Children's home run by Icare Children’s Services Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1164379 1 Registered provider: iCare Children’s Services Limited

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Interim 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 and accommodation for up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural problems.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home was judged good at the last full inspection in May 2017. Since then, the service has declined. One young person has moved out and three young people continue to live at the home.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Ofsted has received a number of complaints about the running of the home. There is no registered manager and the interim manager and four staff have all left the service in the last few weeks. This has left three employed staff.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

A monitoring visit was conducted after Ofsted received serious concerns about staffing levels and the experience and qualifications of staff who were caring for the three young people. Half of the staff are new, and to maintain staffing levels the responsible Inspection report children’s home: 1164379 2 individual and agency staff are being used. This means that young people are no longer experiencing consistent care. Only one member of staff is first aid qualified. This means that some shifts have staff in charge who do not have essential training.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

There are major concerns about the home’s recruitment practice. One new member of staff has been started without any of the required recruitment checks. Another member of staff has been started without a full employment history. Managers have failed to scrutinise the background checks of agency staff to make sure that only suitable adults are working with young people. This lack of scrutiny places young people at risk of harm from adults who have not been sufficiently checked prior to starting. New staff have not received induction training including safeguarding and physical intervention training. This potentially places young people at risk of harm, because the staff do not have the knowledge, skills or experience. For example, if a young person needed to be physically restrained, staff do not have the required training.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The independent visitor reported on two physical interventions that had not been recorded. At this inspection, staff were unable to find details of these incidents. It was therefore unclear what had happened during these incidents to prompt the staff to use physical intervention or to determine if the action was appropriate.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

One young person went missing from the home. This was not recorded as a missing- from-care or unauthorised absence. Given the nature and seriousness of the episode, staff did not notify Ofsted. This means that the regulator was unable to assess whether staff had acted appropriately.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

An independent fire risk assessment was completed in January 2017. The responsible individual has not ensured that all the actions identified at the visit have been met. At the recent monitoring visit, inspectors found a fire door was locked on the second floor of the property. This is contrary to fire regulations. The responsible individual did take immediate action to rectify this risk once it was pointed out to him.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managerial monitoring of the service is poor. The location risk assessment has not been reviewed. This means that staff may overlook potential environmental risks to young people in their care. The statement of purpose has not been updated following changes at the home. This does not keep parents, professionals and young people up to date about the service provided by staff at the home. The children’s guide is not accessible. This leaves young people without access to essential information.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

There is little evidence that staff help young people to make age-appropriate progress towards adulthood. Young people help with some day-to-day chores. However, young people do not have plans detailing how they will learn essential skills to prepare them for independent life.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Not all requirements and recommendations made at a monitoring visit in August 2017 have been met. Not all staff have received safeguarding or physical intervention training. This potentially places young people at risk of harm, as staff do not have knowledge and insight into their responsibilities to protect young people. Inspection report children’s home: 1164379 3 Maintenance work is ongoing to improve the home’s environment. There are areas that need attention to make sure that young people live in a clean, well-presented environment which is suitable for their needs.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/05/2017 Full Good 02/11/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/05/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1164379 4

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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

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who,

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff 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. (Regulation 6(2)(b)(vi)) 22/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16(3)(a)(b)) 22/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46(1)(2)) 22/12/2017

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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— (i) the name of the child; (ii) details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; (iii) the date, time and location of the use of the measure; (iv) a description of the measure and its duration; (v) details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; (vi) the name of the person who used the measure (‘the user’), and of any other person present when the measure was used; (vii) the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and (viii) a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; (b) within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered 22/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: 1164379 5

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Requirement Due date

person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’)— (i) has spoken to the user about the measure; and (ii) has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and (c) 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)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)) The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is any other incident relating to the child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(e)) 22/12/2017

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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—

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to 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; ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; 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; ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; 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; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h)) 22/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children’s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs. The registered person must ensure that at all times at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. (Regulation 31(1)(2)(a)) 22/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3): the individual is of integrity and good character; the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and full and satisfactory 22/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: 1164379 6 information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32(1)(3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) The registered person must ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction; ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation; ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional

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Requirement Due date

development; receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(1)(3)(a)(b)) 22/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child, are kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c)) 22/12/2017

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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 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; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; are familiar with and act in accordance with the home’s child protection policies; 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)(a)(i)(v)(vii)(b)) 22/12/2017

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Recommendations

 Ensure that young people live in an environment which meets their basic day-to- day needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  Ensure that the children’s guide is age appropriate, provided in an accessible format and explained to each child to make sure that they understand it. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.20)

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: 1164379 7 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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: iCare Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 24 Milton Road, Smethwick B67 7HT

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Inspector

Julia Wright, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1164379 8 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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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