Children's home run by Pine Forest Homes Limited in Cannock Chase

Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 1 SC373693 Registered provider: Pine Forest Homes 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 home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people aged from eight to 17 years. The home provides both short- and long-term placements for young people who may have faced adverse childhood experiences, trauma, and placement and family breakdown.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since December 2015. The current acting manager was appointed in May 2018 and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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 or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted inspected this service in July 2018 and judged the home to be inadequate. Ofsted served a notice of restriction of accommodation on 11 July 2018 to prevent any further young people being admitted to the home. Ofsted served four compliance notices on the Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 2 service in July 2018.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit took place on 30 August 2018. At this visit, one compliance notice was deemed to have been met. Three compliance notices were considered not to have been met and a further compliance notice was issued.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted served a further notice of restriction of accommodation on 3 October 2018.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/07/2018 Full Inadequate 13/03/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 14/08/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/11/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority‟s or a relevant person‟s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child‟s needs are met in accordance with the child‟s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c)) 30/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The children‟s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who engage with them.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to express views, wishes and feelings.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to keep the children‟s guide and the home‟s complaints procedure under review and seek children‟s comments before revising either document. (Regulation 7 (1)(b)(2)(a)(ii)(c)) 30/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child overcome any such barriers. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(iii)) 30/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to understand and develop skills to promote the child‟s well-being. 30/11/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 4 (Regulation 10 (1)(c)(2)(a)(iv))

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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 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))* 31/10/2018

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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 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)(b)) 30/11/2018

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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 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c))* 31/10/2018

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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.

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Requirement Due date

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 (1)(3)(a)(b)) 30/11/2018

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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 registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children‟s home if 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)(a)(3)(d)) This relates to verification, as far as reasonably practicable, of 30/11/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 5 the reason why the employment or position ended, where the applicant has been previously employed in a position involving work with children or vulnerable adults.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 30/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 30/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; and there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(e)) 30/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months. In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care provided for children; the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)) 30/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children‟s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1)(2)) 30/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 6  An individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home‟s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home‟s care. (Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 65, paragraph 65)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the last full inspection, one young person has left the home and one young person continues to be accommodated. Due to the home having a restriction of accommodation notice in place, managers have not admitted any new young people since the last full inspection in July 2018.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Managers have failed to ensure that staff provide enough opportunities to help the young person make progress. Managers have failed to implement appropriate actions to support the young person to achieve the objectives set out in his care plan. For example, staff have not done enough to promote the young person‟s education. Staff have failed to provide the young person with access to online study resources to help him to prepare for taking his exams.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff miss opportunities to help the young person to develop his life skills. For example, staff do not encourage the young person to participate in cooking and budgeting. As a result, the young person does not receive timely and appropriate help to prepare him for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not ensure that the young person‟s diet is balanced. Instead, staff allow the young person to frequently eat pre-prepared food that is not nutritious. This lack of care compromises the young person‟s physical well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The manager does not have sufficient oversight and understanding of the young person‟s care plan. For example, the manager does not know whether the young person is subject to a full or an interim care order.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The young person‟s views are not routinely incorporated into his care plan. For example, when the young person has expressed a view about what activities he would like to be involved in, staff have not taken any action to support his wishes and help him pursue these interests. As a result, the young person does not feel listened to and practice does not demonstrate that his views are of value.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The young person‟s guide does not accurately reflect what young people can expect when living in the home. For example, the guide states that young people have access to a computer and books in the home. This is not the case. This means young people have not received accurate information about what is available in the home. Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 7

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

The young person‟s risk assessments continue to lack the necessary information to enable the staff to keep him safe. In addition, staff do not follow practice guidance set out in these assessments. For example, staff have failed to report the young person missing from care within the specified timescales set out in his risk assessment. This failure to adhere to an agreed risk management strategy places the young person at risk of harm.

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

Staff do not understand the difference between a young person being absent without authority and being missing from care. For example, during the inspection, the young person left the home without the agreement of the staff and was seen to leave the area with an unknown male. Staff told inspectors that the young person was not missing, as the incident occurred during the day. This was despite them not knowing who he was with or where he had gone. This failure to understand agreed care protocols and procedures, combined with a lack of professional curiosity, means that staff are not effectively safeguarding the young person from risk of potential harm.

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

Staff hold discussions with the young person about his risk-taking behaviour. However, the actions agreed between the young person and the staff are not followed up. This creates a missed opportunity to help the young person to make safer decisions.

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

Staff do not follow the terms of a court ordered plan in relation to the young person‟s contact with his family. For example, staff do not escalate concerns that the young person is regularly visiting family members with his placing authority, despite this contact being restricted.

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

Managers have failed to notify Ofsted of a significant event. This prevents the regulator from maintaining a comprehensive regulatory overview of the home.

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

Staff fail to give sufficient attention to food hygiene and this means that the home is not operating in a way that promotes the young person‟s safety and well-being.

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

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that staff who work at the home are safely recruited. Suitability checks are incomplete, and this has the potential to compromise the young person‟s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since December 2015. The acting manager has been in post since May 2018 and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have failed to implement changes in response to previous regulatory requirements and two compliance notices. The pace of improvement is too slow and means that only minimal improvement has been made in addressing regulatory shortfalls. Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 8 At this inspection, two compliance notices were found to have been met, leaving two still unmet. Although one notice was met by the managers bringing in a new policy that details how staff should escalate concerns with other professionals, the managers have failed to ensure that staff follow this new policy. Consequently, staff continue to fail in their duty to escalate concerns regarding the young person‟s health and education. As a result, this new policy is ineffective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have implemented a system with the aims of increasing management oversight of the home and helping to inform service development. This new system is still in its infancy and its effectiveness is untested. The manager told inspectors that wider support and monitoring through visits by an independent person are not sufficiently challenging and do not support her understanding of the service. The manager‟s review of the quality of care provided in the home lacks rigour and does not meet regulatory requirements. These factors, along with the overall findings of this inspection, indicate that management oversight of the home remains ineffective and does not support improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers continue to fail to ensure that staff have completed the organisation‟s core training programme. Managers have also failed to secure training for staff to help them understand the needs of the young person living at the home. For example, only two members of staff have completed training to help them understand how to support young people who are at risk of substance misuse and alcohol. This leaves staff ill-prepared to fulfil their roles in keeping the young person safe from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

It remains the case that staff do not receive regular supervision from a suitably experienced individual. This means that opportunities to reflect on and develop staff practice are missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been one complaint received by the managers since the last full inspection. This was not investigated in line with the organisation‟s process as the complainant did not receive a written outcome. Although there is a complaints policy in place, this does not relate to this organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not ensured that the home‟s statement of purpose includes accurate information. The current document does not reflect the correct conditions of registration for this home. This prevents stakeholders from having a realistic understanding of the service that is provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Arrangements for considering the safety of the locality of the home remain weak. Managers have failed to review the home‟s locality risk assessment and have not consulted key professionals. This leaves staff without access to up-to-date information on how to safeguard young people in the community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have developed positive links with some other professionals. Communication with others working with the young person is viewed positively and professionals told the inspectors that staff keep them regularly updated. Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 9

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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: SC373693 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pine Forest Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ballance & Lowbridge Accountants, 65 Market Street, Hednesford, Cannock, Staffordshire WS12 1AD

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Inspectors

Tracey Coglan Greig, social care inspector Debbie Holder, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC373693 11 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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