Children's Home run by Stanfield Care Services Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 1 SC451152 Registered provider: Stanfield Care Services 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 privately owned home provides care for up to four children aged between 8 and 17. The manager has been registered since 2016.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/07/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/08/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 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 enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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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

develop the child’s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and

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Requirement Due date

make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 30/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being.

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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

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and 28/09/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 3 understanding. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(ii)) 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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This is in regard to updating risk assessments. 28/09/2018

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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.

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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

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)(d)) 28/09/2018

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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improvement to be good

The outcomes for children are mixed. Recently, there has been an unsettled period. There have been a number of incidents during which children have not settled at night and have taken risks around the house and in the community. Although these incidents have started to reduce, a culture of children regularly using cannabis and smoking in the house is of concern. The staff challenge this behaviour without much effect. A substance misuse worker has visited the home twice, but the use of cannabis has increased for two children since coming to the home. Additionally, there are health issues that have not been explored or addressed. Lack of strategy to address concerns does not support staff Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 4 to meets children’s physical and mental health needs. The house sits on a generous site and is well appointed. However, the overall appearance of the site is unkempt, due to the land either side of the property being sold

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improvement to be good

for development. The rear garden has partly gone. There is machinery and rubble adjacent to the home, which is visible from the lounge and reception room. Additionally, one bedroom has not been cleaned properly. One child has a second-hand bed and mattress that was provided from another children’s home. These resources and environment do not provide a well-kept home for children to live in. One child has no education provision after she failed to secure her choice of college course. One child attends education provision full-time and one child has two hours of home tuition each day. Two of the children are at the home during the day. Home tuition provides minimal opportunities to meet peers outside the home or to build a varied routine. Although the staff provide some activities, such as bowling and swimming, the children do not attend any community clubs or groups that develop their individual interests and provide social opportunities outside the home.

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improvement to be good

There is a flexible and reasonable approach to facilitating family contact. Safeguarding restrictions for two children mean that contact is at the home or local to the home. The children’s families visit the home and use local facilities to spend time with the children. The provision of a vehicle for the home has improved transport for children.

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improvement to be good

Risks are not clearly identified. Building work involving two contractors is taking place to the front and side of the property. Works vehicles and machinery have not been risk- assessed properly. The landlord of the property failed to provide risk assessments and these were not pursued by the management team. The works were discussed with the children. However, there have been a number of incidents of children using the development area to run away from staff and go into the town. This makes for a hazardous route that potentially places the children at risk. Staff are aware of the risks to individual children, but these are poorly assessed. Children who regularly smoke cannabis are not classified as a high risk for substance misuse. This is despite many incidents in which staff have removed drug paraphernalia and smelled cannabis at the home. There have been a significant number of missing-from-home incidents. Return interviews

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improvement to be good

are organised by the staff and have been carried out. The staff actively respond to incidents, and work in partnership with other agencies. However, the strategies used are not effective in reducing the number of incidents. Children are undoubtedly safer at the home in comparison to the risks of exploitation that they faced previously. The children all said that they feel safer since moving to the home. There are few tensions and the group works well in respect of age and identity. However, there are ongoing concerns about all of the children’s substance misuse. There are also personal health issues that have not been properly met. The children are resigned to smoking cannabis, and there is a lack of stimulation and not enough direction. Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 5 There have been several allegations about staff, which have been managed effectively to protect children. Records of the actions taken and other professionals’ involvement are

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improvement to be good

comprehensive and organised. Staff understand their duty to whistle-blow and have done so. This provides good safeguards for children in terms of the staff’s practice.

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

The home is managed by a registered manager who is experienced and qualified for her role. There are adequate levels of adult supervision for the number of children. The staff feel positive about the team morale, although there are changes planned due to the manager leaving the home. A new manager has been appointed and a good handover period is planned. The use of agency staff has ceased and care is always provided by the core staff team. This contributes to continuity of care. The staff receive regular supervision but the quality of these sessions varies, despite some known practice issues. The supervision records demonstrate a lack of questioning and little curiosity, and fail to encourage reflection. This does not provide good support to all of the staff in their care roles. Feedback from professionals is that the service provides basic care and that children are safer than they were prior to admission. However, the concerns in terms of reducing

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

smoking and substance misuse are shared by professionals and parents. The manager has been somewhat limited in her capacity to make improvements to the environment due to tenancy restrictions. She is aware of areas that she would like to improve and has addressed some of these within the confines imposed by the tenancy. Unfortunately, efforts to improve the garden have been affected by the neighbouring development works that are being carried out. Feedback from children is encouraged and integral to the running of the home. The children’s views are regularly sought and valued. This encourages the children to share their views, preferences and feelings about the home.

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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: SC451152 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stanfield Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 57 Newbury Road, Newtown Community Centre, Birmingham B19 2SW

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Inspector

Deirdra Keating: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 7 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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