Children's home SC367737

Inspection report children’s home: SC367737 1 SC367737 Registered provider:

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private manager. Care and accommodation are provided for up to three children and young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager also operates a school from the same address.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 31 January 2018 to 2 February 2018.

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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 and safeguarded.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 11 October 2017

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted issued a notice of decision to cancel this home’s registration on 17 January 2018. Inspection report children’s home: SC367737 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

 The provider and staff continue to demonstrate a weak understanding of how to keep children safe. This is the third time that the home has been judged as inadequate due to serious and widespread weaknesses in how well children are helped and protected.  The provider and staff fail to ensure that children are responded to safely when they go missing from the home.  The provider and staff do not understand fully the risks and history of one child or take this into account in planning care. Staff do not know where the child is when the child is away from the home or whom he is with.  Staff allowed a child to travel to an important appointment independently and did not take action to ensure that the child arrived. This resulted in a breach of the child’s supervision order.  The provider and staff did not take sufficient action to ensure children’s safety during and immediately following a serious incident involving two children in the

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Key findings from this inspection

home.  The provider does not follow safer recruitment practices when employing staff to work in the home.  The provider did not recognise a potential child protection concern and failed to report this concern promptly to the local authority.  Care plans do not provide staff with enough information about boundaries and structure for children. This is negatively affecting their bedtime routines, sleep patterns and education routines.  Care plans do not provide staff with information about how specific diagnosed needs should be managed.  The provider’s monitoring of daily records is not effective. Key issues are not identified, as senior managers only review the records at the end of each month.  The provider does not show capacity to improve. This is the sixth consecutive full inspection in which the effectiveness of leadership and management of this children’s home have been judged as inadequate.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people who have recently left the home speak highly of their time living there and of how much it helped to improve their life chances. They express considerable gratitude to the provider and staff team.  One current child is generally making good progress. His social worker recognises that he is more settled and engaged than at any other previous time.  Staff have been provided with more training and their supervisions are more Inspection report children’s home: SC367737 3 meaningful to their development.  The home’s polices have been re-written and the statement of purpose is up to date. The provider is making the required notifications to Ofsted following serious events. A new independent visitor is being used to conduct the monthly auditing.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2017 Full Inadequate 02/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/07/2016 Full Requires improvement 20/04/2016 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: SC367737 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, 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

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Requirement Due date

(1) The quality and purpose of care standard is 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 experience of abuse or neglect; (vi) help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare

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Requirement Due date

the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult; (vii) provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably; (viii) provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding; 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. 28/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

(1) The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. 28/02/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC367737 5 (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure — (a) that staff — (i) help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; (ii) support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study; (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.

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Requirement Due date

(1) The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— (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 in accordance with the child’s age and

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Requirement Due date

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 28/02/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC367737 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 same; (xi) de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

(1) 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; (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

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Requirement Due date

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. 28/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

(1) 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 aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the 28/02/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC367737 7 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; (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; (e) ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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;

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Requirement Due date

(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.

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Requirement Due date

(1) The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. (2) The registered person may only — (a) employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or (b) if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). (3) The requirements are that — (a) the individual is of integrity and good character; (b) the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; (c) the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and (d) full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 32 (1) (2) (a) (b) (3) (a) (b) (c) (d)). 28/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

(1) The registered person must — (a) ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction; Inspection report children’s home: SC367737 8 (b) ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation; and (c) provide each employee with a job description outlining the employee’s responsibilities. (Regulation 33 (1) (a) (b) (c)).

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The provider and staff do not understand fully the risks and history of one child or take this into account when planning this child’s care. At times, staff do not know where the child is when the child is away from the home or whom this child is with. This lack of support places the child at significant risk.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Despite leaders and managers revising the home’s placement plans, these documents still do not comprehensively identify children’s needs. Staff were unable to describe to the inspectors one child’s diagnosed needs. Leaders took action during the inspection to improve these documents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s support plans are insufficient. They do not provide staff with enough information about boundaries and structure for children. This is negatively affecting their bedtime routines, sleep patterns and attendance at school. Staff work closely with the school’s headteacher to be creative with strategies to help children attend the provider’s school; however, this is not always successful. Both children’s attendance has decreased since the Christmas break in 2017.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to share important information about children’s needs with others who are caring for and supporting them. For example, a child goes to a work experience setting, yet staff have not informed the company of the potential safeguarding risks for the child or advised the employer how to manage concerns should they occur. This places both the child and employer at risk.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to manage a child’s money safely. They have also failed to implement systems to assure themselves that items in a child’s bedroom safe are appropriate, despite this being agreed at the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

One child has settled in well to living at this home. Since being here, his social worker has seen a significant improvement in his presentation and emotional well-being. She stated that, ‘He appears brighter, happier and more motivated.’ The child recently joined in his local authority review meeting and expressed his views, which is something which he had not previously wanted to do. Inspection report children’s home: SC367737 9 Children receive good support to help them stay in contact with their families. Both children spent Christmas with their family and regularly see the individuals who are important to them. Children’s health needs are being addressed while they are living at this home. Staff help them to attend important medical appointments and to take their necessary medication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Two young people who have moved out of the home in the past 12 months are very positive about their experience of living here and are extremely grateful to the provider and staff. One young person wrote a letter to staff expressing his thanks. He stated, ‘All the support I needed was all in house in forms of onsite staff, including the provider, consistently encouraging me and never letting me doubt myself, which has turned me from a child into the man I am today.’ Another young person who recently gained certificates for a carpentry qualification said, ‘It was all down to the provider. I liked the house just the way it was. There was always someone there to talk to and to help me.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

