Children's home run by Dame Hannah Roger‟s School

Inspection report children’s home: SC065443 1 SC065443 Registered provider: Dame Hannah Rogers School

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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 children’s home provides long-term care and accommodation, extended stays and short-break care for up to 15 children and young people. The provision is operated by a charitable trust.

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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged as inadequate at the last full inspection, and a compliance notice was issued under regulation 12: the protection of children standard. The home was judged to have fully complied with the notice following a monitoring visit on 26 June 2019. The home is now compliant with nine of the 11 requirements made at the time of the last inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC065443 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/05/2019 Full Inadequate 10/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/07/2017 Full Good 28/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC065443 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

(1) The care planning standard is that children— (a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (a) 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; (b) that arrangements are in place to— (ii) manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and (c) that each child’s relevant plans are followed; (d) that, subject to regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), contact between each child and the child’s parents, relatives and friends, is promoted in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; (e) that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

(i) the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs. In particular: ensure that all of the children’s care plans have been updated and personalised; ensure that all children have plans that are reviewed and track their progress; ensure that children’s wishes and feelings are integral to their plans. 11/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

16. Statement of purpose (1) The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (‘the statement of purpose’) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (3) The registered person must— 30/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC065443 4 (a) keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and (b) notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (5) Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (6) Nothing in paragraph (5) or regulation 46 (review of premises) requires or authorises the registered person to contravene or not comply with— (a) any other provision of these regulations; or (b) any conditions in relation to the registration of the registered person under part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000.

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Recommendations

 The statement of purpose is of particular importance to this standard (regulation 6(2)(a) and (b)(i)). Homes are required to develop and keep under review a ‘statement of purpose’ (regulation 16 and schedule 1). The home’s statement of purpose should be child focused, indicating how the home provides individualised care to meet the quality standards for the children in their care. It is of particular importance for this children’s home that staff and trustees at all levels understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  Any home offering the type of care outlined in paragraph 3.29 should have in place an assessment for the child in advance of the placement whereby input from the child, the social worker and other relevant persons is sought on the implementation and arrangements for the care. The registered manager should

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Recommendations

ensure that information about the child, including legal status and risk assessments, is accurate and completed in advance of any child moving into the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 18, paragraph 3.30)  Staff should understand the factors that affect children’s motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way. Staff should encourage an enthusiasm for positive behaviour through the use of positive behaviour strategies, in line with the child’s relevant plans. In particular, staff should receive training and support that further equips them to understand the underlying reasons for children’s behaviour. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.13)  Staff supervision must enable staff to reflect and act upon how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. In

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Recommendations

particular, supervision should allow staff time to reflect on incidents, emotions and strategies for children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15) Inspection report children’s home: SC065443 5

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improvement to be good

Following the previous inspection, the positive response from the registered manager, the responsible individual and the whole staff team has led to significant improvements in children’s experiences.

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improvement to be good

Children now live in a newly decorated home which has additional living spaces that are homely and allow for both quiet and social time, in keeping with their needs throughout the day. Children have been very much involved in personalising their bedrooms and they are making full use of the extra space. Although there is still a lot of work to do to bring the whole home up to the same standards, the positive impact on children’s experiences is palpable.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported by care staff, nursing staff and therapists who know them well. A more flexible and holistic approach is helping children with routines, sleep patterns, feeding and activities. Staffing levels and night-time monitoring continue to be reviewed so that they are as unobtrusive as possible. Consequently, children have a greater experience of independence and choice.

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improvement to be good

Children who are new to the home or have a plan to move on are supported well by the staff, both medically and emotionally. For one child, however, the assessment of risk and suitability was not completed prior to their arrival.

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improvement to be good

A small number of children have new person-centred plans that are vibrant and colourful, and have true meaning for them. It is important that these are completed for all of the children. Currently, it is still difficult to track the progress that children are making.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the new child protection policy and how to use it. Senior leaders have successfully streamlined many of the processes that made it difficult for staff to identify safeguarding concerns. For example, the extensive use of body maps has been reduced to a level that allows managers to analyse the possible reasons for marks on children.

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improvement to be good

The team’s response to significant safeguarding matters remains untested at this time, as there have been no incidents of concern.

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improvement to be good

Staff are more confident about recognising the difference between restraint, restrictive practice and physical intervention. There have been no restraints since the last inspection. Restrictive practices have been reviewed and greatly reduced, including the Inspection report children’s home: SC065443 6 use of high-sided beds and monitoring through the night.

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improvement to be good

The reasons why children behave they way they do are increasingly considered by staff. However, the effects of trauma, neglect and attachment on children are poorly understood and this is reflected in the way that behaviour is managed more than understood. For some children this can be frustrating. However, staff and managers have a positive appetite for developing their understanding in this area.

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improvement to be good

Senior nursing staff have made visits to other similar homes in a bid to improve the way that medication is administered and recorded. Some changes are yet to be introduced, but the risk of medication errors has already reduced.

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improvement to be good

Staff recruitment processes have been strengthened and concerns about staff are investigated fairly and in a timely way.

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

Leaders, including the trustees of the charity, have taken full responsibility for the serious failings that were in evidence at the time of the last inspection. Their response has been a positive one, supported by the provision of resources necessary to improve the physical appearance of the home and the expertise of the staff group.

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

The registered manager has made decisive changes at pace. It is evident that these have been driven by her commitment to improving the lives of children. This infectious approach permeates throughout the staff group and has a positive effect on the lived experiences of the children.

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

There has been a lot to do in a short space of time and safeguarding has rightly been the first priority. Supervision now happens regularly for staff and is monitored effectively. The quality and level of reflection need to improve.

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

To support the staff’s growing confidence in their ability to work with children in a holistic way, the training programme has been updated and is under review. The impact of this is yet to be tested.

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

The home’s statement of purpose is overdue for review. Leaders are aware of this and have laid the foundations for engaging parents, carers, children, trustees and staff in considering the role and purpose of the home as an integral part of the wider trust.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC065443 7 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: SC065443 8

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Dame Hannah Rogers School

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: John Branchflower

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Inspector

Steve Lowe: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC065443 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 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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