Children's home run by Beaufort Care Group Ltd

Inspection report children‟s home: 1246831 1 Registered provider: Beaufort Care Group Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

 The home is registered for up to four children.  The home provides care for children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.  The home is operated by a private provider who has three other children‟s homes in the area.  The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since December 2016.

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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/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and/or 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: 5 December 2017

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: 1246831 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/12/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 06/06/2017 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: 1246831 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

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure children‟s needs are met In meeting the quality standards, 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(c)) 31/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard 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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff—  protect and promote each child‟s welfare;  provide personalised care that meets each child‟s needs, as recorded in the child‟s relevant plans, taking account of the child‟s background;  provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;  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)(b), (2)(a)(b)(ii)(iv)(vii)(c)(i)) 31/08/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1246831 4 8: The education standard The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—  understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;  help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;  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. (Regulation 8(1), (2)(a)(iii)(iv)(viii)) 21/09/2018

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Requirement Due date

11: The positive relationships standard The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—  meet each child‟s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child‟s relevant plans;  help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;  encourage each child to take responsibility for the child‟s behaviour, in accordance with the child‟s age and understanding;  help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;  communicate to each child expectations about the child‟s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child‟s age and understanding;  help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or 14/09/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1246831 5 harmful relationship;  understand how children‟s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through

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Requirement Due date

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 understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c), (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii)(ix)(x))

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard 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—  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;  understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting 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  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. (Regulation 12(1), (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, safeguarding records need to be comprehensive and contain information about all activities related to the event and include minutes of meetings and guidance given by the designated officer. 10/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard 31/08/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1246831 6 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 work as a team where appropriate;  ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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))

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Requirement Due date

14: The care planning standard The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children‟s home. (Regulation 14(1)(a)) 31/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

33: Employment of staff The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development; 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(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, records of the supervision and appraisal need to be of a good quality, reflect the discussion and any required actions to be completed. 31/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records The registered person must ensure that— within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(c)) 31/08/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1246831 7 In particular, the person speaking to the child must not be a member of staff involved in the restraint.

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Requirement Due date

36: Children‟s case records 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. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)) 31/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

40: Notification of a serious event The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 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). (Regulation 40(4)(d)(i)(ii)) 31/08/2018

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Three out of the four children make insufficient progress, despite having lived at the home for in excess of 18 months. Children‟s plans do not show clearly enough how the staff will support the children and ensure that their needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Three children are not returning back to full-time education quickly enough. The lack of clear planning as to how this will be achieved is detrimental to children‟s progress. Most of the children have a tutor. One child is working well with the tutor and is making sufficient progress. The other children fail to engage fully, or do not engage at all with education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Each child has a key worker. One child conveyed that their key worker only works overnight when the children are asleep, so she does not see her. As a result, the child is not receiving the support and guidance from the key worker that she needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The staff team‟s strategies and approach to working with children vary too much. Too many staff do not challenge inappropriate behaviour and swearing. In addition, on too many occasions staff struggle to connect with children and engage them in conversation and activities. Consequently, too often the children are left unoccupied and without positive mental stimulation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

One child‟s bedroom was not cleaned and tidied to an acceptable standard. For example, there were dirty dishes, food and clothing on the floor and the curtain was not fixed well to the rail. The outside space requires attention. It is unkempt and does not make a Inspection report children‟s home: 1246831 8 pleasant space for children to enjoy their leisure time.

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

Safeguarding arrangements are inadequate. Staff are unclear about the actions that they should take when there is a concern about child welfare. Consequently, at times children are not protected. The records relating to safeguarding concerns are not detailed enough, or incomplete, and in some cases there are no records. As a result, leaders and managers are unable to establish whether or not appropriate procedures have been followed to keep children safe. Leaders and managers did not notify Ofsted about a child protection incident, as required. Monitoring of child protection practices is not effective, as the manager did not identify these regulatory omissions.

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

Staff do not manage children‟s behaviour effectively. While risks to children are identified by staff, they are not translated into effective working strategies to protect children. Children continue to place themselves and others at risk of harm. Too many children are involved in criminal activities and substance misuse.

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

Behaviour management plans lack clear guidance and strategies for staff regarding how to manage children‟s behaviours. Behaviour plans have not been reviewed or updated in light of children‟s ongoing high-risk behaviours. Consequently, the majority of the children are not being supported to develop the skills and understanding to reduce risk- taking behaviours.

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

Restraint is not frequently used, but records relating to restraint do not contain an appropriate level of detail. The restraint records lack evaluation and there is no record of staff speaking with children about their point of view. Occasionally, staff impose sanctions on children for poor behaviour. These sanctions are ineffective, because they do not relate to the behaviour displayed by the child. In addition, on too many occasions the staff team fails to carry out the sanction that has been imposed.

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

Staff do not protect children when they go missing from the home. They do not physically follow children when they go missing and lack professional curiosity to ascertain where children are going and what they have been doing. Return-home interviews have been conducted. However, there is a delay in the manager receiving the reports of these interviews. The person who carries out these interviews does not routinely share information with the team. This does not help the staff to understand the reasons why young people are going missing or help them to prevent them from going missing in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager does not have a clear understanding of the weaknesses of the home. The manager does not implement strategies to support child development and to ensure that children are safe. The failure to motivate and lead the staff team means that children are not kept safe and they do not make the progress that they are capable of. Care practices lack clarity and boundaries for children are not consistently applied. As a result, children engage in criminal and high-risk behaviours. Inspection report children‟s home: 1246831 9 Leaders and managers do not provide staff with good-quality supervision. On too many occasions, managers do not revisit the actions set at the previous session and supervision records lack detail. This supervision is not an effective tool to develop the team or support staff to meet children‟s needs. Similarly, staff meetings fail to direct staff on how to care for children or provide a forum in which strategies can be devised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager does not maintain good-quality records. For example, in one case a child‟s „looked after‟ childcare plan was not for this home but a previous placement. In another example, a young person said that they fell off a motorbike the previous night, yet there was no record of any follow-up to this incident.

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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 difference 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: 1246831 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Beaufort Care Group

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 42 Lytton Road, New Barnet, Barnet EN5 5BY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jennifer Kendall

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Inspector

Wendy Anderson, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1246831 11 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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