Children's home run by St Christopher’s Fellowship in Wandsworth

Inspection report children‟s home: SC361206 1 SC361206 Registered provider: St Christopher‟s Fellowship

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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 operated by a charitable organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to eight children. The home specialises in caring for children who have challenging behaviour. 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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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 16 January 2018

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC361206 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/01/2018 Full Good 22/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/11/2016 Full Good 01/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC361206 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 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; 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— ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to— meet the needs of each child; and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i)(ii)) 20/07/2018

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible; and help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(viii)(ix)) 06/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— 20/07/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC361206 4 mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship; understand how children‟s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children; are provided with supervision and support to enable them to

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Requirement Due date

understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children and to help children to do the same; and that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(ii)(iv)(vii)(ix)(x)(b)) 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 any 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

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Requirement Due date

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 06/07/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC361206 5 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; that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))(b)(c)) 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. 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

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Requirement Due date

approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‟s statement of purpose; ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; ensure that the home‟s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h)) 31/08/2018

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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; 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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are 06/07/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC361206 6 within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home‟s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)) This is with particular regard to ensuring that the home only accepts children whose needs have been assessed as being able to meet and consider the impact on the children already living at the home. Subject to paragraph (5) of regulation 22, the registered person must ensure that children are provided at all reasonable times with access to the following facilities which they may use

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Requirement Due date

without reference to persons working in the home— a telephone on which to make and receive telephone calls in private. (Regulation 22(3)) This is with particular regard to ensuring that children are permitted to call ChildLine in private. 29/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

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. The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if— the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional. (Regulation 32(3)(d)(7)(c) This is with particular regard to a disclosure and barring check expiring and a new disclosure and barring check being completed. 29/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must implement a policy which— is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children‟s home from abuse or neglect; and sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect. The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular— provide for the prompt referral of an allegation about current or ongoing abuse or neglect in relation to a child to the placing authority and, if different, the local authority in whose area the home is located; provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response. (Regulation 34(1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(d)) 29/06/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC361206 7 The registered person must ensure that— within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the child; details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)— has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that

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Requirement Due date

they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c) 29/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39(3)) 29/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; a child protection enquiry involving a child— is instigated; or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or there is any other incident relating to a child which the 29/06/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC361206 8 registered person considers to be serious. A notification made under this regulation must include details of the matter. (Regulation 40(4)(a)(d)(e)(5)(a)(i)) This is with particular regard to ensuring that Ofsted is provided with sufficient and relevant information regarding the significant event.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children‟s daily experiences living at the home are poor. Some children have made little progress since they moved into the home. The manager has admitted children whose needs were insufficiently assessed. This has placed some children already at risk of exploitation and non-attendance at school at further risk. Some children‟s placements have ended prematurely because the home could not meet their complex needs and keep them safe. Children lack a sufficient structure and routine to their day. Some do are not engage in education, sleep until late in the afternoon and are awake during the night. This routine heightens risks to their safety and little action is taken to address it. The lack of effective and positive relationships between some children, and with staff, fails to deter children from engaging in dangerous, risk-taking behaviour. The staff team‟s ability to keep children safe and improve their aspirations and outcomes is limited.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are supported to have contact with their families or other people who are significant to them. However, on one occasion a member of staff refused to permit a child to call ChildLine in private. This approach denies children access to independent agencies when they need to speak to someone. Children are supported to make a complaint. However, investigations are poor. Records have little evidence of how the manager reached their decision. This leaves children dissatisfied with the outcome of their complaints and may discourage children from raising concerns in the future. Children‟s communal downstairs living environment is homely and welcoming. However, their bedrooms lack personalisation. Damage to children‟s bedrooms has not been fixed and they require cleaning. Children have a large rear garden to play in; however, this is untidy and not adequately maintained. Cigarette ends are discarded about the grounds

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

and to the front of the home. This makes for an unwelcoming environment for the children and fails to promote their investment in their living environment. Some children living at the home have made good progress in their education, with one child, despite the unsettled home, achieving 100% school attendance. Those whose plan is to return home are able to go on holiday with their families, assisted by the provider. The staff praise children‟s achievements and positive incentives are in place to encourage their progress. One child is going on holiday abroad as a recognition for their Inspection report children‟s home: SC361206 9 educational progress. Children who are reaching an age where they are ready to prepare to move on are supported to develop their independence skills. Clear independence plans help children to gain independence at a pace suitable to them.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Management and staff have failed to consistently keep children safe. They have taken insufficient action in response to risk. Those at risk from other children have barricaded themselves in rooms in the home. Staff on sleep-in duties have gone to sleep when children are awake, unsettled and vulnerable to harm, with one waking night member of staff being insufficient to manage the situation. Staff have failed to consistently implement individual children‟s risk assessments. They have lacked clear guidance from management and they have not been held accountable for their actions. This has resulted in a lack of clear boundaries needed to keep children safe. The location risk assessment is ineffective. Children have placed themselves at risk by lying in the main road close to the home and they have, on several occasions, got onto the first-floor roof. Children have been able to repeatedly use the fire escape to leave

