Children's Home run by Tees-Valley Care Limited in Redcar and Cleveland

Inspection report children’s home: 1272220 1 Registered provider: Tees-Valley Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in May 2018 to provide care and accommodation for up to four children and young people, irrespective of gender. The manager was registered at that time and is working towards achieving her level 5 qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 13 to 14 September 2018

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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 widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected and their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: not applicable, first inspection

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1272220 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff— seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs. (Regulation 5 (b)) 16/11/2018

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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— 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; help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 6 (1)(2)(b)(ii)(iv)(v)) 16/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who— develop positive relationships with them; engage with them; and take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff— 19/10/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1272220 3 help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7 (1)(2)(a)(iii)) The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help each child to achieve the child’s education and training

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Requirement Due date

targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; 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. (Regulation 8 (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)) 16/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

*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. 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; 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; strive to gain each child’s respect and trust; understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the

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Requirement Due date

competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children; 19/10/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1272220 4 de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children; understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iv)(v)(viii)(ix)(xii)(xiii)(b)) *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;

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Requirement Due date

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; 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 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)(iii)(iv)(b)) 19/10/2018

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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— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to 19/10/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1272220 5 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; demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved

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Requirement Due date

by taking into account and acting on— research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(f)(g)(h)) The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (2)(a)) 19/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (‘the statement of purpose’) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. The registered person must— keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)) 19/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only— employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the 16/11/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1272220 6 individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that— the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(3)(b)) The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)) 19/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home. The registered person must— maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (2)(a)(b)) In particular ensure that the admissions and discharge register has the address of where a child or young person is discharged to. 19/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; 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); or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. 19/10/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1272220 7 A notification made under this regulation must include details of— the matter; the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the

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Requirement Due date

matter; must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(5))

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 A child’s bedroom should not generally be entered without their permission, though it may be necessary to establish routines to allow for rooms to be cleaned regularly. Usually, rooms should only be searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Immediate searching may be necessary where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the

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Recommendations

children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The overall experiences and progress of children in the home are poor. Identified needs are not well met, and children are not being sufficiently supported to build positive relationships with staff and each other. Records held about children are of a poor quality, and at times are incomplete and contradictory. This is not supporting a consistent understanding by and response from staff about how to meet children’s needs and risks. The delivery of care is generalised within plans. Risk assessments are not tailored to individual needs and in some cases known risks have not been sufficiently recognised, addressed and reduced. This leaves children at risk of harm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Admissions have not been managed effectively since the home opened in May 2018. Transitions to and from the home have been in quick succession. Since the home opened, it has accommodated five children, with one child being accommodated twice Inspection report children’s home: 1272220 8 for short periods. One child was admitted in an emergency. This has affected the staff team’s ability to develop strong positive relationships with children that are effective in addressing behaviours. In addition, assessments of risks, made prior to or at the point of admission, were either missing or did not capture relevant information to manage any risks in relation to other children placed in the home. Arrangements for ending children’s placements are ineffective. Recent placements have ended suddenly because the home could not meet the complex needs of children placed and keep them safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are not being supported effectively to achieve good attendance at school and for some children attendance has declined since admission to the home. Arrangements to support children to overcome barriers to learning and to take part in meaningful education are not always effective. However, some children have made good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home’s records showed that some children find living in the home stressful. There has been a significant amount of damage to the fixtures and fittings of the home caused by some of the children. There are no direct, practical strategies for addressing such behaviours in care plans. Therefore, despite the home having a strong therapeutic approach, this is having no impact on the choices that children make and does not teach them how to manage their behaviour more appropriately. Staff are placing too much emphasis on children taking responsibility for their actions when they have not yet developed the appropriate mechanisms to do so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The staff team’s ability to help children to remain safe and improve their aspirations and outcomes is limited because there is insufficiently clear guidance from the management team. There is a lack of consistency in the implementation of boundaries and routines to keep children safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff have been unsuccessful in engaging external services to assist in addressing children’s health needs resulting from the misuse of drugs. There are generic strategies in place to address behaviours of self-harm, but they take no account of individual circumstances or history. This means that health outcomes for children are poor.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are offered and engage in a wide range of activities, but none of the children is engaged in groups or age-appropriate clubs.

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

Children are not adequately safeguarded. Individual risks are poorly managed and children are not supported effectively to keep themselves safe. There is a lack of consistent boundaries to manage behaviour. There is evidence that children are unsafe when they are out of the home as staff are unaware where they are for long periods of time during the day. Staff do not have the knowledge or skills to support children to manage the risks that they face.

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

Risk assessments are generic and do not include strategies to address individual behaviours. Staff have not taken into consideration the extent of children’s past experiences and used this to inform current risk assessments. Staff have not kept Ofsted Inspection report children’s home: 1272220 9 and the placing authorities informed of arising risky behaviours to ensure that there is a shared understanding of current risks and any action required to support and reduce those risks.

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

In some central and individual records, statements are contradictory and inaccurate, which means that staff are unclear about what is expected of them. Records are not always updated when risks change. This does not promote a shared understanding by staff of how to safely manage risky behaviours in a consistent way. This means that there is no clear assessment of the levels of risk children face from day to day and does not help them to learn to regulate and manage their behaviour.

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

The response by staff when children go missing is weak, and the police are sometimes used as a threat to manage behaviour when staff struggle to do so. Staff do not make clear to children the consequences of inappropriate or dangerous actions, and sanctions are inappropriately applied by staff. This has an impact on the relationships between children and staff, and reduces learning for children about how to manage their emotions differently and keep themselves safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The leadership team is ineffective and management oversight is poor. The registered manager and provider have failed to address some serious incidents of poor performance by staff, and a lack of progress and the level of risk for some children. However, some actions are swift and appropriate, and progress has been made in some areas of children’s lives, but this is not consistently applied or achieved. Admissions to the home have not been managed effectively. The manager has not reviewed or evaluated the quality of care or developed a system for tracking the progress of individual children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been some turnover of staff since registration and an increase in the numbers of staff. The majority of current staff are not sufficiently supported to manage the needs of children placed and not all are appropriately qualified. Staff are not being equipped to meet the high level of needs of children placed. Children with some very complex needs have been admitted in quick succession and this has had an impact on the staff team being able to manage the range of children’s complex behaviours effectively. In addition, a lack of clear guidance and leadership leaves both the staff team and the children vulnerable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Team meetings take place regularly, but records are brief and do not contain a holistic picture of each child. The quality of staff supervision is poor. Records do not demonstrate that staff are sufficiently supported to meet the individual needs of children. Safeguarding is recorded as an agenda item, but the records contain very little information about the level of discussion and do not link to the risks seen in individual records of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Health and safety records are completed, and routine checks are carried out in line with guidance. However, information about incidents relating to bullying and room searches is Inspection report children’s home: 1272220 10 not being collated or monitored to inform the team of any arising action required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Because of the concerns highlighted at this inspection, a restriction notice has been served that prohibits the provider from admitting any more children to the home until practice has improved. Three compliance notices have been issued. Ofsted will monitor the home’s compliance within six weeks.

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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: 1272220 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Tees-Valley Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bhive Business Centre, Allum Way, Skelton, Saltburn, Cleveland TS12 2LQ

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Inspectors

Susan Atkinson-Millmoor, regulatory inspection manager Jacqueline Tate, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1272220 12 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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