Children's home run by Potensial Limited

Inspection report children’s home: SC489820 1 SC489820 Registered provider: Potensial Ltd Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is operated by an independent national company. The home is registered for up to four children and young people who may have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. Leadership and management were rated inadequate for the second time in succession. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it is sustained in effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The company had experienced challenges in recruiting a permanent manager. This had a detrimental effect on the service’s stability and improvement, with the result that it has not, to date, achieved a rating of good.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

As an interim measure, the company appointed a highly experienced, capable manager who worked at the home until a permanent manager could be recruited. The interim manager achieved several positive changes, most notably in encouraging staff to reflect on practice and meeting the previous inspection requirements. However, his departure on 15 December 2018 was another disruption for the young people.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home’s new manager has many years’ experience in working with children and young people who have autism. The new manager’s appointment and application to register with Ofsted meet one of the two requirements made at the full inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC489820 2 The young people enjoy positive relationships with the staff and the new manager, and take part in exciting activities, including trips to London and Longleat.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young people’s healthcare needs are generally well met. Some young people are recovering from previous trauma. They receive therapy from the child and adolescent mental health services. In the process of recovering from their life experiences, they may at times show signs of distress and discuss painful emotions with the staff. It is positive that the young people feel safe enough to do this, but the staff vary in their confidence and skills in terms of responding to them.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff have not received sufficient trauma and attachment-based training to enable them to respond consistently and appropriately to the young people, in a manner which supports the therapist’s work. For example, some staff members encourage conversation with open questions, but others inadvertently close conversation by making responses which minimise the young people’s concerns. This comes across to the young people as ‘not listening’, and can have the effect of escalating their behaviour. A new requirement has been made with regard to this.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Other aspects of behaviour management are effective. For example, there have been no restraints, safeguarding concerns or incidents of going missing since the last inspection.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the last inspection, there were shortfalls in staff recruitment records. The home’s managers have improved documentation of employment history and risk assessments. The training in health and safety, fire awareness and manual handling which was lacking for some staff at the last inspection has now been provided. This requirement has now been met.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

A recommendation regarding the shortfalls in the home’s system for recording incidents was made at the last inspection. This has not changed. The incident form is in a tick-box format which is not suitable for supporting management monitoring and improvement in practice. The recommendation has been repeated.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/01/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 05/04/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/11/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC489820 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 helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to 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; 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; ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; 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; demonstrate that

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Requirement Due date

practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; 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)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(i)(h)).

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the staff receive appropriate training to help them to support respond consistently as a team to the child’s needs. Also, ensure that the manager’s responses to incidents are recorded on the incident forms, so that there is an audit trail to demonstrate how the manager has monitored staff practice in relation to outcomes for children. 15/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

Inspection report children’s home: SC489820 4  Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. In particular, ensure that incidents are recorded clearly so that there is an audit trail for management monitoring purposes. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Potens, 68 Grange Road West, Birkenhead CH41 4DB

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Bettina Jeppesen

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Inspector

Inspection report children’s home: SC489820 5 Heather Chaplin, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC489820 6 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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