Children's Home run by Mulberry House Care Homes Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC060554 1 SC060554 Registered provider: Mulberry House Care Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care and accommodation for up to two young people who exhibit complex behaviours as a result of adverse childhood experiences. The home is owned and operated by a private organisation which has been under new ownership since December 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

The acting manager was appointed in December 2018. She was previously the registered individual. She has made an application to register with Ofsted. She is currently undertaking a level 5 management qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 8 April and 30 April to 1 May 2019

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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 inadequate

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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

Date of last inspection: 4 September 2018

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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: SC060554 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/07/2017 Full Good 18/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/06/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC060554 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.

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to understand how to keep safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard requires the registered person to ensure 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)(a)(i)(ii)(d)) 07/06/2019

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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 fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard requires the registered person to use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1), (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, demonstrate effective management oversight of the home. 07/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children‟s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children‟s home; or 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 07/06/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC060554 4 contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, 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), (2), (3)(d)) For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

The relevant date is in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32(4), (5)(a)(b)) 07/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development; receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(a)(b)(c)) 07/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which must be kept securely in the children‟s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there; and in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36(1), (2)(c)(d)) 07/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the following items, which may be kept in electronic form, are kept in an accessible manner; the statement of purpose; the children‟s guide; placement plans for children who are not looked after (see regulation 18); the policy for safeguarding children (see regulation 34); the policy for preventing bullying (see regulation 34); the missing child policy (see regulation 34); the behaviour management policy (see regulation 35); records of the use of measures of control, discipline or restraint (see regulation 35); children‟s case records (see 07/06/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC060554 5 regulation 36); other records (see regulation 37); the procedure for considering complaints (see regulation 39); records of complaints (see regulation 39); the independent person‟s reports (see regulation 44); quality of care reviews (see regulation 45); annual reviews of the appropriateness

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Requirement Due date

and suitability of the location of the home‟s premises (see regulation 46). (Regulation 38)

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Recommendations

 The children‟s guide should help children to understand what the day to day routines of the home are („what happens in the home‟); the Statement of Purpose of the home (the care they can expect to receive while living there); how to make a complaint in line with the home‟s complaints procedure; how they can access advocacy support or independent advocacy if eligible; and how to contact the Office of the Children‟s Commissioner. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 24, paragraph 4.22) Inspection report children‟s home: SC060554 6

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improvement to be good

Young people‟s overall care requires improvement. There are weaknesses in how well staff are trained to meet young people‟s individual needs and how well managers ensure that staff assess and manage risk.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not ensured that the information provided to young people who move into the home is accurate. For example, the information about inspections carried out by Ofsted is incorrect. This leaves young people without good-quality information about the home.

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improvement to be good

Managers are in the process of refurbishing the home. This has resulted in some areas of the house being redecorated to a good standard. However, there are still weaknesses that mean that young people are not yet living in a homely environment. For example, the lounge area wallpaper is stained and there are broken dining chairs.

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improvement to be good

Despite the shortfalls, there are areas of good practice. Staff are positive about the young people who live in the home and recognise their individual areas of progress. An independent reviewing officer told the inspectors that one young person has a good relationship with his key worker, who is an excellent role model for him.

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improvement to be good

Staff support young people to make progress in their learning. One young person has recently started a work placement, which he is enjoying. The other young person is accessing an alternative education placement part time. Managers continue to actively challenge his placing authority to get his education increased. This challenge is helping to ensure that the young person receives the education he is entitled to.

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improvement to be good

Managers have recently introduced a clinical psychologist to the service. This new role is aimed at providing staff with a greater understanding of young people‟s behaviour and how staff can develop more consistent boundaries and expectations. This is a new development for the home, and its impact is not yet known.

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improvement to be good

Staff have recently updated young people‟s risk assessments. These assessments help staff to ensure that their practice reflects young people‟s individual needs. However, managers do not ensure that all risk assessments are clear. For example, the location risk assessment for the home contains „cut and paste‟ information on another home. The fire risk assessment does not reflect any known historical risk, for one young person. This lack of consistency means that staff are without all the information that they need when assessing risk. Inspection report children‟s home: SC060554 7 Staff responses to incidents when young people put themselves at risk of harm are too weak. For example, one young person has managed twice to get hold of a set of car keys from staff and to start the car engine, on the drive.

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improvement to be good

Staff rarely use physical intervention. When it is necessary, staff ensure that a detailed record is made. This enables managers to have good oversight of this area of practice.

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improvement to be good

Despite carrying out daily temperature checks on the fridges in the home, staff fail to identify when food in the fridge is out of date. This lack of attention puts young people‟s health at risk.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not ensured that all staff who work in the home are safely recruited. Managers have not ensured that all necessary references have been taken up or verified to establish why a member of staff has left their previous employment when they have worked with children and/or vulnerable adults. This places young people at potential risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since April 2018. The current manager has been in post for three months. She was previously the registered individual and has applied to Ofsted to be the home‟s next registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers fail to ensure that staff receive training that is reflective of the needs of the young people who live in the home. For example, despite admitting a young person who has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, only one member of staff has received training in understanding the condition. In addition, managers have failed to ensure that staff complete a level 3 diploma in residential childcare within the regulatory timescales. These omissions leave staff without the essential knowledge and skills to care for the young people living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers fail to ensure that all staff receive regular supervision or annual appraisal. This leaves staff without a regular opportunity to have their practice reviewed and appraised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Some staff have been appointed to senior roles without the necessary skills and experience that the organisation requires for these posts. Despite this, managers have failed to provide these individuals with opportunities to address the gaps in their skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home‟s recording system is chaotic. This makes it difficult for staff to locate essential records relating to young people‟s care. Some records, such as staff supervision, are not easily accessible. For example, the manager and the deputy manager have taken staff supervision records away from the home. Young people‟s confidential correspondence records are not always safely stored. Inspection report children‟s home: SC060554 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 difference 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: SC060554 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Mulberry House Care Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Tollgate Business Centre, Tollgate Drive, Stafford, Staffordshire ST16 3HS

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Inspectors

Tracey Coglan Greig, social care inspector [30 April – 1 May 2019] Dave Carrigan, social care inspector [30 April – 1 May 2019] Louise Whittle, social care inspector [8 April 2019] Anne-Marie Parker, social care inspector [8 April 2019] Inspection report children‟s home: SC060554 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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