept about children are inaccurate or incomplete. The central log used to document restraints had four pages missing and senior leaders were unaware of this until it was raised by the inspector. Other records fail to show the seriousness of the incidents that have happened. In addition, a record of visitors to the home and the purpose of their visits is not always made. The requirements from the last inspection have not been met. Some of the shortfalls identified at the last inspection have been repeated. Despite senior leaders undertaking audits and providing additional support and training to the manager, progress has not been made and poor practice continues. The manager fails to review effectively the arrangements for children within the home. Incidents do not have sufficient management oversight. Poor practice is not

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

identified, and, therefore, remains unchallenged. Discussions do not always take place with staff or children after incidents; and, when they do, these are of poor quality. This reduces the scope for improving and developing the quality of the care that children receive. Staff have not received the training that they require to keep children safe. Staff recently attended a course about children who are abused and exploited. Despite this training, one member of staff failed to identify a number of important indicators and concerns for one of the children and so no action was taken to reduce future risks or address the concerns. Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that children are provided with consistent, safe and appropriate care from the staff. At times, the child living in the home does not know who is going to be caring for them. The manager has covered a significant amount of shifts herself, which has detracted from the time she has

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

available to spend on management tasks. Inspection report children’s home: SC363350 11

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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: SC363350 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Broadwood Educational Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: New Hall, Hey Road, Rossendale BB4 6HR

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Inspectors

Tracey Ledder: social care inspector Paula Lahey: social care regulatory inspection manager Inspection report children’s home: SC363350 13 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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