Children's home run by Hertfordshire County Council in Dacorum

Inspection report children‟s home: SC400301 1 SC400301 Registered provider: Hertfordshire County Council

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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 five-bedded home is owned by a local authority. The home aims to provide high- quality care that makes children and young people feel safe and nurtured. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2015.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/06/2017 Full Good 02/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC400301 2 12/10/2016 Full Good 25/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC400301 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

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 staff—

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe; and

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(b)) 09/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 09/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1)(4)(a)

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Recommendations

 Children must be able to take up issues or make a complaint with support and without any fear that this will result in any adverse consequences. Regulation 39 Inspection report children‟s home: SC400301 4 sets out the requirements on the registered person to have a complaints procedure. Children must be aware of this procedure and be reminded of it as necessary. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 23, paragraph 4.13) In particular, provide the complainant with a formal response when a conclusion is reached.  Ensure that all staff consistently follow the home‟s policies and procedures. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 54, paragraph 10.20) In particular, conduct weekly fire alarm tests and review the home‟s health and safety risk assessments.  Each home must have clear arrangements in place to maintain effective

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Recommendations

management when the manager is absent, off duty or on leave. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 54, paragraph 10.20) In particular, ensure that systems are in place that enable a deputising manager to access records.  A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.3) In particular, ensure that supervision sessions occur at the frequency specified in the home‟s policies.  Ensure that case records are kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.3) In particular, ensure that the staff fully complete entries so that the central logs

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Recommendations

match the individual records, and that the staff and/or manager, as applicable, sign these records.

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improvement to be good

There are five children living at the home. Since the last inspection, two children have moved out and two have moved in. The staff describe the children as generally keeping themselves to themselves when at home, rather than interacting as a group. There have been some difficulties in the children‟s relationships. These difficulties have led to a child being unable to return to the home, and more recently involved one child pressing police charges against another child.

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improvement to be good

There has been one episode of bullying. The record of this fails to provide sufficient Inspection report children‟s home: SC400301 5 detail about the incident or the outcome. The record does not contain the manager‟s view of how effectively the issue was handled. This example of incomplete recording demonstrates a lack of attention to detail and poor oversight from the managers.

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improvement to be good

The children are placing themselves at risk in a variety of ways. These include regularly going missing from home and behaving inappropriately in public places. The staff work with the children, with differing levels of success, to minimise their level of risk-taking behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Despite the incidents, the children feel settled at the home and say that they have positive relationships with some of the staff.

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improvement to be good

One child attends school regularly. The others are either disengaged with education, awaiting confirmation of a place or have a much-reduced bespoke educational package.

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improvement to be good

When children receive sanctions for negative behaviours, the staff usually present them with two options. This fair approach demonstrates how the staff try to incorporate children‟s choices into all aspects of their lives.

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improvement to be good

The staff use link sessions to discuss a wide range of topics such as education, staying safe and independence. Despite this input, a child spoke about feeling that the staff are doing little to prepare them for independence, and said, „I feel like I am being set up to fail.‟

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improvement to be good

The children are encouraged and supported to explore their individuality. The non- judgemental approach embraces the uniqueness of each child. A parent spoke positively about how the staff had helped them to work with their child in the same way.

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improvement to be good

The staff encourage and support the children to access specialist services to help them to address issues they experience, such as those that relate to self-harm, sexual health, gender fluidity and substance misuse. This child-centred approach helps the children to make use of the additional support available from other agencies and medical professionals.

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improvement to be good

On a number of occasions, the staff have found a child‟s friend on site, and have discovered that they stayed overnight. The home‟s continued inability to identify how and where the child has entered the property does not protect children. The home‟s risk assessments have not been updated to reflect current risks, such as the child being able to access the building on a number of occasions. Other information from the local authority and in health and safety files is out of date. This failure to update assessments and information means that staff are not well informed about current issues.

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improvement to be good

The staff review the children‟s risk assessments regularly. However, these risk Inspection report children‟s home: SC400301 6 assessments either fail to incorporate any new risks identified or the new risks are added in a way that does not make them easily identifiable. This process does not equip the staff to work with pertinent information.

