Children's home run by Active Ark Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 1 Registered provider: Active Ark Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is one of a number of homes operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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

Date of last inspection: This is the home’s first inspection since it was registered in August 2017.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 2

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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

 Staff and managers, particularly those who are new to their posts, do not get sufficient supervision to guide them in their roles and support their professional development.

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Key findings from this inspection

 There are also no systems in place for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care, and the impact that this has on young people’s progress and experiences. There is no formalised system for seeking feedback from young people, parents and stakeholders to inform the home’s development.

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Key findings from this inspection

 There is no development plan in place, and no clear identification of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. This obstructs focus for moving forward and ensuring that staff and managers are clear about their roles in the continued improvement of the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The home does not have an admission and discharge register as required by regulation. The manager did not have a clear record of when young people had been admitted or discharged from the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Independent visits have not been carried out for each month. This limits the effectiveness of the regulator’s ability to monitor the home, and reduces opportunities for the manager to learn and progress through the advice and guidance provided by such visits and reports.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Some records are incomplete. Some records are difficult to understand and do not provide a narrative account of an incident. This results in some incident records being difficult to understand and they sometimes miss key information.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Some incidents should have been notified to the regulator and have not been. This hinders monitoring of the actions that the home takes to safeguard young people.

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Key findings from this inspection

 There is no formal system in place for staff to meet as a team. This restricts opportunities for team development and means that the full staff team does not meet to discuss young people, progression or share ideas about their care.

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Key findings from this inspection

 There are no clear records of how young people’s positive behaviour is rewarded and encouraged.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The home environment is furnished and decorated to a high standard. It provides a warm and homely environment for young people. Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 3  Positive relationships are evident between young people and staff. Young people report that they enjoy living at the home and feel that they are making progress because of the relationships that they have developed with the core staff team.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people report that they feel listened to and that staff act on their wishes.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The home’s manager is enthusiastic and committed. She is keen to learn and develop in her role.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make some good progress in reducing their risk-taking behaviours as well as in developing positive relationships.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The home has good links with external agencies and these relationships ensure that young people receive consistent and joined-up care. Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 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

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 to aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph 1 requires the registered person to ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate. (Regulation 13 (2)(b)) In particular, that staff have the opportunity to come together as a team in regular team meetings. 12/04/2018

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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 to aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph 1 requires the registered person to use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(h)) In particular, that the home has a development plan in place. 12/04/2018

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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)) 12/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child that include the information and documents listed in schedule 3 in relation to each child. In particular, the date and circumstances of all incidents where a child goes missing from the home, including any information relating to the child’s whereabouts during the period of absence. (Regulation 36 (a) schedule 3, paragraph 14) 12/04/2018

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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 the records in Schedule 4. Specifically, the registered person must maintain a record in the 12/04/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 5 form of a register showing in respect of each— (a) the date of the child’s admission to the children’s home; (b) the date on which the child ceased to be accommodated in the home; (c) the child’s address immediately before being accommodated in the home; (d) the child’s address on leaving the home; (e) the child’s placing authority; and (f) the statutory provision (if any) under which the child is accommodated. (Regulation 37 (2)(a), schedule 4 (1)(a–f)) The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— (a) a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

(b) an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; (e) there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b) and (e)) 12/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month. (Regulation 44 (1)) 12/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care provided for children, the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (2)(a)(b) and (c)) 20/03/2018

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Recommendations

 Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (Regulation 36 (schedule 3 (14)). This information should be shared with the placing authority and, where appropriate, with the child’s parents. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.31) Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 6  Regulation 19 (2) details sanctions that are prohibited in behaviour management. Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. Equally, staff should

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Recommendations

understand the system for rewarding and celebrating positive behaviour and recognising where children have managed situations well. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38) In particular, the registered manager should have a system for recognising and recording positive rewards.

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improvement to be good

From their starting points at the commencement of their placements, young people make some good progress in key areas. For example, one young person has reduced her missing from home episodes and, as a result of this, reduced her child sexual exploitation risk. Another young person has become less emotionally withdrawn and more readily opens up and shares his feelings. Young people identify that they are making progress and say that they feel happy in the home and enjoy spending time with staff.

