Children's home run by Pine Forest Homes Limited in Cannock Chase

Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 1 SC373693 Registered provider: Pine Forest Homes Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children aged eight to 17. The home provides both short- and long-term placements for children and young people who may have faced adverse childhood experiences, trauma, and placement and family breakdown.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since December 2015. A new manager was appointed in May 2018 but has yet to apply for registration 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 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted inspected this service in March 2018. At that time, the home was judged to have declined in effectiveness. Inspectors found significant shortfalls relating to children‟s Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 2 overall experience and progress, the protection of children and the leadership and management of the service. Following this inspection, Ofsted issued three compliance notices. These concerned the provider‟s failure to take effective action to address serious concerns about a child‟s welfare, their failure to use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home and their failure to safely recruit staff. These notices were subject to a monitoring visit on 26 April 2018 and deemed to be met.

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 14/08/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/11/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 04/07/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 3

p.2

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

Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

p.3

Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child‟s placing authority effectively in the child‟s care, in accordance with the child‟s relevant plans; and

p.3

Requirement Due date

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(a)(c))* 24/08/2018

p.3

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

p.3

Requirement Due date

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

p.3

Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home‟s statement of purpose. (Regulation 6(a)(b)(2)(a)) 07/09/2018

p.3

Requirement Due date

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

p.3

Requirement Due date

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

p.3

Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings. (Regulation 7(b)(2)(a)(ii)) 07/09/2018

p.3

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. 07/09/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 4 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

p.3

Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child overcome any such barriers. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(iii)) The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on mutual respect and trust; and understanding about acceptable behaviour.

p.4

Requirement Due date

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

p.4

Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child‟s behaviour, in accordance with the child‟s age and understanding. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(iii)) 07/09/2018

p.4

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.4

Requirement Due date

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

p.4

Requirement 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; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child‟s health. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i*)(ii)(d*)) 24/08/2018

p.4

Requirement 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 helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

p.4

Requirement Due date

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

p.4

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous 24/08/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 5 improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(h*)) The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in and through the children‟s home. (Regulation 14(1)(a))

p.4

Requirement Due date

Ensure that the manager completes thorough impact risk assessments, which take account of the needs of young people already living in the home. 07/09/2018

p.5

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in and through the children‟s home.

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

each child‟s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(2)(c)) 07/09/2018

p.5

Requirement Due date

A responsible individual must 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)) 07/09/2018

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(a)(b)) 07/09/2018

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; and there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(b)(e)) 07/09/2018

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating— the quality of care provided for children;

p.5

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. 07/09/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 6 After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). (Regulation 45(1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)) The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children‟s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46(1)(2))

p.5

Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There are significant shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home and consistent failures to protect children from harm. As a result, children‟s overall and day- to-day experiences are inadequate, as is their progress.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children receive poor-quality care and support. Managers and staff do not ensure that internal care plans reflect the aims and objectives of the placing authorities. For example, for one child, a key aim of the placement is to support his progress towards semi-independence and adulthood. Staff have not taken appropriate action to progress this plan. This demonstrates that children do not benefit from individual care that supports their development.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not seek children‟s views or opinions in relation to the content of their care plans or the development of the service. They do not make sure that they inform children of any changes made to internal care plans. As a result, children‟s wishes and feelings are not central to decisions made about their care. Subsequently, children do not engage in this placement.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children make little progress in education. This is because staff do not work with children to understand the barriers that prevent them from attending school or from participating in lessons. When children do not attend school or engage in other forms of tuition, staff do not help them to recognise the longer-term detrimental impact that this may have on their future career or employment opportunities.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home is poorly maintained. For example, children‟s bedrooms contain broken and damaged furniture, mouldy crockery, and smoking paraphernalia and tobacco. Staff do not adequately support children to keep their personal space clean and tidy or free from hazards. This does not help children to feel valued and it does not enable children to learn to respect their own space and belongings or those of other people. Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 7 Generally, children have superficial relationships with staff. However, staff endeavour to improve these relationships by encouraging children to try new activities and hobbies, such as attending local gyms. Staff participate in these activities with children. This helps children to develop new interests.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff ensure that children can access local primary healthcare service such as dentists and opticians. Although children often refuse to attend these appointments, staff make sure that they remain registered with these services should they need to access these resources in the future.

