Children's Home run by Radical Services Limited in Cumberland

Inspection report children’s home: SC487549 1 SC487549 Registered provider: Radical Services Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for four children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is one of several operated by a private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 13 to 14 November 2018

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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 inadequate

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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

Date of last inspection: 16 February 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC487549 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/02/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 25/05/2017 Full Good 29/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 29/06/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC487549 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8(2)(a)(viii)(x)) 21/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that— the health and well-being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff help each child to— achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10(1)(c)(2)(a)(i)) 21/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(iv)(xi)) 21/12/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC487549 4 The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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; are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; 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)(a)(iv)(v)(vii)(d)) 11/12/2018

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(c)(g)(h)) 21/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose; that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)) 21/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— keep the statement of purpose under review and, where 11/12/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC487549 5 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 (3)(a)(b)) The registered person must ensure that all employees— undertake appropriate continuing professional development; receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 21/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which— are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(b)(c)) Specifically documents must contain accurate information and children’s records should not contain information from other children’s records. Records should also not be copied from one document to another where the record should be specific to a particular child. 21/12/2018

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Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  Children must be consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph

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Recommendations

4.11) Inspection report children’s home: SC487549 6

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improvement to be good

The standard of care in this home has deteriorated because of poor leadership and management as well as a lack of managerial oversight. The home was judged to be good at its last full inspection, with improved effectiveness at the most recent interim inspection. Since this time, the home has experienced a somewhat chaotic period, with difficult group dynamics among the young people. In addition to this, the registered manager and several staff have left.

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improvement to be good

Young people are not all in education or do not always attend their education provision. One young person has achieved only 28% attendance. Some young people spend significant amounts of time with no formal education in place. One young person was refusing school during the inspection and, although staff were proactive in encouraging him to attend, when he continued to refuse they did not put any structure or educational activities in place for him instead. More positively, the young person who had the lowest percentage attendance did engage with private tutoring for the two days that inspectors were in the home. Another young person has secured a job in a pub and is undertaking some relevant in-house training.

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improvement to be good

Relationships between young people have caused a high level of disruption. Young people have had numerous verbal and physical altercations where staff have had to intervene. They have also misused drugs together, gone missing together and engaged in behaviours such as barricading themselves in bedrooms. These negative relationships have had a significant impact on outcomes for young people, with one young person requesting to leave the home because of poor relationships with his peers. There is a lack of evidence to show that staff undertake direct work with young people around building positive relationships with each other and restoring relationships that have been damaged. More positively, since two young people have been discharged, the home seems more settled, with less friction and fewer incidents between young people.

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improvement to be good

Some young people have caused regular damage to the home. This is now in the process of being restored and redecorated, although at the time of the inspection some communal spaces were not homely or welcoming. The young people’s bedrooms were decorated and maintained to a good standard and young people spoken to value their bedrooms as their own personal space.

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improvement to be good

Young people were highly positive about the care they have received and the relationships they have developed with staff. Although there has been a high staff turnover, young people did not report this as being problematic for them and praised the staff for caring about them and being like family and friends.

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improvement to be good

One young person has become very independent and can manage most aspects of living with minimal support. This has prepared her well to move on when she feels ready. Inspection report children’s home: SC487549 7 Young people’s health needs are generally met and referrals are made to external agencies as appropriate. One young person is regularly accessing the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) and another is being transported a long distance to attend a CAMHS assessment in his home area. One young person’s health plan was not cross-referenced to his child looked after health assessment, and much of the pertinent information was not included in the home’s plan. This young person had significant issues with overeating and hoarding food and there were no clear actions in place to address this behaviour. The young person was observed to overeat at a mealtime during the inspection and staff did not intervene until he had consumed far

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improvement to be good

more than was appropriate for his age and size.

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improvement to be good

Young people report that they know how to make a complaint and feel confident to do so. Records of complaints do not document any response or outcome to the complaints that young people make. This makes it unclear whether the home is acting on young people’s views, wishes and feelings. Young people do have regular key-work sessions and some of these are documented in a good level of detail, with a clear record of the young person’s voice. Young people’s negative relationships prevent them from having joint young people’s meetings. There are no evident strategies to manage or overcome this barrier.

