Children's home run by Milton Keynes Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC383187 1 SC383187

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Registered provider: Milton Keynes Council

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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 a residential special school registered as a children’s home. The home provides short breaks and 52-week placements for up to 24 young people who have learning disabilities. Inspection dates: 5 to 6 February 2018

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home requires improvement to be good because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager is limited in her responsibilities, such as the authority to Inspection report children’s home: SC383187 2 suspend staff in the event of a safeguarding allegation or referral to the disclosure and barring service.  The boundaries between the school and the children’s home are blurred, such as school governors responding directly to complaints about the children’s home, while other strategies to support children and young people are not shared between the school and home. This results in an inconsistent approach.  The quality of relationships with professionals, such as social workers, and with parents is varied.  Risk assessments do not identify all known risks and the control measures to be adopted. There are no individual protocols for children and young people at risk of going missing.  A large proportion of staff are not trained in key skills, for example epilepsy management.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Safeguarding records are not always held by the safeguarding lead in the children’s home. Records are not made of police involvement.  The monitoring of the child protection policy requires improvement. Key indicators as to its effectiveness are not identified, for example the length of time of an investigation or the retention of important documents.  The child protection policy does not include e-safety.  Day-to-day practice is not delivered to keep all children and young people safe at all times.  It is unclear how staff develop skills to identify children and young people who are at risk, for example of child sexual exploitation.  A trial evacuation, as recommended by the independent visitor, has not taken place for some time.  The statement of purpose published on the website is out of date.  There are some clerical errors in the administration of medication.  There is no professional development plan for the responsible individual. There

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Key findings from this inspection

is no workforce development plan for residential staff.  Recruitment practice does not include exploring reasons for leaving previous employment working with children.  Supervision does not include reflection on safeguarding practice.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children and young people make good progress, for example in their social skills, independent skills and personal care.  Children and young people enjoy good relationships with staff. Staff have been committed to supporting children and young people who present with challenging behaviour. Inspection report children’s home: SC383187 3  Children and young people engage in a range of activities. They have a positive experience staying in the home.  The registered manager has been successful in overcoming staff shortages. Staff are especially positive about the new ideas the deputy manager is bringing.  Staff are committed to listen to and understand the needs of children and young people with communication difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 21/11/2016 Full Good 15/12/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 14/07/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC383187 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must ensure that staff seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate, having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (d)) 08/05/2018

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly.

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Requirement Due date

Regulation 12 (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(b)(e) 08/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

If a home has a website, the registered person must ensure that a copy of the statement of purpose is published on that website unless the registered person considers that such publication 08/05/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC383187 5 would prejudice the welfare of children in the home. (Regulation 16 (4)) In particular, ensure the published statement of purpose is up to date.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23 (1)) 08/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider is an organisation, the organisation must ensure that the responsible individual undertakes such continuing professional development as is necessary to ensure that the responsible individual has the skills needed for supervising the management of the home. (Regulation 29 (2)) 08/05/2018

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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 requirements are that the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. (Regulation 32 (3)(b)) 08/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse or neglect and sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 34 (1)(a)(b)) 08/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children. (Regulation 39 (1)) 08/05/2018

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20) The plan should:

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Recommendations

detail the necessary management and staffing structure, (including any staff commissioned to provide health and education), the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s statement of purpose;

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Recommendations

detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and Inspection report children’s home: SC383187 6 mandatory qualifications);

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Recommendations

detail the process for managing and improving poor performance;

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Recommendations

detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice (see regulation 33 (4) (b)) and keep appropriate records for staff in the home.

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Recommendations

The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, paragraph 10.8, page 53)

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Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31–33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, paragraph 13.1, page 61)

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improvement to be good

Children and young people enjoy good relationships with staff. Staff demonstrate a thorough knowledge of children and young people who cannot communicate verbally. For example, one young person has his own version of a language programme using signs and symbols that staff understand. Children and young people feel safe and happy, confident that staff listen to them and respond to their needs. A parent said, ‘Most of the staff are very warm and patient and have a good bond with my son. For that I am very grateful.’ Another parent said, ‘I couldn’t wish for a better home for my son.’

