Children's home run by Keys Childcare Limited

Inspection report children‟s home: 1255796 1 Registered provider: Bettercare Keys Ltd Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The service is operated by a national provider, in partnership with a local authority.

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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

One requirement was made at the last inspection. It has not been met. Young people have not received continuity of care from a stable staff team. Although the home no longer uses agency staff, gaps in the rota resulting from staff sickness have been covered by a myriad of different care staff from the provider‟s other homes. Consequently, young people have been looked after by staff who they do not know well.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The arrangements for staffing the home are not good enough to meet the ethos of the home as laid out in the statement of purpose. They do not enable the home to accommodate three young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties in a caring environment in a way that promotes the development of appropriate attachments and positive relationships. This is exacerbated by the failure to make proper arrangements that promote continuity of care when several staff members are on long term sick leave. Inspection report children‟s home: 1255796 2 The home no longer uses agency staff, however, relief staff from other homes are deployed in this home. For example, over a two week period, 23 different staff looked after the young people, including 15 relief staff. While, relief staff from other homes are familiar with the routines of the home and the expectations of them as care staff and they are familiar with the home‟s procedures for reporting allegations or disclosures of

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

abuse to a senior manager. The relief staff arrangements do not enable staff to build strong, supportive and influential relationships with young people and the arrangements do not promote trust and attachment between adult and child.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home‟s statement of purpose specifies a minimum staffing level of two staff for three young people. While this staffing ratio is being met within the home, the home‟s ratio of two staff to three young people has proved to be inadequate to meet the needs of the group of children. In October 2017, it became apparent that the staff team was unable to safely meet young people‟s complex and challenging needs. The provider temporarily increased staffing levels so that, latterly, there have been three and often four staff on each shift; but continuity of care has not been prioritised as this is only a temporary increase in the staffing levels. The minimum staffing levels specified within the home‟s statement of purpose need reviewing, to ensure that they are suitable for the number and needs of young people that the provider states the home can accommodate.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

One young person moved on to independent living, after a successful placement. The transition was well planned. The remaining two young people continued to make good progress until the admission of a third child, who moved to the home when a sister home closed. Since then, young people‟s progress has deteriorated. One young person has become increasingly involved in dangerous, criminal behaviour and their lack of engagement and progress in education is a concern. This young person was preparing for independence, but that work has ceased due to their challenging behaviour and growing disengagement with the programme.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Prior to a young person‟s admission to the home, the manager considered his compatibility with those already living in the home. In collaboration with the local authority, the manager decided that the young people were well matched and the home could meet his needs. It quickly became apparent that staff could not manage the young person‟s challenging, disruptive and dangerous behaviour. Staff have not been able to build meaningful relationships with him and his aggressive behaviour has escalated.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Not all staff have had training in meeting this child‟s specific needs, even though these needs were known prior to placement. While behaviour management is discussed at team meetings, sometimes with input from the provider‟s specialist adviser, not all staff attend. Indeed, one member of staff has not attended a team meeting for three months. This means that not all staff have the opportunity to reflect on behaviour management strategies with their co-workers. It does not promote good continuity of care.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The responsible individual has recognised that staff need to further develop their behaviour management skills, and that the home needs to have a far greater focus on reflecting on and learning from incidents. Inspection report children‟s home: 1255796 3 The home‟s attempts to help young people develop mutual respect and reduce bullying behaviour have not been successful. A young person has been subjected to domestic violence in the home. He has suffered ongoing bullying and assaults from his peers and the staff have not always been able to keep him safe. Consequently, he has called the police when he has been under serious threat of harm in the home.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

