Children's home run by Oracle Care Limited in Central Bedfordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC408513 1 SC408513 Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people who may have social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager at this home since October 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 19 to 20 December 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 requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC408513 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/08/2017 Full Outstanding 28/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/08/2016 Full Good 18/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC408513 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 registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made. (Regulation 35 (2)(3)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to ensuring that all consequences given to young people are recorded. 27/02/2019

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs. (Regulation 5 (b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that young people have an up to date care plan, personal education plan and medical assessments. 27/02/2019

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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—

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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

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(d)(e)) 27/02/2019

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationship standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— 27/02/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC408513 4 an understanding about acceptable behaviour.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(b)(2)(a)(v)) Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children. (Regulation 39 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to ensuring that when young people verbally complain or raise concerns with staff and independent people that they are responded to formally. 27/02/2019

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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—

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experience of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b)(2)(a)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is a named person, who spends time at the home, in the absence of a registered manager, so that there is good management oversight. 27/02/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 27/02/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC408513 5 The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and lives. (Regulation 7 (1)(c )) 27/02/2019

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Recommendations

 The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) In particular, the registered person must ensure that they consider the crime statistics provided by the police and, further to this, how any identified risks within the immediate area may impact on young people.  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8) In particular, ensure that the workforce plan identifies the timescales for supervision of all staff and, further to this, that there is a clear process to inform staff of any outcome of any investigation on or before they return to work.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5) This is specifically in relation to ensuring that information is in the correct young person’s file and that the files are in a good order.  Ensure that the registered person has a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)  Ensure that records kept in the children’s home are signed and dated by the author. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes

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Recommendations

regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) This is specifically in relation to staff’s training being refreshed regularly. Inspection report children’s home: SC408513 6

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there have been no new admissions to the home. The three young people living at the home are making small but measurable progress across all areas of their lives. Generally, the young people said that they are happy and settled at this home, but that the recent shortages in staffing have unsettled them.

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improvement to be good

The young people are cared for on a one-to-one basis. There is a small core group of staff. A member of staff said that, due to the staff shortages, they make sure that at least one experienced member of staff is supervising the two younger children. One young person said, ‘I am the oldest, so I often get left with an agency or bank member of staff. It is not fair. I have told the staff and the independent visitor, but nothing has been done about it.’ All the young people have raised the issue about staffing in their young people’s meetings and in one-to-one sessions with staff. These complaints and concerns have not been formally recorded. Therefore, the young people have not had a response. As a result, the young people’s views, wishes and feelings are not being heard.

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improvement to be good

Generally, the young people are doing well in school and college. They have good attendance. One young person has moved from a specialist school into a mainstream college. She wants to work with animals and she is doing a college course in animal care. There are good transition plans in place for a young person to move from primary to secondary school this year. This will help her to settle in the new school. When concerns are highlighted about young people’s behaviour in school, the staff work closely with teaching staff on behaviour management techniques to ensure that the young people can remain in school.

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improvement to be good

All the young people are in good health. They attend health appointments when necessary. The company’s therapists support the young people. They have weekly therapy sessions, and the therapists attend staff meetings to discuss the young people’s progress, to look at new strategies and to train staff in the therapy model that they use. The young people said that they find these sessions beneficial and that it gives them an opportunity to discuss their feelings and emotions. One young person said, ‘I am a lot happier and calmer because [name] listens and respects what I say.’

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improvement to be good

A permanent member of staff said that his focus has been on the young people and ensuring that the agency and bank staff know what their role is in caring for the young people. Therefore, there has been little time to keep the young people’s records up to date. As a result, some documents are not signed or dated by the staff, and one young person’s information was on another young person’s file. In addition to this, the last registered manager was chasing documents that needed updating. However, since he has left, nobody has continued to do this. Therefore, one young person does not have a personal education plan, another young person has not had her local authority medical and one young person’s care plan still refers to foster care. This does not ensure that the Inspection report children’s home: SC408513 7 staff have the most up-to-date information to care for the young people.

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improvement to be good

Young people said that they enjoy going out on activities, such as going to the cinema, bowling and shopping. They said that they also enjoy staying in and watching films, having beauty nights, or baking. However, one young person said that some activities have had to be cancelled because the agency or bank staff do not know them well enough to take them out on their own.

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improvement to be good

Members of staff work closely with the young people, their parents, their family members and professionals so that they see each other regularly. This focus on positive contact means that important relationships are supported and built on.

