Children's Home run by Sunflower Children Care Services in Leicestershire

Inspection report children‘s home: SC449099 1 SC449099 Registered provider: Quantum Care UK 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

This is a privately owned children‘s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children or young people who have social, emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‘s home: SC449099 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/09/2017 Full Good 17/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/11/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‘s home: SC449099 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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 achieve the child‘s education and training targets, as recorded in the child‘s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child‘s relevant plans. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(i)(x)) 10/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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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

develop the child‘s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child‘s interests and preferences; and

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Requirement Due date

make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child‘s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 10/05/2019 Inspection report children‘s home: SC449099 4 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 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 (1)(2)(b)) 10/05/2019

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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

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 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

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)(f)(h)) 10/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that 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; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (―the authorised person‖) has spoken to the user about the measure; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(b)(i)(c)) 10/05/2019

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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 and ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1)(2)(a)(b)) 10/05/2019 Inspection report children‘s home: SC449099 5 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; there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(e)) 10/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must give notice in writing to HMCI, as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so, if any of the following events take place or are expected by the registered person to take place –

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Requirement Due date

a person other than the registered person carries on or manages the children‘s home;

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Requirement Due date

a person ceases to carry on or manage the home. (Regulation 49 (a)(b)) 10/05/2019

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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. 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). This is with specific reference to the exterior of the home.  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 45, paragraph 9.30).  Whenever possible, staff in day to day contact with children should include staff

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Recommendations

from the different gender groups. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 54, paragraph 10.22) Inspection report children‘s home: SC449099 6

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improvement to be good

This inspection identified shortfalls in management and safeguarding arrangements. These have had an impact on the experience and progress of young people. The operation of the home does not currently enable young people to fulfil their potential. Arrangements to promote education, social and recreational activities are not effective. Efforts to support young people to engage positively in constructive activities have not been successful. This sustained shortfall fails to promote good progress and development. A young person with complex needs has exhibited challenging behaviours. The staff have been resilient and remained child-focused. They have always ensured that the dignity of young people is paramount. They have placed the well-being of young people at the centre of their practice. Young people confirm positive relationships with the staff team. The home is currently recruiting for additional staff. A recommendation of this inspection is to ensure a gender

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improvement to be good

balance within the staff team. The home has a scheme of refurbishment to improve the quality of the interior of the home. However, the exterior of the home also requires improvement. It is in poor condition and does not appear to be a well-maintained domestic dwelling.

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improvement to be good

The home currently accommodates one young person. Social care professionals confirm this placement has been unable to keep this young person safe. They are in the process of seeking an alternative placement. The day-to-day safeguarding arrangements have not ensured that young people are protected effectively from potential harm. This is particularly concerning because the home provides care for young people at high risk of criminal exploitation. Strategies to prevent young people going missing from the home are ineffective. Risk assessments do not provide staff with clarity about how they will prevent missing incidents. One young person has been missing for several days. He has evaded staff daily. During his absence, his whereabouts and activities are unknown. When children are missing, staff do adhere to protocols to locate young people. They also work in partnership with all agencies. However, when young people are located and

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improvement to be good

return to the home, independent return interviews do not routinely take place. This is a missed opportunity to engage with young people, build relationships and learn more about the reasons for leaving the home without permission. Physical interventions are only used when young people put themselves or others at risk of harm. However, staff and young people have not had a debrief after each incident. This does not provide a clear picture of the appropriateness, effectiveness and fairness of the measure. Inspection report children‘s home: SC449099 7 Where the provider has commissioned internal quality assurance visits, reports are produced which identify areas of safeguarding concern. However, managers have not implemented all safeguarding recommendations.

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

There have been recent changes in management arrangements. The home has a new manager. She is an experienced manager who has worked for this provider for several years. She is in the process of applying to register with Ofsted. The responsible individual ensured a handover of management arrangements to the new manager. However, the new manager has not been provided with a clear picture of the actions taken to rectify the requirements from the last inspection. Rotas do not show management shifts. This means it is difficult to understand if management cover has been sufficient to support the new manager. Ofsted had not been advised about the planned departure of the previous registered manager. This does not enable the regulator to have oversight of the managerial operation of the home. This is of particular concern given an escalation in safeguarding notifications. Management arrangements have failed to ensure that Ofsted is notified of serious

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

safeguarding incidents. This does not ensure that the regulator can oversee safeguarding practice. A requirement from the last inspection was to ensure monitoring of young people‘s experience and progress. Steps have not been taken to implement this action. This means health, education and behavioural outcomes cannot be clearly ascertained. The responsible individual and acting manager are clear about the current shortfalls and what action is needed to address deficits and deliver improvement.

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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: SC449099 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Quantum Care UK Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fifth Floor, 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Manager in post and application for registration is pending

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Inspector

Amanda Ellis, social care inspector Inspection report children‘s home: SC449099 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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