Children's Home, Residential special school run by Amberleigh Care Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC448209 1 SC448209 Registered provider: Amberleigh Care Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This private home provides long-term specialist therapeutic care and education for up to 12 young males who have displayed inappropriate or harmful sexualised behaviours. The manager is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

p.1

inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

p.1

inadequate

There are serious and /or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor, and they are not making progress.

p.1

inadequate

Date of last inspection: 17 January 2018

p.1

inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

p.1

inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/01/2018 Full Inadequate 04/10/2017 Full Inadequate Inspection report children‟s home: SC448209 2 01/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/12/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC448209 3

p.1

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.

p.3

Requirements Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.3

Requirements Due date

understand the children‟s home‟s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.3

Requirements Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children‟s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.3

Requirements Due date

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

p.3

Requirements Due date

understand and apply the home‟s statement of purpose;

p.3

Requirements Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

p.3

Requirements Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child‟s needs, as recorded in the child‟s relevant plans, taking account of the child‟s background;

p.3

Requirements 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. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(2)(iii)(iv)(vi)) 22/07/2018

p.3

Requirements Due date

The children‟s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff.

p.3

Requirements Due date

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

p.3

Requirements Due date

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 27/06/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC448209 4 7(1)(2)(a)(iii)) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.3

Requirements Due date

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

p.4

Requirements 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. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)) 22/07/2018

p.4

Requirements 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—

p.4

Requirements Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.4

Requirements Due date

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

p.4

Requirements Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‟s statement of purpose;

p.4

Requirements Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

p.4

Requirements Due date

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;

p.4

Requirements Due date

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)(f)(h)) 27/06/2018

p.4

Requirements Due date

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child. (Regulation 19(1)) 22/07/2018

p.4

Requirements Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected; 27/06/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC448209 5 children can access all appropriate areas of the children‟s home‟s premises; and

p.4

Requirements Due date

any limitation placed on a child‟s privacy or access to any area of the home‟s premises—

p.5

Requirements Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

p.5

Requirements Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

p.5

Requirements Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe.* (Regulation 21(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

p.5

Requirements Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child‟s need for privacy. (Regulation 24(1)(d)) 22/07/2018

p.5

Requirements Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

p.5

Requirements Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

p.5

Requirements Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)) 22/07/2018

p.5

Requirements Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children‟s home at least once each month.

p.5

Requirements Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

p.5

Requirements Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

p.5

Requirements Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home‟s records (except for a child‟s case records, unless the child and the child‟s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44(1)(2)(a)(b)) 22/07/2018

p.5

Requirements Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report children‟s home: SC448209 6

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Unnecessary restrictions and monitoring arrangements continue to be used in this home. For example, children and young people cannot freely access areas of their home, including their bedrooms and toilets. Children and young people are escorted to these areas by staff and are required to ring a bell when they wish to leave, so that staff can collect them and escort them back. This significantly affects children and young people‟s day-to-day experiences. Furthermore, it affects children and young people‟s right to privacy and limits their access to appropriate areas within the home.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children and young people do not feel that they are always treated with dignity and respect. A young person told the inspector, „I endure it [the home], I get my head down until I have to leave. It‟s not like a home, it‟s not supposed to feel like a home.‟

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not always take children and young people‟s wishes and views seriously, for example when children and young people request that house rules are reviewed, or that new sports equipment is purchased. Furthermore, their requests are not dealt with in a timely manner and staff do not offer clear explanations as to why requests are not met. As a result, children and young people feel frustrated and disillusioned. A young person told the inspector, „The staff need to actually listen to us, look to see what they can do to make me feel better.‟

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Although the independent visitor does see young people individually it is not always clear that she offers children and young people the opportunity to have conversations with her in private. As a result, children and young people may not always be given the chance to speak privately to an independent person about their experiences, or any concerns that they may wish to raise. This further exacerbates their sense of not being listened to.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Despite these shortfalls, children and young people undertake a range of activities, and make good educational progress.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Young people have access to therapeutic support, which they access regularly. This promotes young people‟s emotional well-being.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff support children and young people to develop practical independence skills such as cooking, using public transport and managing their money. However, restrictive and institutionalised practices do not enable the children and young people to learn skills in self-regulation and to develop all the skills that they will need when they move on from the home.

p.6

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

Risk assessments do not contain sufficient detail or guidance for staff to manage risk. When children and young people do pose specific risks, these are not consistently or Inspection report children‟s home: SC448209 7 accurately documented. As a result, the risks that children and young people pose to themselves and others are not fully considered or acted upon.

p.6

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

Children and young people display varying degrees of harmful, or potentially harmful, behaviour. However, irrespective of the specific individual risks that they pose to themselves and others, all children and young people are subject to high levels of intrusive monitoring and supervision. The necessity and rationale for these measures are not individually assessed or reviewed. Consequently, children and young people do not receive personalised care. A young person told the inspector, „It [the monitoring] puts you down, it doesn‟t make you feel your age. I feel weak here. I don‟t think I‟ll grow as a person.‟

p.7

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

Staff offer children and young people individual and group meetings to address conflict with their peers and agree solutions. However, staff do not always work collaboratively to provide children and young people reassurance and support, nor do they help them to understand their feelings or how these influence their behaviour. Staff impose sanctions for negative behaviour. Some of these measures are excessive and unreasonable. These shortfalls mean that children and young people receive inconsistent care and are not supported to learn from their behaviour.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to implement effective monitoring and reviewing systems. As a result, they are unable to provide the necessary oversight to understand or continually improve the quality of care that children and young people receive.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager and staff offer some positive support when new children and young people move into the home. For example, a recently admitted child was able to spend time with staff and peers before moving in. However, leaders and managers do not fully evaluate the potential impact of new arrivals on the children and young people who already live in the home. This has the potential to place children and young people at risk.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager is not consistent in ensuring that children and young people‟s records contain key information. For example, some files do not contain records from looked after reviews or court documents outlining the offences that children and young people have committed. As a result, some staff do not have a clear understanding of the behaviours displayed by children and young people.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not ensure that the ethos outlined in the home‟s statement of purpose is understood or implemented. The home‟s aim is to „create an environment that is both homely and practical, minimising the effects of institutionalisation‟. However, children and young people are subject to unnecessary restrictions. A young person told the inspector, „If there was a word I could use to sum up this place, it‟s “institutionalised”.‟

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager ensures that staff receive regular supervision and training. Staff feel Inspection report children‟s home: SC448209 8 supported. A newly recruited member of staff told the inspector, „They [staff] have all been very welcoming. I have found my supervisions useful.‟

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has continued to be some changes to the staff team, However, leaders are managers are recruiting new staff to bring about increased stability for children and young people.

p.8

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.

p.8

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: SC448209 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Amberleigh Care Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Amberleigh Care Ltd, Golfa Hall, Golfa, Welshpool, Powys SY21 9AF

p.9

Inspectors

Gareth Leckey: social care inspector Rebecca Quested: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC448209 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.

p.9

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10