Children's home run by Parkview Care (Broadstairs) Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1256913 1 Registered provider: Parkview Care (Broadstairs) 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 operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children. Its statement of purpose states that the home provides high quality care for young people who, due to the circumstances of their young lives, require residential accommodation and the support of a trained staff team that can support them through any damage that has been caused by abuse.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager at this home. The post has been vacant since 9 June 2018.

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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 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.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: This was the home’s first inspection after being registered on 23 March 2018

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: Not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 1256913 2

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

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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;

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that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12(1) and (2)(a)(i)(d))

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Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that all children’s known vulnerabilities are risk assessed, taking into account all available information, and must ensure that domestic appliances are in good working order. 06/07/2018

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*The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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helps children aspire to their full potential; and

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

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ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b) and (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that staff receive training in relation to the specific needs of each child, 06/07/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1256913 3 and assess whether the staff have the skills and competence to meet each child’s needs. The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14(1)(a))

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Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that children’s placement plans identify how each child’s needs will be met, and provide staff with clear guidance and strategies for caring for the child. 06/07/2018

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The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16(1) and (3)(a))

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Specifically, the registered provider must review the statement of purpose and ensure that it is an accurate reflection of how the home is managed and the services that can be provided. 06/07/2018

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the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises. (Regulation 21(a) and (c))

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Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that children cannot be overheard in their bedrooms and staff cannot be overheard when working in the office. Children must be able to access communal areas of the home at all times. 21/07/2018

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After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home;

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ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25(1)(a) and (d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that the recommendations made by the fire safety consultant are 06/07/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1256913 4 implemented, fire safety equipment is well maintained and all staff and children take part in fire drills. A responsible individual must—

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have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26(7)(b))

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Specifically, the registered individual must supervise the management of the home in a way that ensures that the registered manager is fully consulted about, and in agreement with, admissions to the home. 06/07/2018

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at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. (Regulation 31(2)(a)) 06/07/2018

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securely in the children’s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there. (Regulation 36(2)(c))

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Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that children’s confidential case records are stored securely in a lockable cabinet. 06/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

At the time of this inspection, one young person had moved into the home following a very poor admissions process. Clear referral information was not sufficiently scrutinised by leaders to determine whether the staff team had the experience, qualifications or skills to meet this young person’s presenting needs effectively. The young person is at risk of serious harm as a direct consequence of these serious shortfalls.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The care planning process is weak. Key aspects of how the young person will be supported and cared for, such as maintaining good sexual health, are not referred to in the placement plan. There are no strategies for helping the young person to develop their interests and engage in positive activities. The plan does not provide staff with guidance or strategies on how to support the young person, and there is no clear process for monitoring the young person’s progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The deficiencies in the care planning process are characterised by a failure to ensure that the young person is supported to access specialised support services. There is no Inspection report children’s home: 1256913 5 evidence to indicate that staff are planning to inform the young person about, or support them to access, services relating to being sexually exploited, mental health difficulties or medical advice regarding known medical conditions. These are all issues relevant to this young person.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Insufficient priority has been given to ensuring young people’s privacy. The staff office is adjacent to a young person’s bedroom, and the separating wall is not soundproof. Consequently, the young person can be heard in their room by staff working in the office, and staff cannot have confidential discussions in the office when the young person is occupying their bedroom. Similar poor practice extends into the storage arrangements for confidential information; for example, the young person’s care files were held on open shelving in the staff office.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Young people do not have unrestricted access to all communal areas of the home. The lounge/dining room is used as a sleep-in room by staff overnight, and is locked when the staff member goes to bed. The home’s statement of purpose states: ‘It is normal practice for two members of staff to sleep-in.’ However, there is only one dedicated staff sleep-in room, and so it is not possible to achieve this without impinging on young people’s free movement around the home.

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

Poor safeguarding knowledge and practice places the young person at significant risk of harm. Staff are unlikely to respond effectively in certain emergency situations because they do not have the experience or training to meet the young person’s specific needs. Leaders were unable to demonstrate the staff team’s competence in supporting young people who demonstrate self-harming behaviours, and no staff member possessed a suitable first aid qualification.

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

Managers and staff do not consistently identify risks in the home, and there is a failure to risk-assess all aspects of the young person’s known vulnerabilities. For example, in respect of the known child sexual exploitation concerns, staff had not risk-assessed the potential for this young person to become exploited via the internet. Inexperienced staff’s lack of knowledge and understanding exacerbates and heightens safeguarding risks.

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

Insufficient priority is given to ensuring that the home is a safe environment. Recommendations made within a fire safety risk assessment have not been fully addressed, and fire safety equipment is not adequately maintained. There has been a failure to ensure that all staff and the young person complete fire drills in a timely way. Prompt action is not always taken when domestic appliances break down. This resulted in fresh foods being stored at an unsafe temperature for longer than a week with no remedial action instigated by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Interim management arrangements were unclear. The home was registered on 23 March Inspection report children’s home: 1256913 6 2018 and the registered manager left their post on 8 June 2018. At this inspection, the deputy manager was unsure who had managerial responsibility for the day-to-day running of the home. It was later confirmed that another manager from the organisation was taking on managerial responsibility that day, until a new manager takes up post on 25 June 2018. Such reactive management arrangements demonstrate poor planning and insufficient organisational oversight by senior leaders.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Further leadership shortfalls include the implementation of an ineffective admissions process. The registered manager was not sufficiently consulted over the final decision to admit a young person, and a poor assessment of whether the home could meet the young person’s needs was undertaken, prior to the decision being made. The staff team does not have the necessary experience, knowledge or skills to care effectively for the young person. Consequently, staff did not initially have all the resources necessary to respond in an emergency situation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders have failed to ensure that staff are competent to provide safe care for the young person. Insufficient training has led to a situation where staff are unlikely to respond effectively to a young person’s unsafe behaviour, or meet a young person’s health needs. During this inspection, some staff raised concerns about the quality of the training that they have received.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home’s statement of purpose is not a true reflection of the service currently being provided. This document describes an experienced and qualified staff team, whereas only one member of staff holds a suitable residential childcare qualification and some staff have little experience of residential childcare. Reference is also made to staff being given opportunities to become competent enough to cover any eventuality, but this has not been achieved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Serious leadership and management weaknesses have resulted in the widespread failures and unsafe practice identified at this inspection. One compliance notice and a restriction of accommodation notice will be issued.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1256913 7 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: 1256913 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Parkview Care (Broadstairs) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 56 The Brentano Suite, Solar House, 915 High Road, London N12 8QJ

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Inspector:

Stephen Collett, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1256913 9 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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