Children's home run by Aurora ASD Ltd

Inspection report children‟s home: 1263084 1 Registered provider: Aurora ASD Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is part of the Aurora Group and offers residential care for children aged between eight and 19 years, who have a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder, Asperger syndrome and additional complex needs and/or learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 February 2018

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

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

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

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.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable – first inspection since registration Inspection report children‟s home: 1263084 2 Enforcement action since last inspection: none

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

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

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 The manager has failed to effectively monitor and review the children‟s records and the staff‟s practice. As a direct result of focusing on the development of another children‟s home, the manager has failed to take responsibility for a number of management responsibilities in this home.  Not all newly recruited staff consistently demonstrate sufficient skills and knowledge with regard to supporting one of the children.  The manager has failed to ensure that new staff receive the specific training that they need to care for a child who has recently moved into the home.  Some staff, including the manager, have not received regular supervision. This means they are not being provided with time to reflect on their practice and development.  Risk assessments and care plans for some of the children are not consistently followed by all staff.  Some children are missing out on opportunities to learn, as they are not

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

attending school.  Some records are incomplete and lack important details.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 The manager and staff members understand how to keep children safe. They have experienced some challenging behaviours from the children. However, these have decreased significantly and children are not going missing.  Staff feel very well supported by the manager, and are looking forward to developing the home further.  With the help of the staff, children take part in a variety of activities. Children grow in confidence and experience a greater sense of freedom.

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

N/A Inspection report children‟s home: 1263084 3

p.2

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.

p.3

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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‟s statement of purpose; ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(h)) 11/05/2018

p.3

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child‟s relevant plans. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(x)) 11/05/2018

p.3

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard

p.3

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children‟s home‟s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children and use this understanding to deliver care that meets children‟s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff provide personalised care that meets each child‟s needs, as recorded in the child‟s relevant plans, taking account of the child‟s background. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(2(b)(iv)) 11/05/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1263084 4 Statement of purpose

p.3

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. 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(1)(3)(b)) 11/05/2018

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(1)(4)(b)) 11/05/2018

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c)) 11/05/2018

p.4

improvement to be good

This is the first inspection since the home was registered. The registered manager, a small cohort of staff and three children moved from another home into this home in September 2017.

p.4

improvement to be good

A number of the core staff team members know the children well, and have an understanding of their needs. In particular, these staff know when the children are upset or worried, and are able to help them to become calm. This has resulted in trusting relationships developing, the significant reduction in complex challenging behaviours and minimum use of physical interventions. However, while the manager has successfully recruited a full staff team, it has resulted in a high proportion of newly appointed staff. The manager has failed to ensure that these staff receive training that is tailored to the needs of the children. Consequently, some staff lack the skills and understanding required to meet the needs of all of the children effectively.

p.4

improvement to be good

All children have plans and risk assessments that clearly outline their needs. For most of the time the staff follow these plans, and in doing so they have helped some of the Inspection report children‟s home: 1263084 5 children to make very good progress. However, not all risk assessments are up to date and they do not accurately reflect the risks to staff. Furthermore, one child who had only lived in the home for three days lacked the structured environment he required, as outlined in his plans. The inspector observed staff not demonstrating sufficient skill in engaging with this child. Staff were not communicating with him in line with his learning disability and his risk assessment and activities had not been planned or organised. Consequently, the child looked bored and told the inspector he had „nothing to do‟.

p.4

improvement to be good

Most of the children benefit from attending school regularly. They have made good progress from their starting points and they enjoy their time at school. However, some children have recently stopped going to school and there is insufficient evidence of contingency planning for re-engaging these children.

p.5

improvement to be good

The manager and staff have worked very hard to provide the children with a homely place to live. The home is spacious and provides the children with areas for privacy and space in which to play and socialise. Staff are committed to providing the children with a healthy lifestyle that includes a balanced diet. This approach is effective, so much so that one child has significantly reduced his weight and now enjoys feeling fit and proud of his appearance. In the main, records reflect this good progress and show that children have access to health services. It was noted that one child, while appearing to be in good health, has not received annual health checks, nor is there a plan in place to help the child to attend a health check.

p.5

improvement to be good

The home offers a safe environment for children to live in, and regular health and safety checks take place.

p.5

improvement to be good

Staff spoken with confirmed that they receive training in child protection and safeguarding. They understand what to do, and who to speak to, if they have safeguarding concerns.

p.5

improvement to be good

All children have a range of risk assessments and behaviour support plans. In the main, staff follow these plans and apply strategies to support children when they are upset. As a result, the use of restraint is rare. However, during the course of the inspection it was noted that not all records are monitored effectively. Some risk assessments lack specific detail, and have not been reviewed and updated following incidents of assaults on staff.

p.5

improvement to be good

Children currently living at the home do not go missing. Staff have a good understanding of the missing-from-home protocol, and they have formed positive relationships with the local police in order to safeguard children in the event that they go missing.

p.5

improvement to be good

The manager has positive relationships with children‟s families and with professionals. Information is routinely shared. Complaints are few and they are addressed swiftly, with a positive outcome. Inspection report children‟s home: 1263084 6

p.5

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

Leadership and management are provided by a registered manager who has been in a management post for a number of years. She is qualified and experienced, and has recently returned to learning in order to enhance her ability to fulfil her role.

p.6

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

Before the home opened in September 2017, the manager ensured that there was a plan in place to help three children move into the home. As a result, these children have settled well and overall they are making expected progress. Another child has recently moved into the home. Planning for this child‟s move into the home was not good enough. The manager failed to ensure that staff took time to fully understand the needs and complex behaviours of this child prior to his arrival. Despite an initial assessment, and the child visiting the home, the manager failed to ensure that staff put in place the structured environment that he needs.

p.6

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

Observation of staff talking with this child highlighted their lack of knowledge of his learning disability and how he communicates. The manager and staff spoken with said that they had not received specific training to support this child effectively.

p.6

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

The manager has been spending some of her time focusing on the development of another children‟s home. A number of duties have been delegated to senior members of staff. As a result, there is insufficient evidence of the monitoring of children‟s progress and the practice of staff in respect of learning and report writing. In particular, management oversight and monitoring of this home have been especially weak during this period. As a result, there have been isolated incidents of poor practice and variations in recording, and outcomes for some young people require improvement.

p.6

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

The manager has led a successful recruitment campaign resulting in a full staff team with minimum use of temporary staff. Recruitment processes are safe and an induction period provides new staff with basic mandatory training. Staff spoke highly of the support they received when they joined the company. Staff are usually supervised on a regular basis; however, a number of newly recruited staff and the registered manager have not received regular supervision, and are therefore not taking time to reflect and develop their practice.

p.6

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

The manager has a number of reviewing and monitoring tools in place. A newly introduced electronic monitoring and recording system remains in its infancy and requires further time to be embedded. Regular monitoring is completed by the independent visitor and their inspection findings feed directly into this monitoring and recording system.

p.6

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young Inspection report children‟s home: 1263084 7 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.

p.6

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: 1263084 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 33 Holborn, London EC1N 2HT

p.8

Inspector

Linda Bond: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1263084 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9