Children's home run by Chaigeley Educational Foundation

Inspection report children’s home: 1243966 1 Registered provider:

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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 is a private children’s home registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six children who are experiencing emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A primary aim is to ensure that the children access education and therapy. There are currently two children living in two separate cottages within the extensive school grounds owned and run by the same company. The manager was registered with Ofsted on 12 December 2018.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 12 February 2019

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1243966 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 27/04/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/01/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 19/09/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1243966 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—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose; ensure that staff protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice;

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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. (Regulation 6(1)(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iv)(viii)(ix)(c)(i)) 27/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

engage with them; and 27/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1243966 4 take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the views of each relevant person are taken into account, so far as reasonably practicable, before making a decision about the care or welfare of a child. (Regulation 7(1)(2)(I)(ii)(iii)(iv)(e)) The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills. (Regulation 9(1)) 27/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

*The protection of children standard is that children are 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; 27/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1243966 5 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 are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12(1)(2)) *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 (b) 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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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;

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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)(2)(a)c)(f)(h)) 27/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1243966 6 The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only 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;

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Requirement Due date

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)(3)(d)) 27/09/2019

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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. (Regulation 33(4)(a)(b)) 27/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

*The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and 27/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1243966 7 of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, 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

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(1)(3)(a)(b)(c)) Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37(1)(2)(a)) 27/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to HMCI. (Regulation 44(7)(a)) 27/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on 27/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1243966 8 which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45(1)(2)(3)(4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care sets out the steps local authorities and their partners should take to prevent children from going missing and to protect them when they do go missing. Children’s homes should have regard to the relevant aspects of this guidance. In particular, the registered manager should ensure that independent return home interviews are undertaken by an independent person. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.25)  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to

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Recommendations

the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has not taken effective action to meet the requirements or recommendation issued. Children’s progress has not been sustained and this has directly impacted on their welfare, development and safety. The lack of coordinated placement planning to support children effectively is placing them at risk of harm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Contrary to the home’s admissions policy and procedures, as outlined in the statement of purpose, not all children have had the benefit of a detailed compatibility risk assessment or a thorough appraisal of their needs. A placement was offered to a new child without the manager clearly identifying, assessing or addressing the full range of needs and family history of the child. Furthermore, full consideration was not given by staff to the subsequent impact on the children already living in the home

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There is a lack of structure and routine in the home, and this does not support children to make progress. A lack of planning means that there are no clear strategies for staff to use to support children to overcome difficulties and reach their potential. For example, daily records for one child indicated that, in a two-week period, the child had consistently arrived late at the onsite school. The registered manager and staff had failed to identify alternative strategies to ensure that the child’s attendance improved and they had not considered the impact the lateness had on the child’s educational Inspection report children’s home: 1243966 9 outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The registered manager and staff do not understand their roles and responsibilities in caring for children. They do not consistently provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans. For example, staff had arranged a birthday party at the home for one child without considering the risks that those invited to the party could pose. Furthermore, one child is reported to require 2:1 staffing at all times. However, during the inspection staff left the child alone on several occasions and did not have an accurate understanding of the reason for the 2:1 staffing level.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are not supported to develop and reflect on their cultural needs. Staff have failed to follow direct instructions from parents about addressing children’s cultural needs, in particular by providing food that is prohibited by their religion.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not ensure that children’s views are central to the running of the home. Placement plans and other records for children do not demonstrate that children have viewed and contributed to their records in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. Numerous records include the comment that ‘the children have not expressed any views, wishes and feelings today’, sometimes for a week at a time. This does not show how staff are engaging and listening to children. Furthermore, some children’s meetings are held without any children in attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The registered manager and staff informed the inspectors that children have restricted time on their games consoles, and that this time is dependent on their behaviour. However, during the inspection this was not implemented. One child was observed to be verbally abusive and aggressive while playing on the games console, and this remained unchallenged. Timeframes were not followed, and one child played on his games console all day. Furthermore, the allocated time and conditions were not recorded in children’s plans. The premises are not suitably designed and furnished to meet the needs of each child. For example, some of the cottages are in a poor condition. In one of the cottages, internal walls and doors are damaged. Paintwork is damaged and requires redecoration. Some windows have cobwebs on them and they do not have curtains or blinds to ensure privacy. In addition, the handles on some of the windows have been removed and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

windows cannot be opened. This is a potential fire hazard. This does not provide children with a safe, supportive, warm and welcoming environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Despite the concerns raised, a strength of the home is the support provided to children to engage in activities. One child said that they had enjoyed a range of different activities. In particular, he said he had enjoyed his recent holiday in the country and the next holiday, which he had requested, is in a city. One child was also observed spending time with a staff member, planning a meal for the evening and laughing about the day’s events. This demonstrated that some children are building good relationships with some staff. Children are also supported by staff to have contact with family members and their friends. This ensures that children maintain important links with their families. Inspection report children’s home: 1243966 10

