Children's home run by The Senad Group Limited in Derby

Inspection report children’s home: SC020193 1 SC020193 Registered provider: The SENAD Group 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

The provision is an independent day and residential school for up to 25 children and young people, aged eight to 19 years, who have severe learning disabilities, autistic spectrum condition and associated challenging behaviour. A new manager has been appointed and she has made an application to be registered with Ofsted.

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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Three compliance notices and a restriction notice were served at the last inspection. These related to the safety of young people, and leadership and management. The notices were assessed as met on 7 August 2018. The restriction notice was lifted prior to the expiry date. Inspection report children’s home: SC020193 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/06/2018 Full Inadequate 18/04/2018 Full Inadequate 26/09/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/08/2017 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: SC020193 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(iv)) 30/11/2018

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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)) 30/11/2018

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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— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account 30/11/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC020193 4 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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Recommendations

 Just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home. Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home, must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and

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Recommendations

minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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improvement to be good

Improvements to individualised care are notable. However, this area still requires further attention, so the previous requirement has been repeated. Locked cupboards are evident in most bedrooms, televisions are mounted into locked cabinets throughout, a bed is screwed to the floor, and curtains are inaccessible to the young person because they are behind a locked window unit. Staff are not always able to give a reason why these measures are in place. Care planning documentation does not provide any evidence that they are required. Neither does it provide a plan of how staff will help each young person progress. Furthermore, the curtains being inaccessible to the young person means that their privacy could be compromised. Some practice does not relate to the needs of current young people.

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improvement to be good

A lounge door in a refurbished house has a lock fitted. This means that the door automatically locks when it is shut, thereby locking young people in or out of the lounge. The manager told the inspector that this is a design fault and will be rectified. Furthermore, all external doors to houses and flats are locked. This means that young people can only leave the house or flat if staff let them out. The manager said that the locked doors are required to protect young people. However, risk assessments in place do not identify the factors that require the doors to be routinely locked. Inspection report children’s home: SC020193 5 Young people appear happy and enjoy the company of staff. Staff build warm and nurturing relationships with young people. Staff generally have a good understanding of the young people, particularly those who they are a key carer for.

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improvement to be good

Young people make good progress academically and with their social functioning. There is good communication between education and care staff. This helps to ensure consistent practice with young people.

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improvement to be good

Young people are now experiencing a wide range of activities. The activity coordinator develops a range of suitable activities for young people that include a very popular bubble disco, yoga, film nights and arts and crafts evenings. Activities outside the home include walks, trips to the seaside, meals out and visits to local parks where young people enjoy feeding the ducks. An advocate commented: ‘The young person was so focused and confident with the yoga positions and then really relaxed with the massage at the end.’

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improvement to be good

Transitions to and from the home are carefully planned and sensitive to the needs of the young person. Staff fully support staff from the new placement and stay in contact with young people, if appropriate. A parent complimented the transition process, saying: ‘It definitely paid off, helping him to settle in.’

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improvement to be good

Medication is safely managed. Staff receive appropriate training from the on-site nurse to ensure that they can safely administer medication. The new electronic medication recording system is seen as positive and helpful.

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improvement to be good

New functional sensory boards and sensory equipment help young people to relax and provide a safe alternative to fiddle toys. For example, blank light switches provide young people with a switch they can safely play with.

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improvement to be good

The views of young people are sought and listened to. A new complaints form is accessible to young people. Meetings are regularly held to ascertain young people’s views. Minutes provide photographic evidence of this. Young people also have regular access to an advocate.

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improvement to be good

Hazards were identified within the home. A bike with no seat and a tyre hanging off the wheel was seen in a play area and was not removed by the time young people returned. A heavy metal object was found in an unlocked drawer in a television cabinet. These hazards were removed during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are not sufficiently detailed. For example, there is nothing in one young person’s risk assessment about their use of sexualised language. Risk assessments do not detail all identified risks. Staff practice is not consistent with risk assessments. For example, locked areas are not detailed within young people’s risk assessments. This may lead to inconsistent practice and staff not having a good Inspection report children’s home: SC020193 6 understanding of why certain practices are carried out.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour that challenges is well managed. Positive behaviour is encouraged. Staff are trained to use physical intervention and only use it appropriately. Physical intervention has reduced because the number of young people has reduced. Staff and young people now receive debriefs after incidents. This means poor practice can quickly be identified and staff can reflect on the incident.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding practice has improved. Concerns are treated as a priority, which is demonstrated through daily safeguarding meetings. A range of managers are available to respond to safeguarding issues, including external leaders who provide improved oversight and support.

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

The employment of the new manager has been positive. She is qualified and has made many welcome improvements. She has applied to register with Ofsted. She is dedicated and committed to improving the service for young people. She has an in-depth understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the service, with good plans to address identified shortfalls.

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

Records pertaining to a concern raised by a member of staff about the professional conduct of another member of staff are confusing. They do not provide a clear understanding of what took place. There is no chronology or outcome. There is no clear investigation report or learning points. This means that the manager may not have fully considered the potential risks to young people.

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

Improvement in staff morale means staff retention has improved and, therefore, continuity of care for young people is better. Staff are positive about the changes and the future direction of the home.

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

Close working relationships are formed with parents and external professionals. This helps to provide young people with a more holistic package of care. A parent commented: ‘The commitment and dedication of the school and staff areamazing and we are very appreciative and grateful for all that they do for our son.’

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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. Inspection report children’s home: SC020193 7 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

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Information about this inspection

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: SC020193 8

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The SENAD Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 St Georges House, Vernon Gate, Derby DE1 1UQ

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Inspectors

Joanne Vyas, social care inspector Phil Morris, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC020193 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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