The help and protection offered to children is inadequate because of the continuing serious failures that leave children at risk of harm and their welfare not being safeguarded. Failures are repeated from previous inspections and demonstrate leaders’ and managers’ poor capacity to make and sustain the necessary improvements.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Responses to children going missing are not well coordinated and do not keep children safe. Staff are advised to report children missing after 30 minutes of their not being found. On one occasion, at 2.00pm, a member of staff could not locate a child who had left the home three hours earlier, yet did not report him as missing to the police until 10.30pm. Staff explained to inspectors that this was because the children’s curfew is not until 10.00pm.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

When children go missing from the home, staff do not take sufficient action to keep them safe and ensure that they return to the home quickly. Staff do not routinely follow children when they leave the home, or search for them when they are missing. Despite this being a weakness, also identified at previous inspections, insufficient action has been taken to improve this practice. During the inspection, a child went missing from the home. Despite discussions with leaders and managers about the importance of searching for children, staff still did not search for the child when he remained missing the following day. The manager said that this was because staff did not know where the child was and, therefore, did not know where to search for him.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Staff do not understand the risks to children when they are away from the home. Children are allowed free time out of the home until 10.00pm each night, regardless of their age. One child is often away from the home for many hours with only limited communication by telephone. Staff do not know where the child is or whom he is with. Staff ask the child, but they have not specifically taken any other action to safeguard the child or assure themselves independently when the child refuses to tell them.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Staff fail to take urgent action to protect children and reduce the risk of harm to them. A Inspection report children’s home: SC367737 10 serious incident occurred in which one child imprisoned another child in a bedroom and staff did not gain access to the room for an hour. Staff failed to remove a hammer from one child despite the child wielding it as a weapon. Urgent action was not taken following this incident to ensure that a similar incident could not happen again. Staff would have failed to remove the weapon from the child’s possession or to take action to ensure future entry into the bedroom by staff, if inspectors had not insisted on action.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Staff have had training in understanding the risks that using the internet may present to children. However, despite this training, staff allow a young child to spend many hours each day playing online games with others, with limited monitoring or direct support. In addition, neither staff nor leaders and managers understand what access to the internet the child has on a smartphone, and therefore this child’s use of the internet is not monitored. Children are not helped well enough to learn about using social media and the internet safely. They do not have access to social media in the home as all sites are blocked. Leaders and managers said that children are helped with this in school, but no direct work takes place in the home to help children.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Recruitment and vetting of new staff continue to be weak. One member of staff has been recruited since the last inspection. The manager failed to obtain his own references for this member of staff and relied on the member of staff asking an agency to provide historical references. These references did not provide the manager with information about whether the member of staff was suitable to work in the role he was applying for and with children. The manager stated that he verified the references, but he fails to maintain a record to demonstrate what was verified and what information was obtained. The same staff member was not interviewed for their role and does not have a job description.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Since this appointment, the manager and other leaders have completed safer recruitment training and the vetting policy has been amended. Weaknesses in safer recruitment have been a repeated feature at previous inspections.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home continues to be inadequately managed. The provider is also the registered manager and has the relevant experience and qualifications to undertake the roles, but he is not doing so effectively. Despite the appointment of a new senior leader, whom the provider had identified to become the new registered manager, this is the sixth consecutive full inspection in which the effectiveness of leadership and management of this children’s home has been judged as inadequate. The new senior leader has not identified weaknesses in members of staff’s safeguarding practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not accurately understand how the home is performing. Leaders monitor the quality of care, but this monitoring is not effective. Records that staff keep about children’s daily experiences and activities are not typically reviewed until the end of each month. As a result, important information about what is happening with children is not questioned or scrutinised quickly. Inspection report children’s home: SC367737 11 During the inspection, the inspector identified an incident in which a distressed child left the home and threatened not to return. The record made about this incident fails to describe whether staff followed the child. On another occasion, a child subject to a supervision order was allowed by staff to travel independently to an important scheduled appointment. The child did not attend, resulting in a breach of the order. Leaders and managers failed to take action to address this poor decision-making by staff and to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

ensure that the child is always provided with the required support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders’ and managers’ understanding of child protection is weak. A child disclosed serious personal information relating to unprotected sex. Leaders and managers failed to notify the social worker promptly and failed to consider whether this was a child protection concern. Although medical attention was provided and staff spoke with the child, they failed to have a plan in place to provide relationship and sex advice to the child in a way that he will engage with.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not kept themselves or the staff team up to date with statutory safeguarding guidance. A staff member wrongly informed the inspector that it was not their responsibility to search for children who were missing, but that it was the responsibility of the police. Leaders and managers fail to implement the requirements of the runaway and missing from home and care guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

In response to the requirements made at the previous inspection, a new independent visitor has been appointed; the home’s polices and statement of purpose have been updated; new training has been arranged for staff; and team meetings and supervisions take place regularly with a safeguarding focus. The deputy manager has begun to use supervisions to help support staff’s development, giving them advice on record-keeping and using good examples to demonstrate how it is done well. Leaders and managers also make notifications to Ofsted in a timely manner following significant events in the protection of the children. Some decoration of rooms has taken place in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Although actions have been taken to address what was identified through requirements at the previous inspection, further weaknesses have been identified at this inspection that result in repeated requirements.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC367737 12 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: SC367737 13

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Inspectors

Guy Mammatt, social care inspector Paula Lahey, regulatory inspection manager Inspection report children’s home: SC367737 14 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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