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improvement to be good

One young person who had previously been excluded from his education provision is now attending school. While he continues to have difficulty in managing the school day, the home supports him through very regular communication with his education provider. This young person was temporarily excluded from school on the day of the inspection and observation showed staff being very positive and supportive of him. They engaged him in chores around the home rather than in leisure activities. This was so that he was not rewarded for negative behaviour at school but neither were any sanctions put in place. This enabled him to have a positive and productive day. Another young person is not in any education currently, although it is clear that staff have encouraged her to enrol in the local college, as well as making efforts to identify an alternative provision which may better suit her needs.

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improvement to be good

Young people have their health needs met. They are registered with health services and are accompanied to health appointments. One young person is supported to attend a high number of health appointments and to take additional vitamin supplements due to becoming pregnant.

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improvement to be good

Independence is starting to be promoted at the home, especially for a young person who is preparing to live independently. Plans are in place to help develop key skills such as shopping, managing money/budgeting and preparing meals. Younger residents are taught basic cleaning and cooking skills which are appropriate to their age and stage of Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 7 development.

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improvement to be good

Young people report that they feel listened to and that staff promote their views and wishes and act on them where they can. The recording system for capturing young people’s views is used well, often reporting what the young person actually said in their own words. This ensures that the reader is clear about what the young person has been consulted on and what their opinion is. Young people report that they know how to make a complaint, although have not had cause to complain. One young person was supported to make a complaint to his placing authority, and an advocate was contacted regarding a planned move which was not in line with his wishes.

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improvement to be good

The relatively new staff team members have forged positive relationships with the young people, which has resulted in young people making progress in respect of developing close and trusting relationships. This means that young people are invested in their placement and want it to succeed.

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improvement to be good

Staff support young people to have frequent contact with their friends and relatives where this is in line with their care plans. Where necessary, staff have increased the level of support that they offer while the young person is having contact so that the young person can enjoy contact in a structured and safe way.

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improvement to be good

The home environment is warm and welcoming. The young people have contributed to the decor by painting canvases which are mounted on the walls. Observation of young people at the home shows that they are confident and comfortable there.

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improvement to be good

Care plans are completed on the ‘BehaviourWatch’ system. Although the plans contain a wealth of information, they are cumbersome and difficult to digest. The home addresses this through the young people’s ‘quick start guides’ which provide a brief overview of the young person’s care needs.

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improvement to be good

Risks for young people are understood and are recorded within their care plans and risk assessments. Current specific risks are also recorded in young people’s ‘quick start’ guides. Staff spoken to during this inspection were able to identify the risks relating to each young person. In general, young people’s risk-taking behaviours show a reduction in frequency over the period of their placement.

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improvement to be good

One young person continues to place herself at risk of child sexual exploitation on occasions by going missing from the home. Although the manager could state what actions the home had taken over the course of her episodes of going missing, the details were not clearly recorded in the incident record. Key information such as dates and times were missing. The records do not provide clarity about the episode, including what actions staff took while she was missing to try and locate her, and to what extent they collaborated with external agencies. Independent return interviews were reported to have occurred. However, there were no records to confirm that this was the case. Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 8 Self-harm is a risk identified for one young person in placement. Since the beginning of her placement, there have been no incidents where she has self-harmed, which shows progression in this area. Staff have had training on self-harm, which improves their

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improvement to be good

understanding and helps them to know how to respond to any incidents.

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improvement to be good

Inappropriate sexualised behaviours are identified as a risk for one young person. When incidents have occurred, the home has worked in conjunction with his social worker to minimise the opportunity for further incidents to happen.

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improvement to be good

Young people spoken to as part of this inspection stated that they felt safe at the home and safe with the staff who care for them. Other agencies and family members spoken to as part of this inspection also reported that they had no concerns about the home’s safeguarding procedures and felt that young people were kept safe. One relative reported that her granddaughter had matured and started to understand the consequences of her behaviours and actions since she had come to live at the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff at the home encourage positive behaviour by setting achievable targets and offering a monetary reward for each task that is achieved each day. Sanctions are not used frequently and any sanction put in place is recorded and its effectiveness reviewed by the manager. There is no central system in place for recording positive rewards, although the manager was able to state what rewards had been offered. This results in sanctions/rewards being difficult to monitor for overall effectiveness or to identify any patterns or trends which could be used to inform young people’s care plans.