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improvement to be good

Staff are positive about their roles, the manager and their relationships with each other. They speak highly of being part of a wider team that has a good balance of skills and strengths. Staff say they support each other, especially when children and young people present with challenging behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Some children and young people make good progress such as in their personal care or being able to use cutlery. Some children and young people are able to find alternative ways to communicate other than challenging behaviour. This has a positive result in other areas of their lives. For example, one young person is now able to go to his family home and enjoy contact with family members and others who are important to him. Other children and young people develop their social skills such as establishing new friends through a youth club. Another young person is able to have a haircut in the local hairdressers from a starting point of him only allowing staff at the home to cut his hair.

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improvement to be good

Staff have responded to the recommendation made at the previous inspection about Inspection report children’s home: SC383187 7 helping children and young people understand their life story and collect memorabilia that is important to them. For example, staff create photograph albums that illustrate the range of activities and relationships children and young people have enjoyed during their stay at the home.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people enjoy a range of meaningful and stimulating activities in the home and the wider community. Staff are responsive to their needs, frequently changing activity when a child or young person has a short attention span. Staff have recently been successful in supporting children and young people to engage in activities they once found very challenging, such as swimming.

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improvement to be good

All children and young people are in education. Staff support them to be ready for school in the mornings, liaising with education professionals when children or young people are experiencing difficulties. On some occasions, staff have agreed a change in timetable to best suit the child or young person’s needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children and young people toward their independence, encouraging them to do day-to-day tasks such as taking dishes out or cooking. Staff use group sessions to educate and support young people in their personal care, such as brushing their teeth. The management team has been successful in developing key-work sessions that are meaningful and purposeful. An example is a young person learning to change his behaviour by leaving food, such as margarine, in a suitable state for others to use subsequently.

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improvement to be good

Staff keep children and young people in good health, ensuring that they provide the necessary support for key health appointments. They advocate for children and young people to get any necessary specialist support, such as through child and adolescent mental health services. Staff support parents to advocate for their child, for example requesting further guidance, assessment and advice from health professionals.

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improvement to be good

Staff treat children and young people with dignity and respect. Bedrooms have a viewing window with a blind that can restrict observations. Staff assess the need to use the viewing window based on the individual child or young person’s vulnerability. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of cultural needs. They are sensitive to other faiths and religions, ensuring that children and young people practise their faith in ways that are important to them.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager has rewritten the children’s guide to include how children and young people make a complaint, as recommended at the last inspection.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not identify all the risks that children and young people present in written risk assessments. Staff lack the guidance and control measures they are to adopt to keep children and young people as safe as possible, for example when missing from care. There are no individual protocols in place for missing from care. The generic reference to Inspection report children’s home: SC383187 8 call the police is not specific and does not include any timeframes for following this course of action.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager is the safeguarding lead. She does not always hold all the records for safeguarding concerns. This means she does not have a full oversight or audit trail to ensure that staff follow all necessary steps. For example, the registered manager has not kept a copy of a written referral to the local authority designated officer for safeguarding in the formal records. On occasion, staff have called police to the home. The registered manager has not kept written records as to the reasons for police involvement and the outcome.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager adopts the school’s child protection policy. Her monitoring of the implementation of this policy needs improving. She does not identify or act upon key factors, for example the length of time it takes for an investigation. She has not identified the omission of e-safety as a key safeguarding issue for the children’s home.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always keep young people as safe as possible in their day-to-day practice. They lack specific guidance on appropriate interventions, such as when a child or young person is self-harming or attempting to go missing. It is unclear how staff develop skills to identify when children and young people may be at risk, for example of child sexual exploitation.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager has a suitable evacuation plan in place. She ensures that there are personal emergency evacuation plans if necessary. However, there has not been a trial evacuation, as recommended by the independent visitor, since July 2017.

