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

Inspection report children‟s home: SC443009 1 SC443009 Registered provider: Barnardiston Hall Preparatory School Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home is one of a small group. Care and accommodation are provided for up to six boys who have moderate to severe learning difficulties. The manager has been in post since 9 October 2017 and registered since 21 September 2018. She does not possess a relevant level 5 qualification.

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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.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC443009 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/08/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/06/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC443009 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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i)) 07/12/2018

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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

understand and apply the home‟s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(vi)) 07/12/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC443009 4 12.—(1) 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home‟s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home‟s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) *

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Requirement Due date

Urgent action must be taken to ensure that all risk assessments are reviewed and updated to reflect the presenting risks for each child and that the actions to take are clear, understood and implemented by the staff.

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Requirement Due date

Urgent action must be taken to ensure that clear and accurate missing-from-care protocols are in place that detail what action staff should take if a child goes or attempts to go missing and that these are understood and implemented for each child.

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Requirement Due date

Urgent action must be taken to ensure that the manager and all of the staff understand and implement an appropriate 07/12/2018* Inspection report children‟s home: SC443009 5 safeguarding policy, in particular, the reporting processes when a child is injured at the home or there is any allegation of harm.

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Requirement Due date

Urgent action must be taken to ensure that all safe recruitment checks, in line with regulation, are in place for all new staff, prior to them working at the home. The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that—

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Requirement Due date

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

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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home‟s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

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; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h)) *

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Requirement Due date

Urgent action must be taken to ensure that at least one member of staff on every shift, including sleep in duty, has a current first aid qualification.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that there are sufficient numbers of permanent, 07/12/2018* Inspection report children‟s home: SC443009 6 experienced and qualified staff on shift at all times.

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Requirement Due date

Urgent action must be taken to ensure that the management team provides effective internal and external monitoring that identifies shortfalls and generates plans to improve the quality of care.

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Requirement Due date

Provide staff and the manager with the supervision, support and guidance that they need to carry out their roles safely. Supervision should be carried out in line with the organisation‟s policy and recorded so that staff and managers have a record of discussions and proposed actions. The effectiveness of supervision should be closely monitored. The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children‟s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. (Regulation 31 (1)(2)(a)) 12/11/2018

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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

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(3)(d)) 12/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 31/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the missing child policy”) setting out—

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Requirement Due date

the steps taken, and to be taken, to prevent children from being absent without permission; and

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Requirement Due date

the procedures to be followed, and the roles and responsibilities of persons working at the home, in relation to a child who is, or has been, so absent. 07/12/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC443009 7 Before implementing, or making an amendment which the registered person considers to be substantive to, the missing child policy, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person; and

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Requirement Due date

have regard to any relevant local authority or police protocols on missing children. (Regulation 34 (4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure, and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)) 12/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 12/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (2)(a)) 12/11/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC443009 8 In particular, ensure that there is an accurate record of who has worked at the home and when.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation— must include details of—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified;

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter; and

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)(5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 12/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (2)(a)) 31/12/2018

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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, 07/12/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC443009 9 taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1)(2))

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

This inspection found widespread shortfalls in a number of areas, including risk assessment and risk management, management and oversight of the home, staffing, supervision, record-keeping and reporting. These shortfalls significantly compromise the safety of the children and affect the quality of their experiences. As a result, the provider is likely to be subject to enforcement action.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The provider is heavily reliant on agency staff. At times, more than half of the staff on shift are from an agency, at other times, all of the staff are from an agency, which does not provide consistency for children. Despite the prevalence of temporary staff, the management team has no clear overview of what training these staff have had. Consequently, the management team does not have the information necessary to make informed decisions about the staff mix. Furthermore, there are shifts when there are no first aid trained staff. This puts children at risk of harm. Lack of consistent staff who have the necessary training and skills to work effectively with children makes it difficult for children to form and maintain trusting relationships and to gain a sense of feeling cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Although some children have made progress since they moved into the home, the children who have been most recently admitted have had little support to develop independence skills. Staff and external professionals said that lack of consistent staffing affects the experiences that children have at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The children benefit from large rooms. There is also a large garden to the rear of the property. However, there is debris in the garden and some of the furniture is old and tired-looking. The home has information displays in the hallways. Some of these contain out-of-date information that is presented in an inaccessible way to some of the children. Recently, the provider has installed a clocking-in machine in the hallway of the home. This significantly detracts from any attempt to achieve a homely environment. Furthermore, this conveys to children that the staff are just doing a job; it does not provide the sense of warmth and nurture that vulnerable children in care should be able to expect.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Most of the children attend a school that is run by the provider. Attendance is generally Inspection report children‟s home: SC443009 10 good, and some children have made some progress in their education.

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

There are serious and widespread failures at the home that leave children at risk of harm or their welfare not being safeguarded.

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

Inadequate risk management means that children are not safeguarded. Since the last inspection, there has been an incident with a knife that the manager described as „very serious‟. Despite this, the manager has failed to:

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

 record what was done in response to the incident;  update the child‟s risk assessment in response to the incident;  ensure that the staff understand the risks for this child; and  provide strategies for reducing risks to the child.