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improvement to be good

Young people have been missing from home on multiple occasions, sometimes going missing together and frequently putting themselves at risk through drug misuse and inappropriate sexualised behaviours while missing. Staff report young people missing in accordance with their missing from home protocol, with the exception of one occasion when staff were unsure of a young person’s protocol and there was a delay in reporting him while they sought advice. Staff do try to locate young people when they are missing and many missing incidents are for short periods only. The home does not routinely request independent return interviews, or record whether these have taken place, which is a missed opportunity for staff to understand the triggers or patterns in young people going missing, and also for young people to express any worries or concerns they may have that prompted them to go missing.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not work effectively as a team in consistently responding to and managing young people’s behaviour. Staff and managers report that staff use different techniques when responding to negative behaviours. This inconsistency impedes the young people’s ability to understand and respond to boundaries, and to learn to self-regulate. Managers also report that staff do not always feel confident to impose rules and boundaries. During the inspection staff were unable to manage a young person’s behaviour and the manager had to leave the office to intervene. One behaviour management plan reviewed did not contain clear strategies for responding to and de-escalating the behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are detailed and provide a good amount of information about the relevant risks for each young person. However, there have been some serious safeguarding incidents where staff have not followed the young person’s risk assessment Inspection report children’s home: SC487549 8 nor adhered to the home’s safeguarding policies and procedures. On one occasion, a young person was left alone in a caravan when the member of staff on duty felt threatened by him and left the caravan to seek support. On another occasion, staff viewed a serious safeguarding threat on a young person’s phone and did not report this as they should.

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improvement to be good

Managers (including senior managers) acknowledge these areas of weakness and had already implemented an action plan to address some of the issues prior to this inspection. Managers have taken disciplinary action where necessary and are implementing training and additional supervision to support staff development and improve how staff help and protect young people.

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improvement to be good

Some areas of the home itself were found to be unsafe. The home’s lounge, which had recently been replastered, had plug sockets and wall-lights hanging out of the walls with their wiring exposed, and an outbuilding that the young people had access to had some serious safety hazards (long nails sticking out of wooden beams). These issues were addressed immediately when brought to the attention of managers.

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improvement to be good

Young people report that they feel safe and that staff make every effort to keep them safe. Social workers, independent reviewing officers and parents spoken to as part of this inspection expressed no concerns about young people’s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Some significant issues relating to the leadership and management of the home were identified during the inspection, resulting in a judgement of inadequate in this area. There has been a lack of clear and decisive leadership in the home during a challenging time for staff and young people. Senior managers have not had good oversight of the home and have not offered support and guidance as necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

External monitoring of the home is detailed and robust; however, managers do not make use of this to improve practice in the home in any discernible way. Internal monitoring is poor and managers appear not to have been aware of the home’s weaknesses. The registered manager resigned her post in August 2018 and the home has since been led by the deputy manager who has had no role-modelling of positive leadership and minimal support. A new area manager has now been appointed who has a good understanding of the home’s areas for development. She intends to spend a significant amount of time rebuilding the managerial and leadership aspects of the home. A new manager has also been appointed and is in the process of applying to Ofsted to be registered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have not been supervised at the stated level. In a home where there are significant safeguarding and behaviour management issues this is particularly important. Many staff are new to the role and therefore require frequent support and supervision. Additionally, the home has lost a total of ten staff since its last full inspection. This results in staff having to cover additional shifts as well as the use of agency staff. Not all staff are experienced and this is reflected in their inability to defuse and manage situations where Inspection report children’s home: SC487549 9 young people are challenging or aggressive. Only three staff are qualified with a level 3 diploma in residential childcare, two of these being the manager and deputy manager. The high number of incidents in the home could be attributable to the lack of skill, experience and qualifications of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Matching considerations are not rigorous. The home records information in the form of a placement matching document; however, there is no in-depth analysis of how the young person being matched may have an impact on the pre-existing residents. This has resulted in poor matching, which has negatively affected the group dynamics in the home. More positively, the most recent young person admitted to the home had a well- planned transition with the deputy manager visiting him in his former placement, and the young person also having a pre-placement visit. Some records, including matching documents, are copied from other records, meaning that there are mistakes and incorrect names and information in the young people’s records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Although regular staff meetings take place, staff are not working cohesively as a team. This was acknowledged by staff and managers and this has an impact directly on young people, in that they do not always receive consistent responses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home’s statement of purpose was last submitted to Ofsted in November 2017. There have been significant changes to the staff team since this time, and although the statement of purpose has been updated, it has not been shared with all the relevant agencies.

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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: SC487549 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Radical Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rouse House, 2 Wyther Lane, Leeds LS5 3BT

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Inspectors

Charlie Bamber, social care inspector Michael Charnley, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC487549 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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