Children's home run by Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited in Thanet

Inspection report children’s home: SC023745 1 SC023745 Registered provider: Ethelbert Specialist Homes 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 that operates several other children’s homes in the area. The company also provides educational services to support children and, if necessary, can provide therapeutic services for children. The home’s statement of purpose says that the home ‘provides a nurturing, and safe environment for children on the autistic spectrum and/or severe to moderate learning difficulties or global learning delay, as well as having mild to severe Emotional, Behavioural and Communication difficulties’. The manager was registered with Ofsted on 28 September 2016.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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Inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected Inadequate

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Inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Inadequate

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Inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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Inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC023745 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/10/2017 Full Good 21/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 14/11/2016 Full Good 04/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC023745 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 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 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; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; 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. (Regulation 12 (2)(a)(i)(vi)(vii)(b)) This is with specific reference to the assessment and management of risk, taking effective action when a child makes an allegation against a member of staff, and ensuring that

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Requirement Due date

children are not adversely affected by the behaviour of their peers. 01/03/2019

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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— helps children aspire to their full potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 01/03/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC023745 4 each child. (Regulation 13 (2)(c)(d)) Specifically, ensure that staff receive appropriate training in relevant communication techniques and that there are always sufficient numbers of staff on duty in order to effectively implement the strategies outlined in children’s risk assessments. The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular— provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or

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Requirement Due date

neglect, and the action taken in response. (Regulation 34 (2)(d)) Specifically, ensure that when a child makes an allegation against a member of staff, records are kept of all the conversations held with safeguarding professionals, the decisions made and the actions taken. 01/03/2019

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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. The registered person must— maintain in the home the records in schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (2)(a) This is with specific reference to keeping a copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home, and a record of the actual rosters worked. 01/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 01/03/2019

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Specifically, ensure that any maintenance issues which could impact negatively on the health and safety of children are rectified in a timely way.  Effective care planning and strong working relationships between the staff of the Inspection report children’s home: SC023745 5 home and the placing authority are essential to the success of placements. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page

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Recommendations

56, paragraph 11.2) Specifically, ensure that the home’s plans for how children will be cared for clearly identify the child’s needs, the strategies for meeting these needs and the targets the child is working towards.  Any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. In some cases children may need longer to work through their feelings, so a record that the child has talked about their feelings should be made no longer than 5 days after the incident of restraint (regulation 35(3)(c)). Children should be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. Children should be offered the opportunity to access an advocacy support to help them with this (regulation 7(2)(b)(iii)).

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Recommendations

(‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60) Specifically, ensure that physical restraint reports always record what the child has said about the incident and the registered manager’s review.  All children must have access to appropriate advocacy support, and where possible this should be provided by a person that the child chooses. Looked-after children are entitled to an independent advocate to advise them and ensure they have the support needed to express their views, wishes and feelings about their care and lives. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.16)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

In recent weeks, there have been serious failings relating to the protection of children. Leaders and managers did not take effective action to prevent these shortfalls or take steps to improve practice in the future. The home has, therefore, been judged inadequate, despite the fact that the children are making good progress in some areas and generally have a positive day-to-day experience. The core staff team has developed positive, trusting relationships with the children. Staff have a good understanding of each child’s vulnerabilities and are committed to providing high standards of care. The staff communicate well with the children, despite not being able to employ the whole range of communication methods used by one child. The children have not been provided with any information regarding the role of an independent advocate. This is a missed opportunity for ensuring that the children have every opportunity to communicate their wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The staff support the children to engage positively with their education provision. This has had a positive impact and both the children living at the home are doing well at Inspection report children’s home: SC023745 6 school. The registered manager has developed effective links with education staff and this has ensured good partnership working. Effective planning has taken place to minimise the risk of one child harming himself or other children while at school. A proactive approach has been taken to ensuring that the children’s physical health needs are met. The children have access to therapeutic services which are specific to their individual needs. The registered manager has advocated strongly for one child to receive a specialist assessment and appropriate mental health support. At the time of this inspection, there were no plans for how senior managers would escalate their concerns regarding the delay in these services being provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Despite there being several areas of good practice at the home, the recent shortfalls in the standard of child protection practice and the effectiveness of leaders and managers has meant that the children’s basic need for safety has been compromised.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

