Children's home run by Aurora ASD Ltd

Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: 1268752 1

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Aurora Asd Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately-owned children‟s home for five children who have learning disabilities and Asperger syndrome. All children attend the adjacent residential special school operated by the same provider.

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This monitoring visit

This children‟s home was registered in May 2018, and four children moved into the home in July 2018 from the adjacent residential special school. Ofsted inspectors visited the home on 1 August 2018 and identified concerns relating to:

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This monitoring visit

 the management of risk  the skills and training of staff  staff consistency and the safe recruitment of agency staff  how restraint is used in the home  the leadership and management of the home.

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This monitoring visit

After the visit, the registered provider notified Ofsted that it wished to cancel its registration and cease operating this children‟s home. The registered manager‟s employment was suspended and, as a result, they have resigned. The placing authorities of the two remaining children are working with the provider to find alternative placements.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit took place because Ofsted had identified further concerns about the quality of care.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers are ensuring that basic levels of care are being provided. A full-time, experienced manager is working at the home. Management oversight is Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: 1268752 2 being delivered by the responsible individual and senior managers who keep in touch via a daily teleconference.

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This monitoring visit

Staff still do not have easy access to an up-to-date risk assessment for the two remaining children. The number of safeguarding concerns has reduced and there have been no incidents of self-harm. It remains the case that staff do not have a clear plan of how to monitor and/or to reduce the likelihood of self-harm when one child retreats to her bedroom in low mood and refuses to see staff. Staff feel confident that they can manage children‟s risks of self-harm and violence towards others, despite not having access to concise and up-to-date guidance about how to do so.

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This monitoring visit

The consistency of the number of staff providing care has improved as the number of children living in the home decreases. A consistent, much smaller group of eight agency staff were used over the last three weeks to supplement the nine remaining permanent staff. On two occasions, because of permanent staff being absent due to sickness, there have been more agency staff than permanent staff working in the home.

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This monitoring visit

There is no significant change in the competency and skill of the staff team. Staff are not receiving any supervision. Despite this, staff are working as well as they can, and two seniors have worked extra hours to ensure that there is an experienced senior presence in the home.

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This monitoring visit

There has been some improvement in the safe recruitment of agency staff. However, issues remain and there is still no confirmation of required checks being completed for one long-serving agency member of staff. Further, a second staff member has no experience or qualifications or record of training that demonstrates that she is a suitable person to work with children who have learning disabilities and Asperger syndrome.

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This monitoring visit

The use of physical restraint is still not well managed, although all permanent staff have now been trained. Written records do not provide a complete account of what happened during a restraint, and there is no evidence of managerial oversight to ensure that a restraint has been necessary or proportionate.

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This monitoring visit

An external monitoring visit of the home by an independent person took place in August. The report of this visit has not been shared with the manager or staff. This hinders the manager‟s ability to make any identified improvements in the time prior to the home closing.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/08/2018 Monitoring visit N/A Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: 1268752 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 that staff—

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child‟s welfare.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(vi)) 31/10/2018

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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.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home‟s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; and 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

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(e)(h)) 31/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children‟s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the 31/10/2018 Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: 1268752 4 matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 32 (1)(3)(d)) The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the child; details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure.

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Requirement Due date

Within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(c)) 31/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children‟s home at least once each month.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children‟s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: 1268752 5

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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: 33 Holborn, London EC1N 2HT

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Inspector

Christy Wannop, social care inspector Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: 1268752 6 to 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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