Children's home run by Greenfields Adolescent Development Limited in Hertsmere

Inspection report children‟s home: SC433923 1 SC433923 Registered provider: Greenfields Adolescent Development Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered for up to four young people aged 11 to 18, who have experienced adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and presenting complex behaviours. There is an acting manager in post who is not yet registered.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC433923 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/05/2017 Full Good 01/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/10/2016 Full Good 29/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC433923 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 ensure that staff seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child‟s needs; 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. (Regulation 5(b)(c)) 04/06/2018

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the cleanliness and maintenance of the home. 04/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The children‟s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children‟s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to express views, wishes and feelings and help each child to understand how the child‟s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7(1)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)) 04/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

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 04/06/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC433923 4 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 any harm to the child. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i))

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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 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(c)(h)) 04/06/2018

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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 and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(b)(c)). 04/06/2018

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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)(b)) 04/06/2018

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improvement to be good

The house is not maintained to a high standard to help to create a pleasant domestic environment for young people to live in. For example, there are areas of damp and broken glass that have not been made safe. The carpets have not been hoovered and things are left broken. One young person told the inspector, „The house is horrible – it‟s in a state all of the time.‟

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improvement to be good

Staff do not understand young people‟s different needs. For example, they do not take the time to talk to young people about their preferred learning styles or how they can best understand information being given to them. This leads to young people becoming frustrated and upset. Inspection report children‟s home: SC433923 5 Despite the shortfalls found, young people are making progress. For example, young people have increased their engagement in their learning through regular school attendance. Young people are more able to self-control their emotions and form positive relationships with staff and each other.

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improvement to be good

Young people take part in a range of activities. They enjoy accessing the home‟s grounds and the surrounding countryside. Young people enjoy going on bike rides, using the gym and going fishing. All these varied activities help to keep them healthy.

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improvement to be good

Staff facilitate family contact. Staff will drive long distances so that young people can see their families. This support has helped to strengthen relationships with family members.

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improvement to be good

Young people‟s risk assessments are not up to date. Staff do not consistently implement risk assessments for all young people to ensure that each young person is kept safe.

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improvement to be good

On one occasion, staff failed to safeguard a young person because they did not have a coordinated response in place. As a result the young person was not fully protected from harm.

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improvement to be good

There have been learning opportunities for the manager around partnership working, especially with the local police, and how best to share information with key stakeholders. This has resulted in better systems being introduced for partnership engagement. This has helped to form a good working partnership with the local designated officer for safeguarding, who has been to a team meeting to help increase the staff‟s understanding of safeguarding.

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improvement to be good

Staff have helped young people to decrease the number of times they go missing from home and to have increased awareness of the dangers of drug and alcohol misuse.

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improvement to be good

Safe recruitment practice ensures that anyone employed in the home is safe to work with young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Since the last inspection, there have been significant changes in the staff team. The registered manager and half of the staff have left. Staff who are still working at the home have not received regular supervision or annual appraisals. They are also not receiving training to help them meet young people‟s individual needs. This means that staff are not prepared in how best to support young people in crisis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has not ensured that he has sufficient monitoring systems in place. As a result, record-keeping is not up to date or of a good quality. For example, key documents are missing key information. This includes details around young people‟s Inspection report children‟s home: SC433923 6 contact arrangements and cultural needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Young people do not feel that their views are taken seriously. This has left young people feeling frustrated. For example, young people‟s suggestions raised during meetings have been not been addressed. When young people have used the complaints procedure, the outcomes of investigations have not been fed back to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has failed to challenge other professionals, including his own staff team, on the level of care provided for the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has plans to improve the quality of care for young people. However, these plans are in their infancy.

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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: SC433923 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Greenfields Adolescent Development Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Caretech Community Service Limited, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Louise Battersby: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC433923 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 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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