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improvement to be good

Following a period in which missing-from-home episodes increased in number, there was a significant decrease such episodes. Although these have recently increased again, the children are now maintaining contact with the staff while they are away from home. The children, the staff and a visitor say that the premises are not as secure as they should be. This lapse in security is particularly concerning given a recent incident in the local community, which involved two children from the home and placed them and others at increased risk of harm. These security issues and the ineffective door-alarm system place the children and staff at risk.

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improvement to be good

The children‟s medication is closely monitored and supervised. When medication errors have occurred, the manager has addressed these with the staff involved and has ensured that the staff undertake additional training.

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improvement to be good

The incident records are detailed, but the home‟s system of cross-referencing them is flawed. The system gives a false picture of the number of incidents, and makes it difficult to determine whether the frequency is increasing or decreasing.

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improvement to be good

There have been occasions when some children have refused to evacuate the premises during fire drills. In response, the staff have arranged targeted evacuations and have conducted link sessions on the topic of fire safety. These additional actions ensure that the children learn the importance of the fire drills, particularly as some children are known to be smoking in their bedrooms.

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improvement to be good

The fire-risk assessment is comprehensive, but requires review. This, coupled with the failure of the staff to conduct the weekly fire-system tests, fails to ensure that the children and the staff are living and working in a safe environment.

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improvement to be good

There is minimal use of physical intervention. A reflective review of each intervention is conducted to ensure that any potential learning from the incidents is gathered.

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improvement to be good

When concerns arose about an agency worker, the manager appropriately made a referral to the designated offer and ensured that the worker ceased working in the home. This swift response safeguards children.

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

Staff members say that they feel supported by the managers and the rest of the team. They describe supervision as useful, and a time to discuss their practice and development. However, supervision sessions are not occurring at the frequency detailed in the home‟s policies. This lack of formal supervision prevents the staff from having their allocated space and time to reflect on their work and practice. The manager was not present during the inspection and the deputy manager was unable able to access the Inspection report children‟s home: SC400301 7 staff recruitment files and some of the supervision files. Failure to provide a contingency for access to files in the absence of the manager could have an impact on the deputy manager‟s ability to carry out her role effectively.

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

A number of records have incomplete, incorrect or missing information. This lack of accuracy means that there is a failure to give a full and clear picture of the children‟s progress and/or events at the home. It also demonstrates that these shortfalls are not being highlighted or rectified as part of the management team‟s audits.

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

Ofsted is either not notified of significant events or receives partial information that then has to be further explored. A recent example included information about one child rather than both of the children involved. These omissions prevent Ofsted from having an understanding of the severity of some of the issues that the children and the staff are facing. A child said that sometimes their parent hears about incidents from them rather than from the staff. A social worker echoed this by stating that there have been times when she has been informed of incidents by her child, rather than the staff. This poor communication requires addressing as matter of urgency.

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

There has been one complaint, for which the child received a formal acknowledgment. However, it was not evident that the child received a final response detailing how the manager had reached the conclusion. This failure to formally conclude the complaint prevents the child from knowing that the manager fully investigated their concern.

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

The independent visitor‟s monthly reports give an objective overview of the home and include recommendations based on any gaps identified. These reports are supplied to Ofsted in a timely way. This addresses the sole requirement raised at the last inspection.

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

The manager has failed to supply a quality of care report. This omission prevents Ofsted from having sight of the manager‟s overview of progress that the home and the children are making. At present, the service being provided does not fully reflect what is described in the home‟s statement of purpose.

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

The managers have revised some aspects of the paperwork, and are still fine-tuning them. This includes a weekly handover book. The book details the children‟s mood, schedule and updates for each day. The handovers ensure that the staff have an opportunity to share information about the children on each shift.

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

Parents, other family members and professionals are generally positive about the home and the way that the team works with them and the children.

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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 Inspection report children‟s home: SC400301 8 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: SC400301 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hertfordshire County Council, Apsley One, Brindley Way, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP3 9BF

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Inspector

Sonia Hay: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC400301 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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