Children's home run by Altum Residential Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC489660 1 SC489660

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Altum Residential Care Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care and accommodation for up to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned by a private organisation.

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This monitoring visit

At the full inspection on 7 and 8 February 2018, Ofsted judged this home to be inadequate. Following this inspection, Ofsted held an urgent internal case review. During the case review, Ofsted considered the lack of progress that the young people had made and the increasing level of risk that young people had been exposed to as a result of living at this home. The outcome of this review was that Ofsted would issue an emergency suspension notice. This emergency suspension notice was issued to the provider on 9 February 2018.

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This monitoring visit

At this monitoring visit, it was confirmed that the provider is complying with the terms of the emergency suspension notice. As such, no children and young people have lived in this home since the last young person left on 9 February 2018.

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This monitoring visit

The director and responsible individual have taken steps to make improvements in the home. A new model of care, which has been supported by the psychologist, has been identified. There is a plan for this to be rolled out and delivered to the whole staff team. The director and responsible individual accept that this is necessary to ensure that children and young people receive good-quality, safe care which enables them to grow and flourish.

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This monitoring visit

The director, responsible individual and manager report that they are committed to making the required changes to ensure that the children and young people are cared for by staff team members who are trained, experienced and supported well by their manager and the management team. The new manager reported that she is committed to the organisation and is in the process of completing her application to Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC489660 2 become the registered manager for this home. Improved recruitment, induction processes, staff training and supervision arrangements will support staff better in undertaking their caring roles and responsibilities.

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This monitoring visit

The senior leadership team acknowledges the shortfalls that were present and identified during the last inspection. They have identified a realistic action plan to address these areas, those identified within the monthly Regulation 44 reports and those identified in the last Regulation 45 manager’s monitoring report, which has now been provided to Ofsted. Therefore, the director, responsible individual and new proposed manager are making steps to address the requirements and recommendations which are identified in the table below.

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted will undertake a further monitoring visit to monitor the provider’s compliance with the emergency suspension notice.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 07/02/2018 Full Inadequate 14/06/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC489660 3

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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

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met (1) In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff— (a) seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plan; (b) seek to secure the input and services required to meet the child’s needs; and (c) if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. 04/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

8: The education standard (1) The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. (2)(a) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— (viii) help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. 04/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

9: The enjoyment and achievement standard (1) The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills. (2)(a) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child 04/05/2018 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC489660 4 to— (i) develop the child’s interests and hobbies; (ii) participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and (iii) make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community.

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Requirement Due date

10: The health and well-being standard (1) The health and well-being standard is that— (a) the health and well-being needs of children are met; (b) children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and (c) children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. 04/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

11: The positive relationships standard (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)(a) In particular, this standard requires the registered person to ensure that staff— (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; and (iv) help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone. 04/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard (1) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (2)(a) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure 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; 04/05/2018 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC489660 5 (iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; and (b) ensure 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

13: The leadership and management standard (1) The leadership and management standard is that the registered person must enable, inspire and lead 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 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; (d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

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Requirement Due date

of the quality of care provided in the home; and (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 04/05/2018

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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. The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it and notify HMCI of any revision and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. The registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (1)(3)(a)(b)(5)) 04/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The 04/05/2018 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC489660 6 registered person may only employ a person to work at the children’s home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each matter in Schedule 2. In particular, that proof of identity including a recent photograph is obtained, and that if a person has previously worked in a position involving work with children or vulnerable adults, verification so far as reasonably practicable of the reason why the employment or position ended. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 04/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— the name of the child; details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (‘the user’), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’) has spoken to the

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Requirement Due date

user about the measure and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 04/05/2018 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC489660 7 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii))

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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)) 04/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home. The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4 and ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1)(2)(a)(b)) In particular, a copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home, and a record of the actual rotas worked, and a record of any persons who work at any time at the home. 04/05/2018

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Recommendations

 Staff should support young people to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should help young people to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected, and be protected from significant harm. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)

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Recommendations

This is in particular regards to ensuring that the staff conduct meaningful direct work with young people, which enables them to understand how to keep themselves safe from the known risks associated with their identified behaviour.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC489660 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Altum Residential Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Altum Residential Care Limited, 550 Valley Road, Nottingham NG5 1JJ

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Inspector

Janine Shortman-Thomas, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC489660 9 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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