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

the building and go missing because the manager failed to identify and take effective action to reduce these risks. The assessment fails to inform the staff of these concerns, known areas, and individuals where children may go that potentially place children at risk. The manager has failed to consistently report to the designated officer all allegations that have been made against the staff. Where allegations have been reported, records in the home are unclear and do not ensure that all known information is provided to the designated officer. This makes it difficult to ensure that a thorough investigation is undertaken. In addition, records describe significant child protection concerns but fail to demonstrate the action taken. One member of staff is alleged to have provided a mobile phone to a child. However, senior management was unaware if this had been agreed by the social worker or by the manager. This lack of effective oversight undermines the

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

safety and well-being of children. There are a high number of incidents of children going missing from the home. On a number of occasions, staff have been unaware that children have left the home. When staff have been aware of children going missing, they have sometimes failed to take immediate action to follow them. On other occasions, insufficient staffing during the night meant that staff have been unable to follow the child. On one occasion, a child at significant risk was refused assistance to return to the home, due to insufficient staff during the night and a concern about the cost of a taxi. Return interviews by placing authorities are not consistently taking place. One highly vulnerable child has not received any independent return interviews, despite going missing on 13 occasions. Key-work sessions regarding missing incidents are too infrequent to have any impact. Some children at risk of sexual exploitation have disclosed information regarding older males.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

However, records fail to demonstrate that the relevant agencies have been informed. Lack of effective action has meant that children have continued to go missing and place themselves at risk of harm. This failure to follow the home‟s safeguarding procedures Inspection report children‟s home: SC361206 10 may also adversely impact on investigations by lead agencies. Few physical interventions are recorded in the book kept by the home for this purpose, despite other records in the home showing that, on at least one occasion, a physical intervention was used on a child. The lack of a sufficient investigation into this incident means that it is unclear whether appropriate measures to keep the child or others safe from harm were taken. The children lack clear boundaries and expectations of their behaviour, because staff lack sufficient guidance and they are unclear about setting boundaries. Alongside this,

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

there is a shortage of experienced staff with the skills and understanding of the children‟s needs required to effectively manage their behaviour. The manager did not provide staff with debriefs following incidents, so that incidents continued and, on occasions, escalated. The staff recruitment procedure is mainly sufficient. However, a member of staff working at the home has failed to ensure that his disclosure and barring check was completed in time for the expiration of his then current check. This is not in line with the home‟s policy. This member of staff continued to work at the home, without a risk assessment being completed. Children are safe currently at the home, due to the action taken by senior management immediately prior to the inspection. However, until this recent action was taken the children were at significant risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The leadership and management of the home are ineffective. Managers have failed to keep children safe and to address the lack of progress for some children. Internal and external monitoring has failed to identify significant concerns. Equally, monitoring has failed to identify the action required to improve the quality of care for the children. Internal monitoring fails to include feedback from children, placing authorities and parents and to consider how to improve the service. Therefore, children‟s experiences have continued to be poor. There has been no registered manager at the home for over 26 weeks. The acting manager has made an application to Ofsted to be registered. The manager has failed to ensure that the home is run in line with its statement of purpose. Staff, visitors and children have been subjected to prejudice from children, owing to a lack of staff awareness and understanding of how to challenge and reduce

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

the reoccurrence of this behaviour. The provider has failed to inform Ofsted of relevant staff changes in the home. There are insufficient staff to provide care for the number of children the home is registered for due to staff resigning, sickness and lack of effective recruitment. The lack of staffing, guidance and effective strategies has placed children at risk. There were sufficient staff at the time of this inspection due to some children‟s placements ending and fewer staff being required to meet the remaining children‟s needs. The manager has failed to provide staff with regular supervision. A newly appointed Inspection report children‟s home: SC361206 11 member of staff has only received one supervision session since their appointment in March 2018. The person concerned has not had sufficient training and, despite their inexperience, has been required to be the lead member on shift overnight with only

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

agency staff present. There is a lack of information at the home regarding the agency staff members‟ training. This is of particular concern, given the level of incidents occurring during the night. These failures do not equip staff with the skills to provide safe and effective care for children. The manager fails to provide opportunities to review and evaluate practice. Team meetings have occurred. The minutes evidence significant incidents occurring and include statements of concern about children, for example of a child potentially grooming another child. However, it is unclear why these statements have been made and there is no clear record of the action taken to safeguard children. The manager has failed to inform Ofsted of significant events that have occurred in the home, as required by regulations, for example when allegations have been made against staff and children at risk of sexual exploitation. When notifications are received, they do

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

not contain all relevant details as included in incidents reports. This fails to ensure that Ofsted as the regulator can effectively monitor the service. Communication from the home is poor. A lack of clear recording of events in the home makes it unclear if placing authorities are aware of all incidents. Senior managers have recently became aware of some of the concerns in the home and have taken immediate action to safeguard the children. They have demonstrated a commitment to improve the quality of care and safeguarding of 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 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: SC361206 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: St Christopher‟s Fellowship

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Putney High Street, London SW15 1SZ

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Inspector

Natalie Burton, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC361206 13 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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