Children's home run by Barnardiston Hall Preparatory School Limited in West Suffolk

Inspection report children’s home: SC427652 1 SC427652 Registered provider: Barnardiston Hall Preparatory School 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 is registered to provide care for up to four children who have complex learning and/or social difficulties, including autism spectrum conditions. The children generally access the school that is run by the provider.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 31 October to 1 November 2018

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 14 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC427652 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/06/2016 Full Good 24/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/06/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC427652 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 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— use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) 14/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if— the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children; the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance; so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d)) This is with particular regard to ensuring that risk assessments demonstrate the need for all of the monitoring devices used at the home and that written consent is provided by each child’s placing authority for the use of door alarms. 14/12/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC427652 4

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Requirement Due date

A person may only manage a children’s home if— having regard to the size of the home, its statement of purpose, and the number and needs (including any needs arising from any disability) of the children— the person has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills to manage the home effectively and lead the care of children. For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b)(i), a person has the appropriate experience and qualification if the person has— by the relevant date, attained— the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 5 Diploma"); or a qualification which the registered provider considers to be equivalent to the Level 5 Diploma. The relevant date is— in the case of a person who starts managing a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 3 years after the date on which that person started managing a home. (Regulation 28 (1)(b)(i)(2)(c)(i)(ii)(3)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety by ensuring that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (3)(d)) 02/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— within 24 hours of the use of a measure of restraint in relation to a child in the home that a record is made which includes— the name of the person who used the measure, and of any other person present when the measure was used. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vi)) In particular, when a child is held on the floor, record each member of staff’s role in the hold. 14/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which— 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)(a)(b)(c)) 14/11/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC427652 5 Case records must be kept— securely in the children’s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there; and in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36 (2)(c)(d)) 14/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (2)(a)) In particular, ensure that there is an accurate record of who has worked at the home and when. 02/11/2018

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, repair or replace the damaged sofa and damaged door frames and clean and/or redecorate the stained walls.  The registered person must specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission and how staff should support the child on return to the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28) In particular, specify any additional actions that should be taken if a child goes missing during periods of darkness.  The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and

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Recommendations

restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36) In particular, provide objective scrutiny of incidents of restraint that have involved the registered manager.  Staffing structures should promote continuity of care from the child’s perspective. If children complain or give a view on how the staffing structure could be improved to promote the best care for them, appropriate action should be taken. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.15)  No more than half the staff on duty at any one time by day or night at the home should be from an external agency. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.17) Inspection report children’s home: SC427652 6

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children make progress because of the support that they receive. A social worker said, ‘[The staff] have given [the child] huge emotional support and stability. Because of this stability, the children can begin receiving therapeutic input.’ Another social worker said, ‘The issues that [the child] had prior to coming into care compared to where he is now – it is amazing. He has made a lot progress.’ The staff support the children to attend school. The children all attend a school run by the provider. The staff transport them to and from school each day. When children are reluctant to attend, the staff work with them to overcome this. As a result, attendance is good. A parent said, ‘When [my child] first went, he would not do any school work or interact. Since he has been there, he is doing school work and he is getting out and about.’ The children develop their ability to manage their behaviour. The staff support children

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

to develop the skills to manage their feelings. A parent spoke about how much calmer their child had become since moving to the home. The manager has strong relationships with professionals and with families. Families and professionals speak very positively about the service. The children access a range of activities and develop their social skills. They enjoy their time at the home. For example, the children attend after-school clubs and they visit theme parks. The manager helps the children to see their families and stay in touch with them. A social worker spoke of how the manager understands the importance of family relationships and works hard to ensure that family visits are a safe and positive experience. The children said that they are generally well cared for and that the staff listen to them. However, the children also said that there are too many agency staff. The children do not always feel happy with or confident in the agency staff.

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

The children feel safe. Their behaviour and sense of stability reflect this. Professionals and family members said that children are safe at the home. The children can talk to staff about their worries. A child said, ‘The staff are fun and happy. They are good. I would say they are brilliant. They understand what we have been through. If we need help with something and do not quite know how to tell them, they will recognise this, and they will help.’ However, children also spoke about not feeling able to approach agency staff who, on occasion, form the majority of staff on shift. The manager has suitable links with the designated officer. The designated officer said Inspection report children’s home: SC427652 7 that information is shared appropriately, and their advice is acted on. This means that when concerns about staff practice arise, fitting action is taken. The manager ensures that risk assessments are updated regularly. The management

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

team expects staff to sign to say that they have read and understood these assessments. This is not happening in practice. Therefore, this planned assurance to demonstrate staff’s understanding is not gained. Internal monitoring has not identified this shortfall. However, this issue is mitigated as staff have a good understanding of the children and can say what the risks are for them. No children have gone missing from the home. Each child has an individual protocol for staff to follow in the event that the child goes missing. However, these protocols are not sufficiently detailed regarding the risks associated with going missing during periods of darkness. The staff know how to raise concerns. They can articulate the actions that they would need to take to keep children safe. The staff manage behaviour well. The children said that staff are consistent and fair; because of this, behaviour has improved.

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

At the last inspection, shortfalls were identified in the records of physical intervention. At this inspection, records were once again unclear about the actions of staff involved in holds. In addition, although the manager ensures that debriefings are undertaken after interventions, he does not receive a debriefing himself if he has been involved in an incident. This means that the manager is not receiving the support that he needs following incidents and the provider is not sufficiently reviewing or reflecting on incidents.

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

The manager is well respected by staff, professionals, families and children. However, several shortfalls in leadership and management have been identified at this inspection. Two of the three requirements made at the last inspection are unmet and an additional six breaches of regulation have been identified. Although these shortfalls have not had an impact on children, unchecked they have the potential to do so. The manager is child focused. He has a very good understanding of the children. He knows the progress that they are making, the plans for their future, their needs and their difficulties. When children are not making progress, for example within the context of mental health support, the manager makes changes to ensure that progress can be achieved. The staff and manager receive appraisals each year. However, the manager has not achieved a relevant level 5 qualification as required by regulation, despite managing the

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

home for over three years. The staff receive supervisions. The records relating to these sessions are disorganised and difficult to locate. This shortfall was identified through independent monitoring but has not been addressed at the point of the inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC427652 8 The quality and storage of case records is poor. Children’s files include undated and unsigned information about children. Some records are archived in a garage at the home. This storage space is chaotic, with confidential paperwork on the floor. In some cases, the paperwork was damaged. This does not ensure that the information is safe or secure. The staff use monitoring devices in the form of door alarms. However, no written consent from placing authorities is in place for the use of these devices. The information is not in the statement of purpose and there is no assessment of the impact on the individual children.

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

There are areas of the property that need attention. The sofas are old and damaged, and some walls and door frames need attention. Combined, these factors compromise the homeliness of the building. The management team has not ensured that the rota provides an accurate record of who has worked at the home and when. Should this information be needed in the future, for example if a child makes a historic allegation, then it may not be possible to identify who was working on a particular day. The management team has not used internal monitoring arrangements effectively. The managers have not identified shortfalls at the home, which means that they do not have a clear understanding of the areas for development and improvement.

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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: SC427652 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Barnardiston Hall Preparatory School Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Greenwood House, Greenwood Court, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP32 7GY

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Inspector

Ashley Hinson: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC427652 10 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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