p.7

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

Managers and staff do not promote children‟s safety and well-being. This is because children‟s risk assessments lack sufficient detail. These documents identify children‟s risks to include criminal activity, drug and alcohol misuse, and going missing from the home. However, they do not provide clear guidance for staff about how to manage and reduce these risks. As a result, children remain at unnecessary risk of potential harm.

p.7

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

Children frequently go missing from the home or are regularly away from the home without permission. Staff do not take appropriate action to ensure that children are protected from harm in these circumstances. For example, the welfare checks that staff complete in person, or by telephone, are cursory. These are insufficiently robust to accurately determine whether children are safe. Furthermore, staff do not help children to learn how to keep themselves safe when they are absent from the home.

p.7

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

Staff do not work with children to help them to take responsibility for their actions. Children‟s anti-social and unacceptable behaviours include violence and intimidation towards staff and others, and criminal damage to the home. Staff do not use one-to-one sessions to encourage children to reflect on their behaviours or consider the impact that their actions may have on others. As a result, children are not motivated or helped to change their behaviours.

p.7

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

Managers do not notify Ofsted of all significant or serious incidents that occur in the home or of those that require police involvement. This means that the regulator is unable to review the suitability of any actions taken by the service to manage these incidents.

p.7

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

Managers do not appropriately assess the suitability or compatibility of potential new admissions to the home. They do not ensure that they are aware of the risks that these children may present or consider the impact on the children already living in the home. Subsequently, managers are unable to determine whether the service can meet these children‟s needs or whether these children pose a risk to other children.

p.7

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

Managers do not adequately review the suitability of the location of the home. They do not fully consider the impact that potential risks in the immediate or local vicinity may have on children‟s safety and well-being. This places the children at further unnecessary Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 8 risk of harm.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since December 2015. A new manager is now in post but has yet to apply to Ofsted for registration.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Interim management arrangements have been ineffectual. For example, under the leadership and management of the responsible individual, the service has failed to meet five of the nine requirements made at the interim inspection in March 2018. This questions the capacity, skills and experience of the responsible individual to provide the effective oversight required to develop the home and meet children‟s needs.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Partnership working arrangements between managers, staff and some external agencies are appropriate. However, managers do not effectively challenge other professionals when they consider their actions to fall short of acceptable standards of care or support. They do not escalate concerns that they have regarding children‟s safety or protection. Furthermore, managers do not inform relevant professionals of these concerns. These failures place children at risk of harm.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual and new manager do not appropriately monitor the home. Although managers said that they complete monthly audits to assess staff practice and the development of the service, there are no written records of these audits.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager‟s review of the quality of care provided by the home does not identify the strengths or shortfalls of the service, or any patterns or trends that impact on children‟s safety and progress. This review does not include the views, opinions or feedback of children or other agencies. Subsequently, managers are unable to demonstrate the capacity for the home to improve.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive regular or practice-related supervision. Furthermore, not all staff receive supervision from a person with appropriate experience. As a result, staff do not have the opportunity to review their practice or discuss their performance and learning needs.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Most staff do not hold appropriate qualifications for their roles. Although eligible staff are currently working towards these, supplementary training programmes do not reflect children‟s needs. In addition, several staff have yet to complete training in relation to radicalisation, physical restraint or health and safety. This means that staff do not have the skills and qualifications that they need to support children and protect them from harm.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not make sure that staff understand or deliver the core aims and outcomes detailed in the home‟s statement of purpose. This document states that children‟s internal care plans will reflect an „analysis of their individual needs‟. Case files do not include any analysis of children‟s needs or demonstrate how staff will meet children‟s needs. Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 9

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.9

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: SC373693 10

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pine Forest Homes Limited

p.10

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ballance & Lowbridge, Accountants, 65 Market Street, Hednesford, Cannock, Staffordshire WS12 1AD

p.10

Inspector

Jo Stephenson, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.10

Inspector

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.11

Inspector

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

p.11

Inspector

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

p.11