Children's home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Rossendale

Inspection report children’s home: 1224093 1 Registered provider: Broadwood Residential Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to four children who have complex needs and require specialist support. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since January 2018.

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: 14 February 2019

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1224093 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 25/06/2018 Full Good 27/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1224093 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

p.3

Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

p.3

Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.3

Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)) 31/07/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.3

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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)) 05/07/2019

p.3

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—

p.3

Requirement Due date

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

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the 31/07/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1224093 4 registered person to—

p.3

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; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(e))

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the staff team is stable and consistent. The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.4

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.4

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(f)) 31/07/2019

p.4

Requirement Due date

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

p.4

Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 31/07/2019

p.4

Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

p.4

Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1)(2)(a)(b))

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the rota evidences the actual staff who worked at the home on each day. 31/07/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1224093 5

p.4

Recommendations

 Provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7) In particular, maintain the communal areas to a good standard.  Ensure that staff encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day-to-day health and well-being. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.10) In particular, provide children with sufficient information about the impact of not attending health appointments and the impact that substance misuse and smoking can have on their health.  Ensure that there are suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15) In particular, ensure that all administered medication is accounted for.  Ensure that any allegation of harm or abuse is addressed in line with the home’s

p.5

Recommendations

child protection policy. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.17) In particular, investigate all allegations thoroughly.  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role that they play in the training and development of staff at the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) In particular, ensure that all staff access the training required to meet the children’s needs.  The home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Children and their parents should be supported to understand the nature of records kept by the home and how to access them. Staff should understand their important role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their

p.5

Recommendations

history, according to their age and understanding. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5) In particular, ensure that records held at the home are legible and accurate.

p.5

improvement to be good

A child has been admitted to the home without enough background information. This has not been beneficial to the child and has had a detrimental effect on the staff and Inspection report children’s home: 1224093 6 other children. The child has since had a planned move to a solo placement.

p.5

improvement to be good

There has been considerable damage to the inside of the home and some damage to vehicles parked at the front of the home. An ongoing six-week refurbishment plan is underway.

p.6

improvement to be good

One child has refused to attend most health appointments or to engage with external substance misuse agencies. The staff have made some efforts to support the child. However, it is unclear if the child is fully aware of the detrimental effect of not attending appointments and of substance misuse on their long-term health. Medication recording errors continue despite additional staff training. This could result in medication being administered to children incorrectly.

p.6

improvement to be good

Despite the identified shortfalls, most children have made progress. One child has 100% attendance at his educational provision, a positive work experience placement and has improved his social skills, confidence and resilience. Another child has improved their attendance in education and has engaged with emotional well-being support.

p.6

improvement to be good

The children receive care from core staff who are nurturing. The staff go over and above to ensure that the children are happy. The children receive recognition for making positive choices and achievements. One child is planning their first holiday abroad.

p.6

improvement to be good

The staff are aware of the importance of families and friends in maintaining children’s identities. Staff take children who live at a distance from their homes to see their families. The children’s friends are welcome at the home.

p.6

improvement to be good

The staff help children to prepare for moving on. Children develop independence skills, including budgeting and saving. Well-planned transitions help to prepare children for their next placement.

p.6

improvement to be good

The home has been unsettled. There have been frequent self-injurious behaviours, verbal abuse and physical assaults. The staff work tirelessly to ensure that the children are safe.

p.6

improvement to be good

Allegations against the staff have all been appropriately referred to the designated officer. However, not all internal investigations have been thoroughly investigated. Records fail to demonstrate learning from incidents.

p.6

improvement to be good

Staff use physical intervention to keep the children and staff safe. Managers have not monitored these interventions effectively. Individual risk assessments and behaviour management plans are not used consistently. Therefore, some children’s behaviours continue or escalate.

p.6

improvement to be good

The children’s individual risk assessments and plans are not up to date. Guidance on Inspection report children’s home: 1224093 7 managing challenging behaviour is not consistently implemented. Therefore, the staff are inconsistent and give different responses.

p.6

improvement to be good

The staff provide a positive reinforcement approach. Incentive plans and positive and negative consequences encourage some children to make good choices. There has been a reduction in the frequency of children going missing from the home.

p.7

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

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified to level 5 in leadership and management.

p.7

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

Since the last inspection, there have been some changes to the staff team. Staff sickness and staff being deployed to other homes have affected stability. The children have not been provided with a consistent and stable staff team. The rota does not accurately reflect which staff have worked on each shift. Therefore, it is difficult to establish exactly how many core staff and agency staff have worked at the home.

p.7

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

Continuous changes to staffing have resulted in an over-reliance on the manager and three of the staff. There has been a decline in the quality of internal monitoring and detail in children’s records. Some children’s records are insufficient. They are not all up to date. Records fail to inform children of their progress and are illegible. Monthly summaries are repetitive.

p.7

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

New staff lack the experience to enable the improvements that are required. The staff do not all have specific training, in areas such as awareness of child criminal exploitation and managing e-safety and drug and alcohol awareness, to enable them to meet the children’s needs.

p.7

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

The staff spoke positively about the guidance that they receive from the manager. Monthly team meetings, supervisions and easy access to the manager all provide staff with regular support and an opportunity to raise any concerns.

p.7

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

The manager and senior management have implemented a development plan that identifies how they are improving the quality of care provided to children. They have a sound awareness of the strengths of the service and the areas of improvement that are required.

p.7

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 Inspection report children’s home: 1224093 8 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.

p.7

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: 1224093 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Broadwood Residential Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, 2nd Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, Worcestershire B63 4AH

p.9

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Alison Blyth-Bishop

p.9

Inspector

Natalie Burton: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1224093 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.

p.9

Inspector

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.10

Inspector

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

p.10

Inspector

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

p.10