Children's Home run by K & G Care Ltd in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report children’s home: 1270767 1 Registered provider: K&G Care Ltd

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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 home that provides short-, medium- and long-term care for up to five children and young people who have emotional needs and challenging behaviour.

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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: declined in effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was served a restriction notice on 30 August 2018. This meant that the home could not admit any further children until the notice was removed. The notice was removed on 14 November after the manager was able to demonstrate that children were safe. Inspection report children’s home: 1270767 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/08/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 06/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1270767 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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)) 31/08/2019

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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—

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; and

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(iii)(v)) 30/06/2019

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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

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 contact with children, allow 30/06/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1270767 4 that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 32(1)(2)(3)(d)) 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 promotes their welfare.

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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

(Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)) 30/06/2019

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improvement to be good

The recently registered manager has made considerable improvements to this home. However, three significant incidents have occurred that could have been avoided. Some of the young people involved themselves in criminal activity and misused illegal substances, which resulted in them being harmed.

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improvement to be good

Young people are happy and making progress in several areas, such as in their education and in their ability to manage their own behaviour. Substance misuse remains prevalent for one young person. However, incidents of young people going missing from care have dramatically reduced in number.

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improvement to be good

Relationships between young people and staff are a strength. Staff and young people speak positively about each other. Staff understand the importance of building safe and nurturing relationships with young people. A young person said: ‘Staff are themselves, which I appreciate. They spend a lot of time with me.’ Young people also said that they get on well with each other. They are building friendships within the local community. By encouraging young people’s friends to go on trips organised by the home, staff help Inspection report children’s home: 1270767 5 young people to feel part of their community and develop better social skills.

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improvement to be good

Staff are committed to helping young people with their education. Young people who are not in education are supported by staff with some educational activities. One young person proudly showed photos he had taken of a museum he had visited with staff. Managers work with the local authority to source school placements as quickly as possible. A school manager said that nothing is too much trouble for the staff team. He also said that staff will support young people within the school to prevent them from going missing.

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improvement to be good

Young people are encouraged to make choices and decisions. For example, they asked to go to a go-karting park with a friend from the village. They enjoyed this experience. They also enjoy having pets around the home, including a cat, fish and a hamster.

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improvement to be good

The environment is very homely. Young people have personalised their rooms. This helps them to take pride in their home. The kitchen is the hub of the house, where everyone gathers to chat while meals are being cooked or games are played on the games console. Staff hang the washing out, which again adds to the homely feel.

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improvement to be good

Three significant incidents have occurred that could have been avoided. Staff have not followed risk assessments, which has meant that young people have been at risk of being criminalised and have misused illegal substances.

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improvement to be good

Vetting procedures do not fully protect young people from unsuitable adults. Not all checks are completed on newly appointed members of staff. Furthermore, the risk assessment completed for staff who do not have a clear Disclosure and Barring Service certificate is poor.

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improvement to be good

One young person continues to use cannabis on a regular basis, although in recent months they have used it less frequently. All young people smoke cigarettes and staff try to discourage this, but without much success.

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improvement to be good

Despite these shortfalls, young people feel safe and secure in this home. They have good relationships with staff. This means that they are less likely to go missing and missing-from-care incidents have reduced in number. The manager has developed realistic strategies for addressing each young person’s concerning behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Young people are learning how to manage their emotions better. This means that there are significantly fewer incidents of young people getting angry, damaging property or assaulting each other or staff. A young person said that he now takes himself to his bedroom if he feels he is getting anxious or angry. This helps him to calm down. Staff are confident in their use of de-escalation techniques to help reduce tension. They regularly discuss young people’s behaviour with them, and help them to develop better emotional responses. Inspection report children’s home: 1270767 6

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

The newly registered manager is experienced and qualified. She has made significant improvements to the home and most of the requirements and recommendations have been addressed. However, requirements relating to the leadership and management standard and the protection of children standard need further attention.

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

Incidents of poor practice have been investigated well and learning points have, overall, been taken on board. For example, risk assessments have been updated and clearly state the action necessary to reduce risks. Staff have been directed to read and sign risk assessments after every update to demonstrate understanding. However, the performance management of staff is not yet good. This has meant that those staff who need to have their performance managed have not improved their practice. Some poor practice has been repeated as a result.

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

Some staff are not yet qualified because a high number of them are new to the service’. About half of the team members are completing a relevant qualification. There is a heavy reliance on online training. Staff can complete several online courses in one day. This does not ensure effective learning. Managers do not check what learning has taken place.

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

The registered manager has satisfactory monitoring tools that help her to provide better leadership. She is working to a development plan and understands the strengths of the home well. She is a strong advocate for young people and works closely with external professionals. This helps young people to make progress.

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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. 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

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Information about this inspection

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: 1270767 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 24 Exchange Street, Retford DN22 6DT

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Inspector

Joanne Vyas: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1270767 8 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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