In recent weeks there have been significant shortfalls in the standard of child protection and safeguarding practice. Although poor practice is not common, the management of recent serious incidents has left the children at risk of significant harm. Effective action was not taken when a child made an allegation against a member of staff who was working alone at the home. The organisation’s policy for managing allegations against staff was not consistently followed, and there was a failure to consult external safeguarding professionals before a discussion with the child took place. Records were not kept of all the decisions taken and subsequent agreed actions relating to this incident. The assessment and management of risk is weak. Children’s individual risk assessments do not consistently address all the known behaviours that could result in a child coming to harm. The strategies for reducing risk are not always clearly specified. One case was

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

identified where the allocated social worker had a different understanding of how a vulnerable child’s behaviours in the community would be managed to those specified in the risk assessment. The lack of clarity in risk assessments was a contributory factor to a child engaging in unsafe behaviour while in the community with a member of staff he did not know well. Shortfalls were identified in the implementation of the home’s fire safety risk assessment. The risk assessment states that both children currently living at the home would have personal emergency evacuation plans. The registered manager did not have a clear understanding of what a personal emergency evacuation plan is, and these had not been completed. The failure to fully assess risk and implement effective strategies means that the potential for children to come to harm is not being minimised. The staff promote good behaviour by using reward charts and incentives. Generally, the

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

children respond positively to this approach. The use of physical restraint to manage violent behaviour is kept to a minimum. However, some shortfalls were found in the standard of record-keeping. In one case, the staff had recorded their understanding of the child’s feelings about a physical restraint, rather than what the child said. In another Inspection report children’s home: SC023745 7 case, the registered manager had not completed her written evaluation of how the incident was managed. Some maintenance shortfalls, with the potential to compromise the health and safety of the children, were identified. The closing mechanism on one fire door was not fully functional and the door handle was not securely fitted. The door to a meter cupboard was broken and records relating to the control of substances hazardous to health are not being kept. The registered manager took action to rectify some of these shortfalls during

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

the inspection and gave reassurances that others would be addressed in a timely way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is an experienced registered manager who holds the level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. There is no deputy manager or residential care staff who are working at a senior level. There was a recent occasion when, due to staff sickness, only one member of staff was on duty for 11 hours. Senior managers had failed to make contingency plans for such an event. It would not have been possible for the member of staff on duty to consistently and effectively implement all the strategies in the children’s care plans and risk assessments during this period. The potential for the children to come to harm was greatly increased and the member of staff was left in a vulnerable situation. Shortfalls were identified in the level of staff training being delivered. Despite there being a recognition that staff would benefit from more advanced training in caring for children on the autism spectrum, this has not yet been provided. At the last inspection,

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

in October 2017, a recommendation was made regarding children being able to use the same communication systems at the home as they do in school. There has been a poor response to this recommendation. No staff have been trained in the use of Makaton, despite one child sometimes using this communication method in school. Although the registered manager maintains oversight of the home’s care plans for children, weaknesses in the care planning process are not routinely challenged. In some of the plans, the child’s needs are not distinguished from the strategies that staff are required to follow. One child’s care plan did not specify any interventions to improve the child’s emotional well-being. The care plans do not clearly identify the progress children are making towards meeting set targets. The standard of record-keeping is not consistently good. An accurate record of the rosters actually worked by staff is not kept. This makes it difficult to ascertain who has

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

worked at the home and how often staff from other of the organisation’s homes are required to cover staff shortages. There has recently been a failure to notify Ofsted of a serious incident. Ofsted was not informed of the allegation made against a member of staff, referred to earlier in this report. Consequently, the management of this incident was not scrutinised prior to this inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC023745 8

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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: SC023745 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 17 Leigh Road, Ramsgate, Kent CT12 5EU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Leslie Davenport

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Inspector

Stephen Collett, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC023745 10 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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