Children's Home, Residential special school run by ROC Northwest Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children's home: 1258769 1 Registered provider: Roc Northwest Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is one of several homes operated by a private provider. The home provides care and accommodation for up to 29 children who have disabilities and/or behavioural needs. Accommodation is provided across five individual units on the site.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

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.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 16 January 2019

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 1258769 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/01/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/01/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report children's home: 1258769 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard 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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)) In particular, ensure that all staff are aware of and consistently follow young people’s risk management plans. 17/05/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard 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— take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(vi)(vii)) 17/05/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard 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— ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)) 17/05/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

Behaviour management policies and records 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 17/05/2019 Inspection report children's home: 1258769 4 which includes— the name of the child; details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered

p.3

Requirement Due date

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 has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; 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)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

p.4

Recommendations

 Staff should be 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. Managers must ensure that relevant documents are shared with and signed by appropriate staff and external professionals. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

p.4

improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there have been significant changes to the structure of the home. This has resulted in improved consistency in staffing, which means that young people receive their care from staff who know them well and understand their needs. This supports young people’s progress, safety and well-being. A number of parents and external professionals were consulted during the inspection. The feedback received was largely positive. Most people felt that they had seen Inspection report children's home: 1258769 5 significant improvements in the care and support provided to young people in recent months. There have been improvements to the admission process. Senior managers now liaise with a number of specialist staff and carefully consider a young person’s needs before making a decision to offer them a place. One young person has been admitted to the home since the last inspection. This young person’s transition into the home was

p.4

improvement to be good

carefully planned to help ensure that staff had a good understanding of his needs. The young person’s social worker commented that they were impressed with the way his transition had been managed. There are some good examples of person-centred care, which is based on young people’s individual needs and wishes. Staff endeavour to learn about young people’s individual methods of communication, so that they can support the young people to express their needs and choices. However, the response to concerns or complaints young people or their parents raise is variable. In some examples, managers have failed to thoroughly investigate concerns or provide an adequate response. Failure to listen to, or act upon, young people’s concerns does not support their safety or well-being.

p.5

improvement to be good

Following a requirement made at the last inspection, safeguarding practice is improving. However, practice is still inconsistent, and some shortfalls were identified during this inspection. For example, the management of allegations against one staff member, who has now left the organisation, was not carried out in line with the organisation’s safeguarding procedures. Young people are now supported by smaller staff teams that know them well and have a good understanding of the risks to their safety and well-being. Individualised risk management plans provide staff with guidance in how to support young people in a safe way. Further improvements are yet to be made to ensure that all staff follow this guidance consistently. Young people have individual behaviour support plans in place. These plans have been significantly improved and now provide a good level of detail, enabling staff to support young people in times of crisis, in a consistent and positive way.

p.5

improvement to be good

At the last inspection, shortfalls were identified in relation to the recording and monitoring of incidents of restraint, which do occur regularly in this home. There have been improvements in how managers monitor incidents of restraint, including an external safeguarding consultant overseeing all incidents. Records are also improved, but still lack clarity in some examples, and therefore further improvements are still required in this area. Staff are carefully recruited. Managers follow robust recruitment procedures, which include a number of background checks of prospective employees. This reduces the risk of young people being exposed to adults of unsuitable character and therefore helps to protect young people from harm.

p.5

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

Inspection report children's home: 1258769 6 The previous registered manager has resigned from the home, following a period of extended leave. A new manager has been appointed and is in the process of submitting an application for registration to Ofsted. A senior manager from the organisation has been overseeing the home since the last inspection and is in the process of handing over to the incoming manager. There have been several significant changes in the way the home is managed. Feedback from staff and external professionals about the changes is highly positive. In particular, those consulted report that communication and accountability across the service are much improved. Processes to monitor quality and safety across the service have been reviewed and developed. Inspectors identified that there remain some inconsistencies in practice but note that these are being identified more promptly and acted upon.

p.6

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

Managers respond to adverse incidents in a more effective way. Following training by an outside agency, managers have developed skills in conducting thorough investigations. This helps to ensure that managers and staff learn from adverse incidents, minimising the risk of them being repeated. The service has experienced a high turnover of staff since the last inspection. Previously, there was a high use of agency staff. As a result of concentrated recruitment efforts, the core staff team has grown. This has enabled a reduction in the use of agency staff, leading to greater consistency in young people’s care. There is a training manager in place who monitors staff development from induction through to core learning and refresher courses. The training programme is comprehensive and covers a number of areas designed to assist staff in developing skills and knowledge pertinent to their roles. However, training for casual staff is not at the

p.6

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

same standard and is not monitored effectively. This process should be improved to help ensure that all staff providing care have the suitable skills and knowledge. Staff report that they feel well supported and say that managers are available to offer advice and guidance when needed. However, during this inspection shortfalls in relation to the frequency and quality of formal supervision were identified. The number of managers within the service has increased significantly. This was actioned to ensure that there is a manager appointed to each area of the home, therefore increasing accountability and staff support. A number of newly appointed managers were spoken with during the inspection. They spoke highly of the training they were receiving to support them in their roles and felt they had received good support.

p.6

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 Inspection report children's home: 1258769 7 making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

p.6

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: 1258769 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5th Floor, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1AG

p.8

Inspectors

Marie Cordingley, social care inspector Mandy Williams, social care inspector Sophie Thomson, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 1258769 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.

p.8

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9