Children's home run by Kisimul Group Limited in North Kesteven

Inspection report children‟s home: SC367623 1 SC367623 Registered provider: Kisimul Group Ltd

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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 privately-owned service provides education, care and accommodation for up to 66 children and young people who have learning disabilities and/or challenging behaviours associated with autistic spectrum disorder. For some children, this is their home. Other children have term-time only placements and a small number of day pupils also come for short breaks. The home has not had a registered manager since 1November 2017.

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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 inadequate

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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

Date of last inspection: 6 December 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC367623 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/12/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/10/2016 Full Good 02/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 28/07/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC367623 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— understand and apply the home‟s statement of purpose; 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. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iv)) 10/08/2018

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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. 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; 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; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home‟s child protection policies. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(iv)(vii) 10/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are 10/08/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC367623 4 protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 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)(b)) In particular, that transitions and waiting times for young people are effectively managed. 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— 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

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Requirement Due date

each child; ensure that the home‟s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(d)(e)) 10/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained— the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. The relevant date is— in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual— does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a 10/08/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC367623 5 prolonged period; or works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part-time

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Requirement Due date

basis. (Regulation 32(4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b)(6)(a)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 63, paragraph 14.13) In particular, ensure that it is clearly decided when notification is needed.  Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessments of the home‟s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the homes care. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 66, paragraph 15.5)  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child‟s assessed needs as recorded in the child‟s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. („Guide to

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Recommendations

the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  Ensure the registered person has a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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improvement to be good

Young people experience a range of good and, sometimes, poor care while at this children‟s home. In more than one of the houses, staff interactions were observed to include inattentive care. Some interactions were seen to be warm and well received, with staff clearly knowing the young people well, while other observations indicated little or no interaction by staff towards young people. This means that young people are not reliably provided with appropriate individualised care. There is, at times, a lack of staff awareness of the triggers for some young people‟s behaviours. Young people‟s behaviour support plans are not always followed, or their communication tools used. This means that opportunities for some young people to communicate their views are missed or ignored, while some behaviours which could be prevented are either not recognised or not managed appropriately. There isn‟t a learning culture amongst all the

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improvement to be good

staff, which means that there is only limited improvement to young people‟s experiences. Parents and staff were able to describe the progress that some young people have Inspection report children‟s home: SC367623 6 made. Young people are now able to access the community, which had previously not been possible. For other young people, they have become more independent both at meal times and with personal care routines. Some young people now enjoy more varied diets and, as a result of staff working with the necessary professionals, they are succeeding with making healthier choices. Young people‟s needs are assessed in detail prior to placement and the impact in the home is considered. However, in some cases the impact on how the young people will function as a group is not evidenced in the decision-making. There is no evidence that placement decisions have been reviewed to ensure that the impact of the group

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improvement to be good

arrangements are still appropriate. Young people‟s views are considered in various ways by staff who know the young people. Key-work sessions have improved, with a focus now on the young people‟s experiences with photo recognition to enable young people to be able to reflect and remember achievements. There are good links with health professionals and there are clear protocols in place to support those with complex health needs. Medication procedures are clear, and staff review any medication errors. There are strong links with education staff, including residential staff supporting young people during school time. The transitions between the settings are varied. Some young people wait for long periods, which may cause them unnecessary anxiety. There are no clear strategies in place to support young people to manage difficult transitions, particularly at lunch times, and to ensure that day-to-day care is arranged to keep each

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improvement to be good

young person safe. The physical environment in the houses is homely, with each bedroom being personalised. Each house is individualised and staff consider each young person‟s needs and preferences.

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improvement to be good

Young people‟s care planning documentation clearly identifies potential risks and vulnerabilities, with clear strategies for staff to follow to minimise these known risks. Due to the varied skills of staff and their knowledge of young people‟s individual risks, the management of behaviours is inconsistent. Incidents observed during the inspection had not been fully acknowledged or recorded appropriately to enable effective review and follow-up. Action is not always proactively taken to manage relationships between young people to prevent them from harming each other. The response following an incident of going missing has been proportionate and actions have been taken. However, the internal investigation is not detailed and did not recognise some failings to enable learning from these and, if necessary, any change in practice. Staff bring any concerns regarding safeguarding matters to the manager‟s attention and

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improvement to be good

refer them, as required, to the local authority. However, the records do not reflect the Inspection report children‟s home: SC367623 7 rationale and decision-making processes. There has been some good practice evidenced in which staff have noted changes in presentation and behaviour and acted swiftly on this knowledge. When a decision has been made to suspend staff or move a member of staff to another house following an allegation, the risk assessments do not identify what support mechanisms may be required, or record how suitability to work in another house has been determined while under investigation. In addition, these arrangements are not then reviewed. Physical intervention processes and guidance have changed, and staff are now much clearer on what needs to be recorded and when to use redirection or restraint. There is now better analysis of incidents and a reduction in the number of higher level holds

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improvement to be good

used. Young people‟s views are explored through appropriate communication methods following a hold or incident. Recruitment practices are thorough, and all necessary checks have been undertaken prior to the appointment of new staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The children‟s home has been without a registered manager since 1 November 2017. The organisation has appointed a new manager who has applied to be registered with Ofsted. In the interim, the senior leaders and the deputy head of care have taken on extra management responsibilities. Some areas of weakness identified in this inspection have not been identified by those responsible. Leaders do have a high expectation of staff and they are aware of the progress that young people are making and some of the strengths and weaknesses in the individual houses. However, development plans are still being formulated by the new manager to fully evaluate areas for development. When the team leaders are present in the home, the practice observed is of a higher standard. Staffing vacancy levels remain high and, at the time of the inspection, there were 40 vacancies across all shifts. This is a 33% vacancy rate. The senior team is currently

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

addressing this issue through recruitment drives. The shifts are covered by staff undertaking high levels of overtime and the use of agency and bank staff. This is leading to inconsistencies in the quality of the care being provided. There isn‟t currently a written workforce development plan to identify how the senior team hopes to achieve and retain a full complement of skilled and experienced staff. There is reliance on the use of agency staff, with some being approached to become fixed-term agency staff. Some agency staff report that they work a high number of hours. However, there is minimum information on the skills, experience and knowledge of these staff to be able to determine if they can meet the needs of the young people. Profiles do not show if these staff have a level 3 qualification and there is no plan currently in operation to look at when they will achieve this. The new manager is developing relationships with external professionals and parents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been a low number of complaints received since the last inspection. These Inspection report children‟s home: SC367623 8 have been responded to swiftly and changes have been made if shortfalls have been identified. Regular independent reports are being completed by an external visitor. However, a large amount of information is repeated in each report, and its judgement about how effectively young people are safeguarded is not specific. Although the managers feel that these reports are adequate, they lack rigour and a critical challenge.

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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: SC367623 9

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Kisimul School, 61 High Street, Swinderby, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN6 9LU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Donna Varley-Turner

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Inspectors

Emeline Evans, social care inspector Amanda Maxwell, social care inspector Suzy Lemmy, social care inspector Jennie Christopher, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC367623 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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