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

The manager does not ensure that risk assessments are good enough, understood by staff or accessible. Risk assessments relating to placement decisions are ineffective. Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home. The pre-placement risk assessment is a brief, imprecise and unclear document. This assessment states that it is necessary for additional risk assessments to be undertaken. Five months after the child moved into the home, these risks remain unassessed. This is not consistent with well- planned safe care.

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

One child has an internet-related risk assessment that is factually inaccurate. The risk assessment does not reflect the child‟s experiences and history, and the text has been copied from another child‟s risk assessment. Despite this risk assessment being in place for almost six months, no one at the home has noticed the inaccuracies. In addition, the risk assessment offers no guidance to the staff to support the child to safely access the internet, to develop his knowledge of safety or to support him to understand how the internet can be a valuable resource.

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

The location risk assessment does not consider known risks in the local area or the risk associated with county lines. The management team does not have a sufficient knowledge of risks that exist in the area that could affect the children at the home. This is particularly concerning given the previous experiences of two of the children.

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

In two instances, incident forms were located that stated that children had run into the town. The management team could not recall these incidents. There were no other records located relating to the incidents. Therefore, it is not known what happened, why it happened, how well it was managed and what could be learned from the incidents. There is a lack of professional curiosity, which means that children do not receive the level of support that they should to try and understand why incidents occur.

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

The management team stated that no children had gone missing. However, a child had gone missing. This incident was not recorded in the relevant log and no record was in Inspection report children‟s home: SC443009 11 the child‟s file. In addition, the management team had made no effort to ensure that the child had an independent return interview. The manager was unaware of this statutory expectation. This lack of knowledge and action means that the child was not afforded the protection that this process is designed to provide.

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

Two children who have a history of going missing do not have missing from care protocols in place. The lack of an individual risk management strategy conflicts with the home‟s policy. The policy itself refers to out-of-date guidance. The lack of up-to-date guidance and individual protocols or risk assessments means that staff do not have the guidance that they need to respond to incidents of children going missing. The staff are unclear about what to do when incidents occur and have differing understandings of when to report children as missing. This puts vulnerable children at risk of harm.

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

Failure to clearly record physical restraint means that children are not protected because it is unclear what action staff have taken during an incident. Discussions and debriefings with staff are inconsistent. The manager does not receive a debriefing when she has been involved in an incident of physical restraint and was not aware that she should have this opportunity. This inaction means that restraint cannot be scrutinised effectively to ensure that it is proportionate.

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

The manager‟s review of sanctions is ineffective. The oversight of sanctions does not inform future practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The management team does not have sufficient understanding of the quality of the care or staff‟s practice. As a result, processes designed to keep children and staff safe have not been followed. Internal monitoring, senior management oversight and external monitoring have failed to identify shortfalls. The manager has not demonstrated an understanding of the relevant regulations. These issues have seriously affected the ability of the management team to deliver a safe service and to make sure that children are protected.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The management team has failed to address the issues identified at the last inspection. All of the requirements set at the last inspection remain unmet. Additional serious shortfalls have been found at this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The management team does not ensure that there is an accurate record of who has worked at the home and when. This information is spread across at least three documents. Should a child make an allegation, either now or in the future, investigation would be difficult because it may not be possible to identify who was working on particular days.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The training programme for staff is not keeping pace with the children‟s needs. The management team and the staff have had no training in understanding and managing gang culture and county lines, despite the two most recently admitted children both having gang affiliations. Inspection report children‟s home: SC443009 12 Pre-employment checks are not consistent with safe recruitment. When successful applicants have previously worked with adults or vulnerable children, efforts are not routinely made to ascertain why they left that employment. Failure to take up the required checks could enable unsuitable people to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager did not notify Ofsted of a serious incident. This affects Ofsted‟s ability to monitor, risk assess and regulate. Furthermore, there was no record of what had been done in response to the incident. This lack of record-keeping affects transparency and monitoring and means that it is difficult to establish if children have been adequately safeguarded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

External monitoring has not identified several of the shortfalls picked up at this inspection. An independent person visits each month, but they have not gathered the views of parents since before the last inspection. The reports do not give an effective overview of the quality of care, and the views of significant people are absent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff have not received the supervisions that they should have. This is most pronounced when staff are new in post. For example, one member of staff has only had two supervisions since starting in May 2018. Therefore, the staff have not received the support that they need to carry out their roles safely and effectively. Furthermore, managers cannot assure themselves that staff have the knowledge and training that they need or that their practice is safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff morale is low and the staff reported feeling exhausted. Senior managers do not visit the home to monitor the quality of care. Senior managers are seen by staff as being removed from the day-to-day residential experiences of the staff and the children. As a result, the staff do not have confidence or faith in senior managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The cumulative shortfalls, failure to provide effective leadership and management of the home, failure to ensure that all staff, including the manager, follow safeguarding processes effectively and the lack of the manager‟s understanding and application of the regulations give significant cause for concern. Children are at risk of harm. The widespread failures mean that there is significant potential of harm if action is not taken to improve the quality of care and the oversight of the home. Inspection report children‟s home: SC443009 13

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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: SC443009 14

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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: SC443009 15 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

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