Children's home run by Virgin Care Limited in Camden

Inspection report children’s home: SC458422 1 SC458422 Registered provider: Virgin Care 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 short-break service is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children who have physical disabilities, learning disabilities and sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since December 2015. She is currently undertaking the level 5 diploma.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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: 2 November 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC458422 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/11/2017 Full Good 16/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/04/2016 Full Good 17/12/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC458422 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 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—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff complete clear and concise body maps in relation to all unknown bruises and marks. In addition, staff should offer children medical assistance and report unknown bruises and marks in line with local procedures. 14/09/2018

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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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—

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 14/09/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC458422 4 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is close monitoring, scrutiny and evaluation of records relating to body maps, and that the evaluation clearly records how the decision is made that there are no safeguarding concerns. In addition, leaders and managers look for potential trends and follow local reporting procedures.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all areas of the children’s home provide children with a welcoming and homely environment. Review the storage arrangements of a range of equipment so that these items do not unnecessarily impose on the children’s communal space. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  Ensure that all staff receive training in deaf and blind awareness. In addition, leaders and managers should review the effectiveness of the current safeguarding training in relation to children with disabilities. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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improvement to be good

Typically, this home has a good inspection history and provides children with positive experiences. This year, the overall outcomes for children require improvement to be good. This is because of inconsistent practice in the effectiveness of leaders’ and managers’ work specifically in relation to unexplained marks and injuries recorded on body maps.

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improvement to be good

Staff develop positive relationships with the children. They know the children well and provide them with caring, sensitive and individualised care and support. Children are Inspection report children’s home: SC458422 5 happy to come and stay at this short-break provision.

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improvement to be good

Staff work positively with parents to ensure that their child receives continuity of care during their short-break visits. A parent said, ‘I can’t think of any concerns. We are confident in the staff to look after him.’ A parent echoed this and said, ‘Our daughter has made friends. She does things that we can’t always do.’

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to be more independent. For example, they support children to be more independent with their eating and drinking skills and to assist in the preparation of meals. Children really enjoy cooking and eating the fruits and vegetables that they have grown in the garden. Staff use alternative methods of communication to offer children choices in activities, meals and day-to-day living.

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improvement to be good

Children thoroughly enjoy a wide range of activities and social and leisure opportunities. These opportunities include in-house activities such as stories, cooking, sensory activities, games and gardening. Activities in the local and wider community include visits to local parks and shops, trips to adventure parks, visits to the beach and garden centres. Trips into the local community are regular and have increased this year.

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improvement to be good

Children are welcomed to this short-break service following careful and considered planning. A social worker spoke positively about the staff and the way in which they work together with other agencies and professionals to support the child in accessing the provision.

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improvement to be good

The monitoring and evaluation of children’s body maps require improvement. This is because staff do not always follow the local procedure for managing unexplained marks on non-ambulant children. Staff do not always complete body maps when they have noticed an unexplained bruise or mark on a child, although they do make a note in other records. Some body map records are written in more detail than others, and sometimes staff offer children medical attention. The inspector saw examples where unexplained marks were managed well; however, the registered manager is not monitoring and scrutinising all of these events effectively to ensure that good practice is always consistently applied.

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improvement to be good

Due to the complex healthcare needs of some children, they need close monitoring during the night. Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have been extremely proactive in consulting with parents and social workers about the use of closed circuit television (CCTV), audio and visual monitoring, and high-sided beds. As a result of this consultation, there has been a significant reduction in the use of CCTV. In addition, risk assessments and care plans clearly identify the need for the use of CCTV and other monitoring devices such as audio and visual monitoring. Leaders and managers ensure that there is regular review of this practice.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond professionally and effectively to promoting children’s health and well-being Inspection report children’s home: SC458422 6 when they are unwell. Parents said that their children’s healthcare needs are well managed, and that their children are kept safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond effectively when children feel anxious or become unhappy or distressed. Staff know children well and provide them with care and nurture. Restraint is not used, and sanctions are not imposed. Children do not go missing from this home.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager ensures that children stay in a safe and well-maintained home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement because the registered manager is not scrutinising, monitoring and evaluating all records in relation to children’s body maps effectively. She is not recording, in all cases, how she has come to the decision that there are no safeguarding concerns in relation to unexplained bruises or marks. In addition, she is not evidencing that she looks for trends and patterns as part of the decision-making process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

At the time of the inspection, the registered manager devised an improved recording and monitoring system to enable her to maintain detailed records about body maps and to monitor trends and patterns. Following discussions, the registered manager took appropriate action and alerted a social worker to a possible trend identified in the records about marks on a child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers ensure that the independent visitor undertakes regular visits. The registered manager responds effectively to recommendations made from these visits.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are provided with comprehensive and well-written placement plans and risk assessments. These documents clearly identify and guide staff about how to meet children’s needs. Leaders and managers ensure that these documents are regularly reviewed and updated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers ensure that staff receive regular mandatory training and specialised training to meet the needs of the children. Staff receive safeguarding training that includes matters in relation to safeguarding disabled children. However, it is not evident that the content of this training provides staff with sufficient awareness and guidance, particularly in relation to consistently and accurately managing unexplained marks on children. Leaders and managers have plans to provide staff with specific training in deaf and blind awareness. This is so that staff are better equipped to support children who have sensory impairments.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have identified that improvements can be made to the environment. These relate to areas in the home that need redecoration. In addition, the environment could be improved with the further addition of soft furnishings and improved storage facilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The three requirements and two recommendations that were made at the last inspection Inspection report children’s home: SC458422 7 have been met.

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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: SC458422 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Virgin Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lynton House, 7−12 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9LT

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Inspector

David Kidner, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC458422 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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