Children's home run by Cruckton Hall Limited in North Kesteven

Inspection report for children‘s home – monitoring visit: SC401364 1 SC401364

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Cruckton Hall Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home is also a residential special school and offers an integrated residential education and care package for a maximum of 92 boys, aged between eight and 19 years, who have autistic spectrum disorders. The registered manager assumed her role in March 2018.

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This monitoring visit

A notice restricting accommodation at the home was served following the last inspection in November 2018. In addition, Ofsted issued three compliance notices in respect of safeguarding young people and leadership and management.

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This monitoring visit

A monitoring visit was conducted on 9 January 2019 to evaluate whether the provider had complied with the restriction of accommodation notice and met the three compliance notices.

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This monitoring visit

This visit found that the provider had complied with the restriction of accommodation notice. However, the provider had failed to meet all three compliance notices.

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This monitoring visit

There are serious concerns about care and practice in this home. Weaknesses found at the last inspection remain. Incidents of violence and risk-taking behaviour have continued, and, in some instances, increased. Managerial oversight of the residential service has remained poor.

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This monitoring visit

Inspectors found that young people are not safe at this home. As a result, Ofsted made the decision to suspend the registration of the children‘s home from 10 January 2019 to 4 April 2019.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has not taken sufficient action to meet the three compliance notices Inspection report for children‘s home – monitoring visit: SC401364 2 issued in December 2018. While some action has been taken, this has not been sufficient to reduce the risk to young people and staff.

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This monitoring visit

Some members of staff have received safeguarding and risk assessment training. However, managers have continued to fail to take effective action and reported serious concerns about young people‘s welfare to the right professionals. Serious incidents have occurred since the last inspection in November 2018. These incidents have not been reviewed effectively to ensure that all necessary action has been taken and that any recommendations from investigations have been implemented. Managers still do not show that they understand their role and responsibility in keeping young people safe.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have failed to ensure that risk assessment documents include all known risks associated with young people‘s behaviour. These documents do not include the measures that will be taken by managers and staff to reduce and manage risks effectively on a day-to-day basis. Managers and staff do not always follow the guidance in risk assessments to reduce the risk of harm to young people. Managers have not reviewed significant incidents in a timely way to inform any reassessment of risk and to put in place strategies to reduce and manage these risks.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has taken some initial steps to try to recruit more staff, to understand why staff are leaving and to secure more training. However, these initial steps have not been enough. For example, there are still not enough suitably trained and experienced staff on duty to meet the assessed needs of all young people living in the home. As a result, young people still do not receive care from consistent staff who fully understand young people‘s specific needs and vulnerabilities.

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This monitoring visit

Staff rotas are not a contemporaneous record to show which staff are working, including where they are working and when. As a result, a previously raised requirement is not met.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have failed to inform Ofsted about all significant events, such as when young people have gone missing from the home or attacked other young people and/or staff. Managers have also failed to inform the regulator when either a young person or a member of staff has been taken to hospital for treatment after sustaining significant injuries because of an incident. Managers have not been able to demonstrate that they always share full information with a young person‘s placing authority about significant events. As a result, the previously raised requirement remains unmet.

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This monitoring visit

Young people have been at risk in their bedrooms because staff do not keep their physical environment safe. Some bedrooms are in a poor state of repair, with broken furniture, flaking paint and holes in walls. Staff are unclear if bedroom windows are fitted with safety glass. This is important because some young people have previously broken windows to gain access to the roof, or in anger. In one bedroom, a young person had broken his window to climb onto a second-storey roof. Despite Inspection report for children‘s home – monitoring visit: SC401364 3 staff being aware that the window was broken and had jagged glass, no action was taken to repair the damage. As a result, the young person, who had a history of self- harm, continued to sleep in the bedroom with an open, broken window for five nights in January.

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This monitoring visit

Managers and staff are not protecting young people who have a history of self- harming and violence towards others. Due to the poor physical environment, young people can access dangerous items, such as broken hard pieces of plastic, splintered glass and wood from broken furniture, and aerosol cans in their bedrooms. Inspectors found a complete first aid kit under the bed in one young person‘s bedroom. Staff were totally unaware.

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This monitoring visit

One young person‘s bedroom carpet was found to have several burn marks. Despite staff reporting to inspectors that they knew a young person smoked in their bedroom, they failed to implement any preventative measures. As a result, young people are placed at risk of physical harm due to the potential fire risk.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 25/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/05/2017 Full Good 23/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children‘s home – monitoring visit: SC401364 4

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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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child‘s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2(a)(vi)) 07/02/2019

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Requirement Due date

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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child‘s welfare. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(vi)) 07/02/2019

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)) 07/02/2019

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are 07/02/2019 Inspection report for children‘s home – monitoring visit: SC401364 5 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

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

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;

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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)(iii)(v)(vii)(b)(e)) 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—

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Requirement Due date

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)(d)) 07/02/2019

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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

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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‘s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(e)) 07/02/2019

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the 07/02/2019 Inspection report for children‘s home – monitoring visit: SC401364 6 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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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)(c)(d)(g)(ii)(h)) The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children‘s home. (Regulation 14(1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that when new children are admitted to the home, the registered person has sufficient information in order to meet their needs effectively. 07/02/2019

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32(1)(b)(3)(d)) 07/02/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) 07/02/2019 Inspection report for children‘s home – monitoring visit: SC401364 7 The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (―the behaviour management policy‖) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children‘s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. (Regulation 35(1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is with respect to management scrutiny to ensure that staff can, and do, practice restraint safely and in line with the behaviour management policy. 07/02/2019

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children‘s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37(1)(2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that the staff rosters contain accurate information and are up to date. 07/02/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(b)(e)) 07/02/2019

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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; and to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home‘s records (except for a child‘s case records, unless the child and the child‘s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44(2)(a)(b)(4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must help the visitor focus on incidents, complaints and events relating to children‘s safety and well-being. 07/02/2019 Inspection report for children‘s home – monitoring visit: SC401364 8 In order to complete a quality of care review, the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children‘s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(2)(a)(b)(c)(5))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to evidencing outcomes of consultation in the report of the review of the quality of care. 28/02/2019

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the following elements of the workforce plan are included in the Statement of Purpose: (in accordance with Schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20)) the staffing structure; experience and qualifications of staff and arrangements for supervision of staff practice. (‗Guide to the children‘s home regulations including the quality standards‘, page 53, paragraph 10.10)

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Recommendations

In particular, keep this information up to date in relation to the current workforce.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children‘s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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Children’s home details

Unique reference number: SC401364 Inspection report for children‘s home – monitoring visit: SC401364 9 Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cruckton Hall Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Old Vicarage, 61 High Street, Swinderby, Lincoln LN6 9LU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Donna Varley-Turner

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Inspectors

Christy Wannop, social care inspector Annemarie Parker, social care inspector Inspection report for children‘s home – monitoring visit: SC401364 10 to 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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