Children's Home run by Stanfield Care Services Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 1 SC451152 Registered provider: Stanfield Care Services 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 privately owned home provides care for up to four children aged between eight and 17 who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The registered manager left the home in October 2018. Since then two managers have been appointed, neither of whom has successfully registered with Ofsted.

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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: 17 January 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 5 June 2019, Ofsted served a notice of proposal on the manager to refuse her application for registration with Ofsted. The manager withdrew her application before a notice of decision was served. Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/01/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/07/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 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 understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(i)(iv)(vi)(viii)(ix)) 31/07/2019

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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 31/07/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 4 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

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

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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)(c)(d)(h)) The registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 07/07/2019

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Requirement Due date

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child.

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Requirement Due date

The following measures may not be used to discipline any child—

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Requirement Due date

imposing a financial penalty, other than a requirement for the payment of a reasonable sum (which may be by instalments) by way of reparation. (Regulation 19 (1)(2)(f)) 30/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises. (Regulation 21 (b))

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Requirement Due date

This refers specifically to the kitchen. 30/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

A person may only manage a children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

the person is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the person has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills to manage the home effectively and lead the care of children; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the 30/06/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 5 person in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 28 (1)(a)(b)(i)(c)) 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

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Requirement Due date

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 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. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(d)) 31/07/2019

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)(4)(b)) 31/07/2019

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

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)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 6 relation to each child; and

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c))

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff have been unable to establish daily routines that engage children in structured activities to support those children who receive little or no education. Only one child accesses any education, and that is for just two hours per week. During the inspection, the tutor who provides this education was on holiday and no replacement had been sent to cover. Failure to engage children in education significantly reduces their chances to recognise and achieve their full potential.

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improvement to be good

Care and support plans reflect individual needs and long-term objectives, but do not provide clarity on current targets to enable staff to identify progress. Some plans require updating to reflect changes, specifically in behaviour. A recent incident notification in relation to a child’s behaviour stated that risk management plans had been updated and that the child was to receive no free time or money until further notice. However, the manager had not updated this information or added it to the child’s plans, and there was no evidence of consultation with the placing social worker. Neither the child nor their key worker was aware of proposed changes to plans, or that the child was not to have free time or money. Failure to help children to understand and be responsible for their behaviour does not enable them to make positive changes.

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improvement to be good

Overall, the home presents as a welcoming and homely environment. It is spacious, clean and tidy. The children’s bedrooms are personalised and reflect their individual interests and hobbies. The home is decorated and furnished to a good standard. However, the kitchen area is locked each night, preventing children from being able to access it freely.

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improvement to be good

Children develop some positive life skills through the basic household tasks that they choose to engage in. They enjoy a variety of activities with some success, which promotes their confidence. Staff help children to address their emotional and physical health needs by ensuring that children attend all health appointments. All the children spoken with during the inspection said that they like living at the home and have good relationships with staff, who listen to them and support them well. Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 7

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improvement to be good

At the time of the inspection, some of the children’s risk assessments and support plans lacked up-to-date information to ensure the children’s safety. Records need updating to include all the relevant information. For example, the manager has not ensured that, following a restraint or missing-from-care incident, debriefing sessions with children and staff have taken place to provide opportunities to explore each incident and see if lessons can be learned. Some of the records have not been reviewed or signed by the manager. Therefore, managerial scrutiny of practice is not effective.

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improvement to be good

Some records of sanctions have not been written in full, and those that had been showed a lack of insight by the manager to reflect on the behaviour presented and the antecedents. For example, a child who had taken a sum of money that had been left by staff on a desk had the entire amount of money taken from their activity fund in one instalment, leaving them unable to take part in any activities for the whole week. There is no information, other than the manager’s negative comments about the child’s behaviour, to show that the child or the members of staff involved had been spoken to about this incident.

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improvement to be good

Children spoken with during the inspection said that they feel safe living at the home and that they have formed positive relationships with staff. Evidence shows that incidents of going missing have reduced in recent months for some children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager left in October 2018. A new manager was appointed but she did not remain in post and did not register with Ofsted. Another manager was appointed and applied to Ofsted for registration. Ofsted served a notice of proposal to refuse the manager’s registration. The manager then withdrew her application.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not have a clear understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. She has failed to provide a thorough approach to monitor, review and evaluate events and incidents. The manager has not identified learning that would enable her to improve and develop practice. Consequently, the manager and senior managers have not prioritised developments and challenged weaknesses effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

All the staff have undertaken the organisation’s mandatory training, including safeguarding. However, the manager has not ensured that one member of staff who is expected to restrain children has received any formal training in behaviour management or restraint. Failure to ensure that staff who are expected to apply restraint techniques are adequately trained could potentially lead to harm to the children and the member of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive annual appraisals and regular supervision. However, records show that supervision is not of a good standard and that most staff recently received negative feedback from investigations that the manager has conducted. Failure to provide Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 8 constructive and supportive feedback means that staff are not enabled or empowered to improve their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

On one occasion, the provider failed to notify Ofsted about a member of staff’s practice that led to a disciplinary investigation. Investigations are not thorough and do not give clarity on the outcomes, evaluation of the concern and further actions required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

One of the children requires one-to-one supervision. A new member of staff who has no experience of working with children received no induction or formal training. On their second day of employment, they worked on shift with one other member of staff. This left the children and staff vulnerable. On one occasion, staff did not go out and search for a child who had been reported as missing. Staff informed the police that there was no one available to go out and look for the child. Failure to ensure that enough qualified and experienced staff are available puts children and staff at risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The organisation could not demonstrate that it practises safe recruitment. For example, a new member of staff’s recruitment file only included a medical questionnaire. Gaps in employment and references have not been followed up by senior managers effectively, leaving the home vulnerable to poor management and practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Information requested during the inspection was not made available to the inspector. The provider has failed to submit a copy of the updated statement of purpose to Ofsted. Failure to provide timely and required information prevents Ofsted, as the regulator, from having an accurate view of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has met three of the four requirements raised at the last inspection. One requirement in respect of staff supervision is restated. The recommendation raised at the last inspection has not been met. This is replaced with a requirement in respect of helping children to have access to education.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 9 children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stanfield Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 6, Cuckoo Wharf, 427 Lichfield Road, Birmingham B6 7SS

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Inspector

Cathy Russell, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC451152 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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