Children's home run by Beaufort Care Group Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 1 Registered provider: Beaufort Care Group Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered for up to four children. It provides care for children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a private provider which has three other homes in the area. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since December 2017.

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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 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

Date of last inspection: 7 February 2019

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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: 1246831 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/06/2018 Full Inadequate 05/12/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 06/06/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 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

13: The leadership and management standard

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and 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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, develop an effective system for monitoring staff training. In addition, monitor effectively the time that children spend gaming on computers. 11/11/2019

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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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that supervision records are of a consistently good quality, provide evidence of input by both parties involved and reflect the discussions held and any required actions to be completed. In addition, supervision records need to be available at the point of inspection. 11/11/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant 30/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 4 person without delay if— a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; a child protection enquiry involving a child is instigated; or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Recommendations

 The capacity and competence of staff to build constructive, warm relationships with children that actively promote positive behaviour, provides the foundations for managing any negative behaviour. Staff should have the skills to respond to each child’s individual behaviour. Where necessary they should manage conflict, maintain constructive dialogues and react appropriately if challenged by a child in their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.14) In particular, ensure that the police are not used to manage young people’s behaviours.  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes

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Recommendations

regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) In particular, ensure that agency staff working at the home receive regular supervision of their practice.  Under Regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. Providers should refer to the non-statutory advice about the location assessment process. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 6, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 5

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improvement to be good

Children’s progress is variable, with some making good progress and others needing further support. Some children have improved their ability to manage their own behaviours and are engaging in education. One child who has been out of education for over two years has now secured a place at college for September 2019. One child’s social worker is concerned about the amount of time a child is spending playing computer games. This concern was disputed by the manager. However, there is no system in place currently to monitor how often the child does spend playing computer games and the impact of this on the child.

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improvement to be good

Since the previous inspection, there have been three occasions when staff have called the police to the home due to staff concerns of children harming themselves or others. Although calling the police for support has reduced from previous inspections, further work is required to ensure that unnecessary police involvement in children’s lives is minimised. Managers have reviewed these incidents, but further review is necessary that includes a reflection on why the police were called and what strategies are needed to prevent reoccurrence.

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improvement to be good

Staff have appropriate working relationships with external professionals. However, feedback from these professionals is mixed. Five external professionals contributed to this inspection. Three of these professionals praised the staff for the work that they are doing and the progress that children are making. The other two professionals felt that the child they are working with is not making the progress that they expected.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from one-to-one staffing, ensuring that they receive the individualised support that they need. Staff talk with children about a range of topics and this includes reviewing recent events, exploring how the child is feeling and discussing any concerns. Records of these discussions are of a good quality.

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improvement to be good

Children’s day-to-day experiences at the home have improved since the last inspection. Children now take part in a wider range of activities that are purposeful and fun. Some children belong to local sports and youth clubs and one child is volunteering at a local community farm. Several children enjoy fishing and have particularly enjoyed night fishing sessions with staff. Photos showing children’s involvement in activities are proudly displayed around the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff work effectively with schools and colleges to support children with their learning by sharing strategies and approaches. Staff attend parental events such as parents’ evenings and prize giving. They are proud of children’s achievements and reward them for these.

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improvement to be good

Staff enable and encourage children to develop useful skills for later life, including planning, shopping and cooking meals. Staff role model and encourage children’s Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 6 involvement in the day-to-day tasks at the home. Children enjoy helping to maintain the home and garden and have chosen and built furniture. Involving children in the creation of the home helps them to take ownership of it and means that they live in a comfortable and well-cared-for environment.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The management of children’s behaviour has improved, which has led to a decrease in the number of incidents and restraints. The quality of behaviour reports has improved. They now provide a clear picture of events before, during and after an incident. These records are reviewed by the manager to check the quality of the information documented and to identify any patterns or trends. Children’s behaviour plans are detailed, current and provide staff with guidance on how to manage individuals’ behaviours successfully.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Safeguarding is managed effectively. Records show lessons learned from safeguarding events are being used in the development of staff practice. This approach includes staff identifying risks and acting to reduce the level of risk. Staff use key-worker sessions with children to discuss risky behaviours, to develop the child’s understanding of risk and to reduce such behaviours. Children feel safe at the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Incidents of children going missing from the home have significantly reduced. There have only been two occasions where children have left the home without permission. Staff acted appropriately in response to both incidents to return the children to the home quickly and safely.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children moving into the home is well managed, which helps them to settle. The manager has reviewed and improved the quality of the risk assessment that she carries out for new children. This now contains increased information about the risks that children currently living at the home may present to new children and strategies are put in place to reduce the level of these risks.

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

Leaders and managers have implemented new monitoring systems since the last inspection. Further work is needed to ensure that monitoring is effective as currently, internal monitoring has not identified all the shortfalls found at this inspection or enabled leaders to significantly raise the standard of care provided. An example of this is the system used to monitor staff training, which does not currently provide the manager with clear information about the training that staff have completed and what training is required.

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

Staff are not consistently receiving good-quality supervision. There has been an improvement, but this is not reflected in all supervision records. Some supervision records do not always record the outcomes of the discussion held or document the actions to be taken. In addition, copies of the manager’s supervision notes since April 2019 were not available during the inspection. Currently, agency staff do not receive any Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 7 formal supervision. This does not provide them with an opportunity to reflect on their practice and improve.

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

The location assessment of the area in which the home is situated requires improvement. Currently, this is incomplete as the manager is awaiting responses from a range of professionals. There is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the manager is pursuing this necessary information. In addition, the manager has not assessed some known risks in the local area.

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

The manager has failed to notify Ofsted of one significant event as required by the regulations. All other professionals were notified, and the appropriate actions were taken to safeguarding children. Overall, the quality and clarity of information provided in other notifications have improved.

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

The use of agency staff has significantly reduced as there is a full staff team in place. Staff morale has improved. Staff feel supported by leaders and managers, including those senior managers who carry out monitoring visits.

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

In general, the quality of record-keeping has improved. Children’s files are well organised and provide clear information for staff on how to meet children’s needs. They provide an account of children’s day-to-day lives. These records provide some evidence of consultation with children, but this could be improved.

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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: 1246831 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Beaufort Care Group

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 42 Lytton Road, New Barnet, Barnet EN5 5BY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jennifer Kendall

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Inspector

Wendy Anderson: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 9 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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