Children's home run by Slough Children’s Services Trust Limited in Bristol, City of

Inspection report children‟s home: 1183494 1

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Registered provider: Slough Children‟s Services Trust Limited (09487106) Interim 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 seven children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. They may be aged between 11 and 17 on admission. It is a purpose-built local authority children‟s home that opened in 2005 but transferred to a trust established in October 2015.

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Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 16 to 17 May 2017

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be 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 has an interim manager who has not yet registered with Ofsted. More than six months have elapsed since a registered manager has been in post and this has contributed to the judgement of declined in effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

A very recent restructuring of management in the home has led to the appointment of three team leaders, ensuring that a senior member of staff is available on each shift. The new leaders have a good grasp of most of the issues that the home faces and a keenness to make improvements. Inspection report children‟s home: 1183494 2 The quality of care review conducted by the manager gives a considered analysis of the six months covered by the report. It details how children and young people are consulted but does not include what their views were or how they were taken into account, nor does it provide an action plan to address weaknesses identified by the review. This means that there is insufficient clarity about how managers and leaders will set about improving the care.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Nevertheless, progress has been made in some important areas. This includes the first phase of extensive refurbishment of the home in which the kitchen has been refitted and bedrooms redecorated in colours chosen by young people. The garden has also been cleared to make it usable. Attempts to eliminate odours in shower rooms have not been successful and young people commented on how unpleasant this made them. Further work is scheduled to undertake more extensive upgrading of washing facilities to finally resolve the problem.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been a significant reduction in the practice of locking doors as a means of managing behaviour. Staff were able to explain the circumstances in which they might undertake the measure and they could evidence it was a reasonable action. The single occasion it has been used was sufficiently well logged.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been only one physical intervention since the last inspection. The format of the log provides space for details of when the staff member and young person have been spoken to about it and for a record of the young person‟s view of the incident. However, none of this had been completed nor was there evidence of the manager reviewing it. The sanction log does not have space for most of this information and several entries had no signature against them to indicate a manager has undertaken any monitoring. This was the subject of a recommendation in the previous inspection report and is now a requirement.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Two requirements have been repeated: to notify HMCI of revisions of the statement of purpose (that of September 2017 had not been received); and for Regulation 44 reports to contain a clear statement of the view of the independent person as to whether the home effectively safeguards children and promotes their well-being. These reports generally contain limited evaluation of the home‟s care and surprisingly few recommendations.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff talked of developing relationships with children and young people as a means of helping them to make changes and meet the challenges of their lives. Young people spoken to expressed their trust of the adults who work with them and how they felt supported. One commented, „They explain and give you help. If you feel upset, you can talk to them.‟

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been considerable success in helping young people who have not attended school for up to a year before admission to return to education. One young person said, „The staff are proud of me as I missed the whole of Year 10 but I‟ve more than caught up. They push me to achieve the highest grades.‟ Other young people have not been so motivated, but staff continue to work with other professionals and to discourage non- attenders from merely staying in their rooms watching television. Inspection report children‟s home: 1183494 3 Children and young people are safeguarded against potential threats from outside the home. The management team has an excellent understanding of what constitutes gang- related activity and child sexual exploitation, and of how to respond to young people who might be at risk of or actually involved in either. Young people have been supported to report significant crimes against them by others in the community. Missing person‟s

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people spoken to said that they felt safe in the home and bullying was not an issue. However, the log of incidents record a number of occasions when an individual has been the subject of taunts and provocation. The narrative of one indicated that staff had not been able to prevent this behaviour from continuing for a significant period (times were not included). The record states that both young people were told bullying would not be tolerated. However, nothing suggested action would be taken to re-enforce this message, for example a sanction or work to develop awareness of the impact of such behaviour. The verbal message alone was not effective in preventing further incidents.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young person‟s files are in good order, with all required documentation in place. Audits identify shortfalls such as missing signatures or information. The latter includes a young person‟s complaint about the allocation of funds, which was not recorded in the complaints log either. Generally, young people believe the manager and staff listen to their views and act on them, such as moving a young person to another room when he told them his bedroom had an unpleasant smell.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

A significant document that could not be found during the inspection was a risk assessment drawn up with other agencies that updated an initial impact risk assessment, which had concluded that a young person placed in an emergency was only suitable to be in the home for a fortnight. The inspection did not reveal evidence to indicate the young person was not suitably placed but without the documentation it was not possible to evaluate how thorough the new assessment had been. If a copy cannot be found, the home is open to criticism if concerns arise in the future.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

A new worker said that managers and colleagues had supported her well and that she had had a helpful induction process, commenting that she „had learnt a lot‟. However, supervision has not been provided; although the manager has had discussions with her, none were recorded as a formal session.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/01/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 11/05/2016 Full Good 09/11/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: 1183494 4 Inspection report children‟s home: 1183494 5

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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 order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must ensure—

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Requirement Due date

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)(b)).

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and the general principles for behaviour management in children‟s homes are respected. 28/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(b)) 28/02/2018

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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 28/02/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1183494 6 measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered

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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. In particular, records must show that these timescales have been adhered to.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation so that the process followed and how it has led to the outcome is clear. (Regulation 39 (3)) 28/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit which sets out, in particular, the independent person‟s opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded and the conduct of the home promotes children‟s well-being. (Regulation 44 (3)(a) and (b)) 31/01/2018

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (2)(a)(b)) 30/04/2018

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Recommendations

 Staff should understand what they must do to prevent bullying of children by other children or adults. Staff should be able to recognise and address different types of abuse such as peer abuse, cyber-bullying and bullying in day-to-day relationships in the home. Registered persons must ensure that procedures for dealing with allegations of bullying are in place and staff have the skills required to intervene, protect and address bullying behaviours effectively. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 39, paragraph 8.16)

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Recommendations

 A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with the home‟s statement of purpose. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations Inspection report children‟s home: 1183494 7 including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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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

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: Slough Children‟s Services Trust Limited (09487106)

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ground Floor West, St Martin‟s Place, 51 Bath Road, Slough, Berkshire SL1 3UF

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Inspector

Chris Peel, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1183494 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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