Children's home run by Adventure Care Limited in High Peak

Interim inspection report children’s home: SC375136 1 SC375136 Registered provider: Adventure Care Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for three children and/or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned by a private company.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Monitoring visit date: 7 November 2017 – This monitoring visit took place following the receipt of a complaint, made to Ofsted, which raised serious concerns about practice in this home. Serious shortfalls were identified during the visit. As a result, eight requirements and a notice restricting accommodation were imposed.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Notice restricting accommodation – The notice had effect from 14 November 2017 until 14 January 2018. This restriction of accommodation meant that no child or young person could be accommodated at the children’s home unless the child or young person had been living there at the time that the notice was imposed.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Monitoring visit date: 19 December 2017 – The purpose of this monitoring visit was to assess if improvements had taken place. The visit identified that the provider had put systems in place that could lead to improvement but that further monitoring was necessary to ensure that higher standards of care were achieved. Interim inspection report children’s home: SC375136 2

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, three children have lived in the home. However, no children are currently living in the home. Two children moved from the home in an unplanned way. Children do not have a positive experience when arriving at or moving on from the home. Social workers and managers have expressed concern at the way that placements are suddenly ended. One social worker described a child as having been ‘abandoned’ in hospital at the end of her placement. The provider refutes this view. However, the placing authority maintains that this is how the placement was ended. Ineffective care planning leads to a high proportion of placement breakdowns.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This inspection found that four of the eight requirements set at the monitoring visit in November 2017 have not been met. Also, that two of the three requirements set at the full inspection in June 2017 are not met.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager and staff have been unable to provide adequate care. Social workers say that they have to explain basic childcare principles to the home’s managers. The new staff team lacks knowledge and experience. Staff who were still in their probationary period have been left in charge of shifts. They have not been well supported to manage complex safeguarding situations. A police officer said: ‘The home presented as somewhere in chaos with distressed and frightened staff.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Although a new responsible individual is in post, the home has not had a registered manager since November 2017. A new manager had been recruited but resigned in February 2018. Staff retention has been poor. The home has not been sufficiently staffed to safeguard children. A high proportion of staff are unqualified. Many lack basic physical intervention training. Risk assessments were not clear about staffing ratios. At the time of the inspection, the provider could not produce rotas to show staffing arrangements at the time of a recent safeguarding incident. However, complaints from police, social care and ex-staff members all state that there was insufficient staffing at the time.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff members say that on-call management support has been unreliable. Police officers confirm this, saying: ‘We initially struggled to get hold of a manager to establish who was actually in charge of a potentially very serious situation... The home was in chaos with no clear lead despite the gravity of the situation.’ Children have been put at serious risk due to exceptionally poor leadership and management. Interim inspection report children’s home: SC375136 3 Children receive ineffective, poorly planned care. Initial pre-admission risk assessments were ineffective. Risk assessments were inconsistent, incomplete and based on out-of-date information. This fails to provide clear guidance to staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last full inspection, a serious safeguarding incident in September 2017 resulted in allegations of sexual activity between children. Incidents have also resulted in children being hospitalised following substance misuse. A child at high risk of sexual exploitation was missing for several days. She was found in hospital following the use of drugs and alcohol. A ward nurse explained that the child was in resuscitation for a long time before being admitted to the ward. She said that the child ‘is very lucky to be with us’. A social care manager said that the risk-taking behaviours of this child escalated since her placement in this home. A further safeguarding incident in February 2018 involved the alleged sexual assault of another resident.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All children have regularly run away from the home. One child had been missing from the home for over half of his placement. Another 12-year-old child managed to travel across the country while missing, a distance of over 200 miles, without appropriate adult supervision. Staff are not effective in preventing children from going missing.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home is in poor condition. For example:

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

 there are areas of damp and there is mildew in a bathroom;  there are damaged fixtures, such as fires and hearths;  the cabinet housing the electrical mains supply is not adequately secure;  a bedroom window has no lock and therefore presents a security hazard; and  some bedroom furniture is broken.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The responsible individual states that he intends to improve the home’s condition. However, at the time of the inspection, the home did not have development plans to illustrate the proposals.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Arrangements to promote education and social and recreational activities are not effective. The lack of structure in the home fails to support children to establish a routine. This does not support their progression.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers have not ensured that children have a designated telephone or access to the internet. This means that they may not be able to raise concerns or make a complaint to an independent agency. Currently, the home does not have any reliable method to make or receive telephone calls. This is an ongoing issue which requires urgent attention. Staff report dealing with safeguarding issues with no working telephones. The home is in an isolated, rural location and it is imperative that staff have a reliable method of communication, both for routine calls and emergencies.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This inspection identified many new breaches of regulations. These include: Interim inspection report children’s home: SC375136 4  Some staff have not received supervision for several months. This failure of leadership and management means that new and existing staff were not monitored or supported in their professional performance. This fails to ensure that care practice is competent or safe.  Risk assessments and case files were of a very poor quality. They do not contain full information about young people, including important information about safeguarding incidents. They also lack leadership and management oversight.  Records of visitors to the home are not routinely kept. The home is therefore unable to confirm that adults coming into the home were suitable.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

However, some improvement has taken place relating to the storage of medicines, records of measures of control and the reporting of allegations to safeguarding agencies.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/06/2017 Full Good 30/11/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/05/2016 Full Good 06/01/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The 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— 01/05/2018 Interim inspection report children’s home: SC375136 5 ensure that staff understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose and protect and promote each child’s welfare. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(i)(ii)) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff 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

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Requirement Due date

harm to the child; help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; 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; and that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(b)(d)) 01/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare. 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the staff work as a team as appropriate; and ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 01/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home, 01/05/2018 Interim inspection report children’s home: SC375136 6 and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that each child’s relevant plans are followed; that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(e)(i)) The registered person must ensure that children are provided at all reasonable times with access to a telephone, on which to make and receive calls in private, which they may use without reference to persons working in the home.

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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)) 01/05/2018

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Interim inspection report children’s home: SC375136 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Adventure Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 6 Manchester Road, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6SB

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Inspectors

Amanda Ellis, social care inspector Corrinne Barker, regulatory inspection manager Interim inspection report children’s home: SC375136 8 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. 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 .

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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

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