Children's home run by Aurora Care and Education Opco Limited

Inspection report children‘s home: 1243958 1 Registered provider: Aurora Care and Education Opco 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 children‘s home provides care for up to 48 young people, irrespective of gender, who have learning and physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 11 to 13 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

Date of last inspection: 3 September 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

As a result of the findings at the last full inspection, three compliance notices were made under: Regulation 6 – The quality and purpose of Care Standard; Regulation 13 – The leadership and management standard; and Regulation 23 – Medicines. A notice of restriction to admit any children and young people was also made. A monitoring visit conducted on 8 October, identified that progress was being made to improve the services provided to children. Inspection report children‘s home: 1243958 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/10/2018 Monitoring Not judged 03/09/2018 Full Inadequate 06/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/07/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children‘s home: 1243958 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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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 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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and 29/03/2019 Inspection report children‘s home: 1243958 4 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)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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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

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(b)(c)) 29/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child. (Regulation 19(1)) 29/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

Behaviour management policies and records

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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 which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(v)(vii)). In particular, ensure there is clear evaluation and analysis of the incident. 29/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 31(1)). In particular, ensure the numbers of agency workers are reduced. 29/03/2019 Inspection report children‘s home: 1243958 5

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, attempts made by staff to improve the day-to-day living experiences for all children and young people mean that they enjoy an improved choice of activities and learning opportunities in their homes and in the community. For those children and young people who do not cope so well when away from their homes, more fun, interactive sessions have been timetabled. As a result, children and young people are happier and more settled.

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improvement to be good

Some children and young people who have complex and challenging needs have moved on since the last inspection. This has had a direct impact on reducing the numbers of agency staff employed across the homes. While work remains to be done to ensure that the use of agency staff is reduced further, children and young people experience more consistent care and support from adults they know, and relationships are positive.

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improvement to be good

Most children and young people attend school regularly and benefit from the on-site school facilities. For those children and young people who struggle to attend school regularly, educational packages are provided. For example, teachers will provide work for the care staff to deliver to prevent loss of learning.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children and young people well. Improved care plans, behaviour management plans and risk assessments help staff to better care for children when they are upset. However, records made by staff are of a variable quality. While some are of a good quality, some lack evaluation and details, for example the date and the signature of the author. Management analysis in some documents remains weak and fails to demonstrate rigour.

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improvement to be good

The emotional well-being and physical health of some of the children and young people have improved since the last inspection and this was confirmed by an external professional. The concerted effort made by the multi-professional team around one young person has resulted in an improved skin condition. This means that they are more comfortable and relaxed, and more able to engage in activities in a meaningful way.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people‘s files examined during the inspection contained a range of documents which were up to date. Importantly, they provide staff with clear, child- friendly risk assessments which are reviewed following incidents, concerns or developing needs. Staff who were interviewed by the inspectors said that they like the new risk assessment format as it is child centred. They understand how to report concerns.

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improvement to be good

Training for staff in behaviour management, first aid and physical intervention has been Inspection report children‘s home: 1243958 6 refreshed since the last inspection, meaning that most staff are becoming more informed and skilled to support children and young people who have highly complex needs. Despite this, the use of physical intervention to manage children and young people when they are upset remains high. Inspectors found the recording of these incidents to be of a mixed quality and reflection and learning were not always obvious. Some physical interventions were identified by inspectors as being avoidable had staff better understood the young person‘s behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding of young people remains central to the home‘s ethos and continues to improve. A clinical lead has recently been recruited, and has made good attempts to improve the safety of recording and administering of medication. Further time is necessary for newly implemented procedures to embed. There have been few serious incidents since the last inspection. However, the registered manager knows when to escalate concerns, demonstrating swift and rigorous action.

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

The registered manager, along with other members of the senior leadership team, has worked hard to improve the quality of care and the safety of children and young people since the last inspection. There are signs of improvement in several aspects of leadership and management. Staff spoke positively of the support they have received and the direct impact of this on their practice. Examples of this include supervision taking place regularly, an increase in salary and a more consistent staff team.

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

The registered manager has worked with local authorities and commissioners to move some children and young people to homes that better meet their needs. As a result, and coupled with a recruitment campaign, there has been a significant reduction in the use of agency staff. Continued work is necessary to further reduce the use of agency staff so as to provide children and young people with consistency of care.

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

Monitoring and reviewing of the home has continued to improve. There is a newly appointed deputy manager, which means that the registered manager is better supported and able to delegate tasks, enabling him to focus on the essential improvement work. A detailed action plan produced following the last inspection continues to be followed. While inspectors recognised the huge efforts made by the registered manager and his senior leadership team, much more work is required to ensure that all children and young people live in a home that consistently delivers good outcomes. Monitoring, evaluation and analysis of records and practice require further attention to demonstrate rigour at a strategic level.

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

Inspectors found sufficient evidence of progress being made to meet most of the requirements and the three compliance notices raised at the last inspection. Furthermore, a notice of restriction will not be reissued following assurances by senior leaders and managers that they will not increase the number of children and young people living in the home until their improvement plan is embedded. Inspection report children‘s home: 1243958 7

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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: 1243958 8

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aurora Care and Education Opco Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 33 Holborn, London EC1N 2HT

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Inspectors

Linda Bond: social care inspector Heather Chaplin: social care inspector Clare Davies: social care inspector Inspection report children‘s home: 1243958 9 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children‘s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children‘s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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