To afford him better protection, the home provides the young person with constant supervision during waking hours. Staff do all they can to keep young people apart. This includes providing many outings and opportunities outside of the home. The young person‟s family have complained about his safety in the home. They are working in partnership with the home to further promote his safety, by providing extended family home breaks. This young person is also being bullied at school and, although he attends regularly, his progress at school has deteriorated. The home has kept the local authority informed of the negative experiences he is having, and has initiated professionals‟ meetings to review the situation and agree on the best way of supporting him.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Strategies for supporting young people to behave in a socially acceptable and respectful way are not successful. There has been a huge increase in the number of serious incidents in the home and the police have been called to the home over 30 times in two months. Most of these incidents have involved assaults on a child or on staff, and significant damage to the premises. Despite this, staff rarely press charges against young people, as they do not want to criminalise them.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Measures of control, such as sanctions and rewards, are not always fairly applied in a transparent way. For example, sanctions in the form of significant financial reparation are sometimes, but not always, imposed for damage to property. Not all measures of control are recognised as such and recorded. For example, a member of staff locked a young person‟s bike in the downstairs office because he refused to leave the upstairs office and was causing a disturbance. The home viewed this action as an incentive to encourage the young person to leave the office. It resulted in him smashing the door to the downstairs office, to retrieve his bike. This is not recorded as a measure of control. There has been no reflection on the measure as a means of managing a young person‟s behaviour.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Independent monitoring of the home is good. In November 2017, the independent regulation 44 visitor identified many concerns about the operation of the home and the standard of recording. She listed 12 actions for improvement and wrote: „Due to the young people‟s individual behaviours, young people are not being kept safe… I do not believe that it is appropriate for these three young people to live together as one group.‟ Shortly after this, the provider served notice on a young person‟s placement.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Partnership working is good. Representatives from the home attend all professionals‟ meetings relating to young people living in the home, and make effective contributions to young people‟s plans. Managers call meetings with the placing authority and other agencies to review young people‟s progress and agree strategies for behaviour, and contact senior management when there are concerns about young people. They keep Inspection report children‟s home: 1255796 4 the placing authority fully informed of young people‟s experiences and progress, and their increasingly dangerous and concerning behaviour.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The provider has made it clear to the placing authority that the home cannot meet the needs of one young person and cannot keep the current cohort of young people safe, due to the negative impact of one young person. The home has shown a level of commitment to the young person and has continued to look after him while a new placement is being found, despite the notice period expiring. The young person remains in the home and continues to be a risk to himself and others.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The five recommendations for good practice made following the full inspection have been partially met. Changes to the independence programme were considered by the staff team, but the home was not convinced they were needed. One young person began the independence programme, but did not engage well with it and stopped. No young people are currently following the programme. It was not assessed during this inspection. The recommendation is therefore repeated.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The provider‟s review of documentation is not yet complete. Consequently, few changes have been made and staff continue to find recording an onerous and repetitive task. The recommendation to review it is repeated.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Some progress has been made in tailoring individual risk assessments to each young person‟s specific safety needs, in that only relevant risks are assessed. However, not all risks are identified and explored. For example, no risk assessment has been drawn up in relation to the lock on a young person‟s bedroom door following an incident where staff were unable to enter the bedroom of a known fire-setter because he was holding the snib in place from the inside, thus preventing access. This was a safety concern because the young person is a known fire-setter and equipment for fire starting was subsequently retrieved from his bedroom. The recommendation is repeated.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Serious incidents are not always notified to Ofsted in good time because the provider does not always use the correct unique reference number for the home when submitting notifications. This causes delay in Ofsted‟s assessment of the home‟s safeguarding practice when serious events have occurred.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/08/2017 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: 1255796 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

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that— (a) helps children to aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare. (2) In particular, demonstrate every effort to ensure continuity of staffing so that children‟s attachments are not overly disrupted, and that the employment of any temporary staff does not prevent children from receiving the continuity of care that they need. The standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (e) ensure that the home‟s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; (f) understand the impact of 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. (Regulation 13) 28/02/2018

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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. (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; (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. (Regulation 12) 28/02/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1255796 6 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

(a)a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; (b)an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; (c)there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; ( d)a child protection enquiry involving a child — (i)is instigated; or (ii)concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or (e) there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40) In particular, ensure that notifications of serious incidents are submitted to Ofsted without delay using the correct unique reference number, so that it is clear that the notification relates to this home. 31/01/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children‟s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (3) The registered person must- (a) keep the statement of purpose under review, and ,where appropriate, revise it; (5) ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (3) (5)). In particular, review the minimum staffing levels specified in the statement of purpose to ensure that the arrangements for staffing enable the home to accommodate 3 young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties in a caring environment in a way that promotes the development of appropriate attachments and positive relationships. 28/02/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the home meets children‟s needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments Inspection report children‟s home: 1255796 7 where these needs have not been consistently met. In particular, in consultation with children, review the independence programme. Ensure the arrangements for promoting independence do not deter staff from providing a nurturing and supportive environment which demonstrates that staff care for the child and value them as an individual. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  Review relevant documents to ensure that they support the home to deliver the ethos and outcomes of the statement of purpose and thereby provide high-quality care to children. In particular, ensure that recording is not overly onerous and does not negatively impact on the care of the children. („Guide to the children‟s homes

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Recommendations

regulations including the quality standards‟, page 52, paragraph 10.4)  Ensure that risk assessments relating to children‟s individual behaviour and needs are individually tailored and demonstrate that the home continually and actively assesses the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  Ensure that the development of safe, stable and secure relationships with staff in the home is central to the ethos of the home and support the development of secure attachments that, where appropriate, persist over time. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 39, paragraph 8.11)  Ensure that staff have the capacity and competence to build constructive, warm relationships with children that actively promote positive behaviour and provide the

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Recommendations

foundations for managing negative behaviour. Where necessary, they should manage conflict, maintain constructive dialogues and react appropriately if challenged by a child in their care. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 39, paragraph 8.14)  Ensure that staff 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)  Ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of

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Recommendations

regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and the principles set out in paragraph 9.35 are respected. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 46, paragraph 9.36) Inspection report children‟s home: 1255796 8

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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: Bettercare Keys Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Laganwood House, Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5NW

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Inspector

Sharon Lloyd, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1255796 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

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Inspector

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