Children's Home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited in Nottingham

Inspection report children’s home: 1254745 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire 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

The home provides care and accommodation for up to five children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A private company owns and operates the home. The registered manager has many years’ experience of working in residential care and is suitably qualified.

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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: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1254745 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/10/2018 Full Good 15/02/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 14/08/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1254745 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children’s home’s overall aims and outcomes it seeks to achieve for children and use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(2)(b)(ii)(c)(i)(ii)) 30/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that the health and well- being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs; and understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is registered as a patient with a general medical 30/06/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1254745 4 practitioner and a registered dental practitioner; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii)(x)(xi)) 12/07/2019

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are 12/07/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1254745 5 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

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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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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)(a)(i)(ii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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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

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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child:

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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; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous 12/07/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1254745 6 improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(d)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

that arrangements are in place to ensure the effective induction of each child into the home; manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(c)) 12/07/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the home.

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Requirement Due date

This is with reference to ensuring that medicines are administered in line with the instructions made by the prescriber. (Regulation 23 (1)) 30/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)) 30/06/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1254745 7

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improvement to be good

Since the interim inspection in March 2019, the home has gone through a very unsettled period. There has been a significant increase in behavioural incidents which staff have been unable to manage. This can be mainly attributed to the recent emergency admission of a young person. As a result, young people’s care and experiences have been affected and their progress is variable.

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improvement to be good

Admission practices require improvement. Referral information is not always fully explored and used in the decision-making process. This does not ensure that staff can meet the young person’s needs.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s care records do not always reflect current needs and some information is contradictory.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s health needs are not always met. Healthcare plans do not always include current information which has the potential to affect young people’s health. Some young people have not attended routine health appointments including dental and child looked after medicals. Some young people have missed dental appointments because staff have not consulted the home’s diary as part of the shift planning. Staff have not always prioritised these appointments over young people going shopping. On occasions, there have been insufficient staff to ensure that young people can attend dental appointments.

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improvement to be good

The management of medicines needs improving. Systems for recording the administration are not easy to follow. Staff do not always follow instructions for the administration of medication in line with the dispensing label. There is no evidence of this affecting young people’s health. However, this has the potential to cause harm.

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improvement to be good

Some young people have caused significant damage to the premises in recent months. This has meant that young people have not had a comfortable and, at times, a safe environment to live in. Although some repairs have taken place, the extent of the damage, and the incidents of repeated damage, have meant that there have been delays in creating a comfortable home to live in. The admission of more young people to the home at a time when the home is in significant disrepair is not good practice. The registered manager has ordered new furniture and produced a refurbishment plan.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s experiences and progress in education, training and employment are variable. Staff and the company’s education coordinator continue to work closely with education provisions and young people to increase their chances of achieving their potential. Some young people’s attendance and engagement in education are very good and they are making good progress. However, some young people’s attendance and engagement are sporadic.

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improvement to be good

Young people have good relationships with staff. They know that staff care about them. Inspection report children’s home: 1254745 8 Young people have very good opportunities to pursue their hobbies and interests and have lots of fun. Staff encourage them to try new activities, which helps to increase their confidence and social skills. Young people access a range of activities and trips, and regularly go on holidays and short breaks during school holidays.

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improvement to be good

There has been a significant increase in behavioural incidents since the last inspection in March 2019. Staff have been unable to manage young people’s high levels of aggressive behaviour and keep them safe. This can be attributed to ineffective matching of young people’s needs, the inappropriate admission of some young people and insufficient staffing levels. This has resulted in the police being called out for assistance on numerous occasions. There has been extensive damage to the property, assaults on staff and aggression between young people, with some young people sustaining injuries.

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improvement to be good

Police raised concerns with Ofsted about the ability of staff to manage young people’s behaviours and the matching of young people’s needs.

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improvement to be good

The admission of some young people has had a particularly negative impact on the running of the home. Some young people have encouraged each other to engage in aggressive and unsafe behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Staff work hard with young people to help them learn how to keep themselves safe. The registered manager has been proactive in using the emergency services, including the police and the fire authority, to provide information to young people on how to keep safe.

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

Poor decision making by the registered provider regarding the recent admission of a young person has affected the quality of care for young people. Referral information was not fully considered or explored. For example, the referral information for a young person stated that they required one-to-one staffing in order to meet their needs. This was not implemented. Staffing levels have at times been insufficient, which has contributed to staff being unable to manage young people’s behaviours. It was clear, soon after the admission of the young person, that staff were unable to meet their needs. The registered manager raised this with senior managers and the placing authority, but the registered provider did not take effective action when this became unmanageable.

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

Additionally, another young person was admitted on an emergency basis when the home was still unsettled, and the home was in a poor state of repair. The premises needed major repairs and refurbishment and were not ready to accommodate another young person. This is not good care planning. Inspection report children’s home: 1254745 9 The registered manager has many years’ experience of working in residential care and is suitably qualified. She provides good support to staff, who are committed to improving young people’s lives. Staff are well trained and experienced. However, recent demands by the continual high levels of aggressive behaviour presented by some young people have affected the smooth running of the home. Staff have not followed the home’s internal processes, which has led to young people missing medical appointments. Staffing levels have not been sufficient to meet all young people’s needs.

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

Management monitoring systems have not been robust. Managers have failed to identify the shortfalls found during this inspection.

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

There is a real commitment to partnership working. Partner agencies confirmed that staff communicate well with them. The registered manager regularly meets with the police. However, Ofsted has not always been notified of incidents in which the police have been called to the home when there have been serious incidents.

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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: 1254745 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Shaw Trust House, 19 Elmfield Road, Bromley, Kent BR1 1LT

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Inspector:

Katarina Djordjevic, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1254745 11 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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