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improvement to be good

Regardless of the young people’s age, they are encouraged to help around the home and to take responsibility for their bedrooms, and they are supported to cook for themselves on occasions. The young people’s bedrooms reflect their personalities, likes and hobbies. For example, they have posters and photographs of their families on their walls, toys that are appropriate for their age and accessories that they have bought themselves. One young person said, ‘I love my bedroom. It shows who I am, and I love spending quiet time in here.’

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improvement to be good

All the young people said that they feel safe in the home. Any safeguarding issues are responded to and reported quickly to the relevant safeguarding professionals. All staff have been trained in safeguarding-related subjects, such as child sexual exploitation, radicalisation and criminal exploitation. Therefore, they clearly demonstrated their roles and responsibilities in these areas. However, one member of staff needs to refresh some of his training, such as first aid.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there have been several allegations against staff. These have been reported and closed in line with safeguarding procedures. Young people and professionals confirmed that they are happy with the outcome.

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improvement to be good

Young people rarely go missing from this home. When they do, they are protected in line with agreed protocols. Records show that staff try to look for young people and try to make phone contact. Young people can talk with an independent person about why they went missing.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour management strategies have not always been effective because they are not applied or recorded consistently. For example, some consequences for using abusive language or aggressive behaviour have been recorded in the incident sheet but not taken over to the consequence book. Similarly, some verbal aggression is given a consequence, but other incidents are not. In addition to this, young people’s risk assessments are not updated regularly to show the reduction or heightened risk. For example, one young person has a history of threatening to self-injure. The risk was Inspection report children’s home: SC408513 8 lowered in October 2018, as she had not done this for a while. However, she has recently made several threats. Her risk assessment has not been reviewed. These inconsistences in the ways in which behaviour is addressed do not help young people to self-regulate.

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improvement to be good

The young people said that they all get on well together. They did not report any incidents of bullying. They said that they have excellent relationships with the longstanding members of staff. Some young people have been held for their safety. Clear records show the reason and the intervention used, and the young people are debriefed on the incident. There was one incident when the police were called due to a young person assaulting a member of staff, that could have led to a serious injury. However, Ofsted was not informed. This does not ensure that all parties are aware of a situation or the action that staff have taken to protect everybody.

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improvement to be good

The company follows the safer recruitment guidance. All checks are completed and verified to ensure that members of staff are suitable to work with young people. Regular health and safety checks ensure that the home is physically safe and secure.

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

The registered manager resigned from this home in October 2018. The company quickly identified, interviewed and appointed a new manager for the home. However, she is waiting for the company checks to be completed before submitting her application to Ofsted.

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

In the absence of a registered manager, the area manager has been overseeing the home. However, he has not identified himself on the rota, and several members of staff said that he has not spent long periods of time in the home. The lack of management oversight and the numerous agency staff and staff from other homes within the company have affected the consistency of care that young people receive and the support that the staff team receives. The young people and staff said that the situation has been improving in recent weeks. The company has now identified named staff to cover shortfalls, recruitment for staffing has begun, with two new staff waiting to start, and the identified manager is working from the main office, overseeing some things while her checks are being completed.

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

Members of staff have not received supervision for several months. It is unclear whether agency or bank staff have received supervision, as this is not recorded. In addition to this, some staff have not had their yearly appraisal of their practice. The home has a workforce plan, but it does not identify the timescales for supervision for permanent staff, part-time staff or bank and agency staff. Further to this, it does not discuss the arrangements for a member of staff returning to work after a period of suspension. For example, a member of staff said that he was suspended after an allegation was made by a member of the public, but it was unfounded. He said that he had not received an explanation or return to work interview. Thus, he had not received any constructive feedback from the incident. These shortfalls do not show that staff are supported well, Inspection report children’s home: SC408513 9

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

or that they are given the opportunity to discuss their practice and development.

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

The home has a safer area report that shows some risks in the immediate area, such as the busy road outside the home. It also includes the police crime statistics. However, the previous manager has not evaluated what this would mean for the young people at the home or when considering a new placement.

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

There is excellent external monitoring of the home. The independent visitor has raised most of the issues that are identified in this report on several occasions. He regularly speaks to the young people and professionals involved in their care. An action plan has recently been drawn up by the area manager to address these shortfalls. For example, four members of staff had been to the main office and had a group supervision with the new manager.

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

Effective action has not been taken to address all the recommendations made at the last inspection. For example, supervisions are still not taking place regularly, and challenges are not being made to the local authority when documents are not updated or sent in a timely way. Therefore, these shortfalls have been raised to a requirement.

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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: SC408513 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 54, Wrest Park, Silsoe, Bedford MK45 4HS

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Inspectors

Pam Nuckley, social care regulatory inspector Karen Willson, social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC408513 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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