Children's home run by Newrays Care Services Limited

Inspection report children's home: 1240269 1 Registered provider: Newrays Care Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to four children.

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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 inadequate

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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: 28 November 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 1240269 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/11/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/04/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: 1240269 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who, in particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and prepare for future care, education or employment;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access 23/05/2018 Inspection report children's home: 1240269 4 educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 8 (1) and (2)(a)(ix)(viii)) 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—

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Requirement Due date

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.

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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 aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(b)(c)) 23/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationship standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from relationships based on mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

staff help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

staff strive to gain each child’s respect and trust.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(vi)(viii)) 23/05/2018 Inspection report children's home: 1240269 5 In particular the registered provider should ensure that staff act as role models for young people and support them to understand and develop relationships with staff, peers and partners which are positive and based on mutual trust and respect. The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the privacy of children is appropriately protected, any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home is necessary and proportionate, is kept under review and, if necessary, revised and allows children as much freedom as possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider should ensure that the locking of the laundry room or any other room is formally assessed and kept under regular review. 23/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must make arrangements for persons working at the home to receive suitable training in fire prevention.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification.

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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 registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). (3) The requirements are that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). When conducting the review, 23/05/2018 Inspection report children's home: 1240269 6 the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s internal whistleblowing procedures, and understand how information can be shared confidentially. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.9)

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improvement to be good

Children do not always make the progress that they should do. This is due to poor leadership and management and a high staff turnover.

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improvement to be good

The registered person has not challenged staff or the placing authority to do more to realise children’s educational potential. One child has been out of education since November 2016. The child wants to go to school but the delay is having an impact on their academic and social achievements. While the child is absent from school, staff do not ensure that some form of learning or education activity is being undertaken. Furthermore, children who are not of compulsory school age do not engage in education, training or employment. The home’s computer has been broken for over two weeks and has not been repaired or replaced. As a result, children are not achieving academically, either in the home or at school. Children’s self-efficacy is further hindered as they are not socialising with their peers.

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improvement to be good

Children’s relationships with each other and staff can be fractious at times. There have been some issues of bullying between children that has been addressed by staff. However, children do not form positive relationships with each other. This is further compounded by some staff not treating all of the children with the dignity and respect that they deserve. For example, some staff have spoken to children ‘confidentially’ about other children living in the home in a derogatory manner and have mimicked the child’s behaviour. Although, the staff involved are no longer employed at the home, the ripple effects of this has continued.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not ensure that children are being prepared for living independently. During the inspection, the inspector was told three different reasons as to why a child had a fridge in their bedroom. The reason given by the manager was to encourage independence; however, the manager recognises that a fridge in the bedroom is not appropriate. Inspection report children's home: 1240269 7 The home is institutional in parts. For example, children who have a 3:1 staffing ratio do not enjoy the freedom and relaxing environment that a home should provide. Staff are watching the child at all times, and one staff member will be writing down what is happening in front of the child. This is overwhelming for the child and creates unnecessary tensions that escalate into difficult behaviours. A lot of doors are locked in the home, with staff carrying large bunches of keys. All bathrooms require significant updating: one bathroom can be locked by the child from the inside only; there are no

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improvement to be good

plugs in two sinks; there is a cracked shower tray; a broken shower with rust on it; dangerous floor lining; holes in the bathroom walls; a rusty bin and no blinds at the windows. In other rooms: tables are damaged; curtains have holes in them; a bookcase is broken; a settee is balancing on a book; blackboard wallpaper in the playroom has not been finished and children have been without a television in the lounge due to the delay in the directors ordering one. This environment does not provide children with a sense of self-worth or encourage them to feel valued in their own home.

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improvement to be good

Poor recruitment procedures mean that children may be at risk of coming into contact with unsuitable adults. Records do not show that the registered person selects and recruits staff with care and safety at the forefront. The registered person has missed the opportunity to improve recruitment checks, including verification of references and gaps in employment when appointing permanent employees at the home. On one occasion, the referee of an applicant was also the interviewer.

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improvement to be good

Fire safety is weak. During the inspection, all internal fire doors were propped open. Action was not taken until the inspector raised it. Staff have not been trained in fire safety. This does not safeguard children, visitors and staff from the risk of fire.

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improvement to be good

The local risk assessment does not identify the risks in the local area and does not take into account other professionals’ views.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There have been two changes of manager since the last inspection. The responsible individual has remained the same. The absence of a registered manager has resulted in low staff morale and subsequently to staff leaving the home. The lack of effective management has created feelings of instability in the staff team, and staff morale declined as a result. A new manager has been appointed and has been in post for three weeks. During this time, she has made improvements, and plans to make further changes to improve the quality of care for children. However, this is going to take time to embed into staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered person has not ensured that all staff have received training that is relevant to their role. Not all staff are trained in first aid and managers have not made sure that a member of staff with a first aid qualification is always on duty. Furthermore, managers have not ensured that staff are fully aware of the whistle-blowing policy. This leaves children vulnerable. Inspection report children's home: 1240269 8 The home has had a number of staff leave since the last inspection. Managers have now recruited new staff who will be registered on the appropriate course to gain their qualifications in due course.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have failed to meet some of the requirements and recommendations issued at the last inspection and these have therefore been reissued.

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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: 1240269 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Newrays Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Newrays Care Services Limited, Sinckot House, 211 Station House, Harrow HA1 2TP

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Inspector

Sandra King, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 1240269 10 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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