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improvement to be good

One young person was at high risk of criminal behaviour at the point of placement. She has been supported to engage in her youth offending order, which is now almost complete, and has not reoffended since her placement began. Good communication between the home’s manager and the youth offending service has resulted in a positive joined-up approach where staff have reinforced the work of the youth offending service.

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improvement to be good

The home does not always notify the regulator when significant safeguarding incidents occur. This includes missing from home episodes that have been for several days for a young person who is at risk of child sexual exploitation and incidents of inappropriate sexual contact between young people that have been referred to the police. This impacts on the regulators ability to monitor this setting, and to provide help and support to improve practice where this is needed.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s use of the internet is supervised and monitored where this is considered necessary by the young person’s social worker. Young people have access to the internet within the home, but they are prevented from accessing certain sites. The young people have individual Wi-Fi codes which can be turned off if they misuse the internet. There is an e-safety policy in place which young people are required to sign to confirm that they have discussed the dangers of internet use and to agree to certain conditions about their use of the internet at the home.

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improvement to be good

There are no systems in place to engage young people in discussion and direct work in Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 9 respect of radicalisation and extremism. While these issues may not immediately impact on the young people currently in placement, it is nevertheless important that they are educated about this issue which may impact on them in the future, and because they need to be well informed to prevent themselves from becoming at risk.

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

The home is newly registered with a manager who is not yet an experienced children’s home manager. The manager is working towards attaining her level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. For a variety of reasons the manager has not been offered sufficient support and supervision to enable her to lead the home effectively and efficiently. This has resulted in a number of deficits in the leadership and management of the home, as evidenced by the requirements made. That said, the manager is committed, enthusiastic and keen to learn.

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

The manager has good relationships with the young people and with the staff on her team. She is aware of the progress that young people are making and can articulate how they have progressed over the course of their placement.

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

Staff do not always receive regular, practice-related supervision. Although they report that they have frequent discussions with the manager, formal supervision does not always take place. One example is a new member of staff starting in mid-December 2017 not having had any formal supervision by the time that this inspection took place. The manager, also a new manager, had not had formal supervision since December 2017. This level of supervision is not sufficient to ensure that managers have good oversight of the work that staff do, and does not allow opportunities for staff to develop their knowledge and practice through discussion with their more experienced supervisors.

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

The home’s manager does not yet have a detailed understanding of the Ofsted social care common inspection framework, the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. This results in a range of omissions, for example a lack of an admission and discharge register at the home.

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

Independent monitoring visits have not taken place each month. Furthermore, the independent visitor usually visits at the weekend when the manager is not present and therefore does not benefit from the discussion and advice that the independent visitor can provide to help improve practice.

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

As yet, there are no systematic monitoring systems in place. This can result in recording issues not being identified. Furthermore, opportunities to identify patterns and trends are not fully utilised and hinder the identification of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, there is no development plan in place which would identify areas for the home to continuously improve. This results in the manager not having an in-depth understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 10 One of the manager’s strengths is in listening to young people’s views and ensuring that they are recorded and conveyed to social workers and other external agencies.

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

Staff report that they are a cohesive team and that team communication and morale are positive. They have shift handover meetings which are recorded and there is a staff communication book in place so that messages are shared and consistency is promoted for issues such as rules and boundaries, as well as any sanctions that have been implemented. There are no formal staff meetings to enable the staff to come together as a team and discuss the young people and the day-to-day operation of the home, which limits opportunities for them to share ideas about improving the quality of care and the home’s development.

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

Partnership working is well embedded in the home’s practice. External agencies contacted as part of this inspection reported very good levels of communication and cooperative working between themselves and the home.

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

The home’s records do not clearly evidence how tolerance, equality and diversity are embedded in the home’s practice. The manager was able to say how they introduce issues of equality and diversity into general discussion with young people, but there was scant evidence of this recorded.

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

Children’s case records were not securely stored at the time of this inspection. The manager rectified this during the inspection and a requirement is therefore not made.

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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: 1263126 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Armstrong Watson, Birbeck House, Duke Street, Penrith CA11 7NA

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Inspector

Charlie Bamber: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 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 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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