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improvement to be good

There have been some significant improvements in medication administration as required at the last inspection. However there are still some shortfalls. Staff do not always identify clerical errors. The medication policy requires that a fortnightly audit is undertaken, and this is not routinely taking place. Some staff who are not trained in medication management act as a witness to the administration of medication.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager has a procedure in place to ensure that she employs staff deemed to be suitable to work with children and young people. However, she does not fully adopt this in practice. In particular, she does not explore fully the reasons applicants leave their previous employment with children and young people.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager has made improvements to the environment since the last inspection. The installation of an anti-climb fence around the perimeter has significantly reduced the episodes of missing from care.

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improvement to be good

Staff use physical intervention as a last resort. They document any physical restraints very well, including the de-escalation strategies they have tried prior to such intervention. The registered manager reviews the records, ensuring that staff use restraint in accordance with the legislative framework, that it is proportionate and appropriate in the circumstances. There is not excessive use of restraint in this children’s home. Inspection report children’s home: SC383187 9

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff describe the registered manager in positive terms. They say she is approachable and supportive, and has a good relationship with all the children and young people. Staff say the registered manager needs more autonomy in decision-making processes and especially as the responsible individual is an infrequent visitor to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Policies are shared between the school and the children’s home. This is not appropriate in all circumstances. For example, the school policy does not give the registered manager authority to suspend a member of staff in the event of an allegation or give her the autonomy to make a referral to the disclosure and barring service if necessary. In some cases, complaints about the children bypass the registered manager and are investigated by school governors. In one case, an inappropriate assumption about the staffing in children’s homes was made that was communicated to a parent. The responsible individual has a strong background in education but little experience with children’s homes. There is no professional development plan in place to gain these skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

On occasion, communication with parents and social workers is poor. Some social workers say staff do not advise them promptly of significant incidents, sometimes becoming aware of incidents for the first time in formal meetings. Differences of opinion are not debated, resulting in conflicting views as to the underlying reasons for a child or young person’s behaviour. One social worker said, ‘The placement is not working and we are looking for an alternative.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff use the daily handover with the school for all parties to understand the immediate needs of each child and young person. However, there is limited crossover between the two disciplines at other times. Strategies used to support children and young people in the school, such as the ‘zones of regulation’, are not transferred across to the children’s home. This results in an inconsistent approach, which is particularly relevant for children who have an autistic spectrum disorder. A member of staff described some relationships with education as very good while others are ‘a work in progress’. A professional said, ‘Some strategies used in the school are not replicated in the home, and so there is no consistent support for the child to manage and deal with feelings.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Not all staff have received the required training to fulfil their roles effectively. There are gaps in safeguarding training and training around specific risk factors such as exploitation and radicalisation. Training specific to children and young people’s needs, for example in managing epilepsy, is not delivered to all staff. The registered manager does not have a workforce development plan to address the issues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager ensures that staff have supervision on a regular basis, as required at the previous inspection. Records do not demonstrate effective discussions of children and young people’s needs, their progress or how practice can be developed. There is no routine reflective discussion around safeguarding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has been successful in staff recruitment and retention, as Inspection report children’s home: SC383187 10 required at the previous inspection. A deputy manager is providing good support and new ideas. A member of staff said, ‘I love my job. The team spirit has matured, there are new ideas and better deployment of staff.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager ensures that there is independent monitoring of the home through the assessment of the quality of care by an independent visitor. Generally she acts on the recommendations, but she has not completed a trial fire evacuation as recommended for some months. The registered manager has developed the statutory six monthly report to Ofsted, as required at the last inspection. She also now notifies significant incidents to Ofsted in accordance with the regulations.

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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: SC383187 11

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Milton Keynes Council, Saxon Court, 502 Avebury Boulevard, Milton Keynes MK9 3HS

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Inspectors

Keith Riley, social care inspector Melissa McMillan, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC383187 12 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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