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

Safeguarding practice in this home is not robust and does not promote the safety and welfare of the children. Staff fail to take robust action to address safeguarding concerns. An example of this is when a child returned to the home and stated that he was under the influence of an illegal substance. Staff failed to take appropriate action to monitor the child or seek medical guidance to ensure that the safety and well-being of the child was paramount. Furthermore, the child’s risk assessments did not contain appropriate strategies on how to minimise further incidents of drug misuse.

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

The registered manager and staff fail to recognise, minimise or prevent the risks to children’s safety and well-being. The home’s arrangements to protect children from harm are ineffective. For example, when a child lit a fire in the home, staff and managers failed to review and identify the strategies required to reduce the likelihood of such incidents occurring again. This means that the registered manager and staff do not ensure that children are safe in the home.

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

Behaviour management at the home is poor. Staff lack effective strategies to manage the challenging behaviour of the children and are unable to de-escalate situations consistently and effectively. As a result, children have caused damage to the home and have threatened the staff team, which has led to police assistance being required to manage children’s behaviour. This does not protect children from any unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice system.

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

When children have been restrained, records do not always provide a clear overview of the behaviour that led to the measure or evidence of an individual debrief with both the child and staff member. The registered manager does not evaluate the appropriateness or effectiveness of all measures used. Consequently, staff continue to use ineffective behaviour management strategies, and children are not learning to reflect on and improve their behaviour. The procedures for when children are missing from home do not help to safeguard them. When children have been missing from home, they are often considered to be absent and not missing from care. Consequently, the children do not always receive the most appropriate support in line with the statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care. For example, the children are not always offered an independent interview when they return to the home. This is a missed opportunity to

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

understand why they went missing and the risks they may have been exposed to when missing. Fire safety arrangements are poor. For example, fire evacuations have not been carried out with new children and staff, as per the home’s own policies and procedures. During the inspection, the registered manager failed to inform the inspectors of the fire procedures or identify the fire assembly points. In addition, main doors out of the home are locked. The inspectors were unable to leave the home, and had to wait for the registered manager to return to open the door. This exposes children, staff and visitors to the potential risk of harm. Inspection report children’s home: 1243966 11

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The children live in a home that is poorly managed. Poor leadership means that the home is unable to fulfil its own aims and objectives. The staff are unclear about the ethos and philosophy of the home as described in the statement of purpose: ‘We offer our children a consistent environment and structure which will enable them to re-engage in care/education and develop a sense of self-worth through achievement.’ Given the serious shortfalls highlighted in this inspection, the home is not acting in accordance with its own statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Some staff do not have the skills, knowledge and experience to understand the needs and risks of the children or to support and manage them safely. Some staff were unclear about whether they had received training and the impact this had on their practice. Furthermore, only two staff are currently up to date with training for the administration of medication, and some staff have not completed online autism spectrum disorder awareness training or face-to-face training on autistic spectrum disorder, despite both children at the home having a diagnosis. This places children at potential risk due to the staff’s lack of knowledge and expertise. Staff report that they feel supported by the registered manager. However, staff do not have access to regular supervision that should give them the opportunity to discuss matters such as the young people, training, personal development or any concerns. This does not demonstrate that staff are given an opportunity to discuss or reflect on the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

individual needs of the children or identify any strengths or improvements required in care practices. Staff duty rosters fail to accurately detail the actual staff on duty. In addition, when there are shortfalls in the rota, records do not include the full name of the staff member or any other information to indicate whether the shift was covered and by whom. This prevents a clear audit trail of who is working in the setting. During discussions with the registered manager, she accepted that the rotas did not contain all of the required information. The lack of transparency of who is on duty potentially places children at risk and compromises the continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Safer recruitment practice at the home is not consistently robust. For example, gaps in employment have not been explored as part of the recruitment process. This does not ensure that only the most suitable staff work at the home and care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There have been failings in management oversight and monitoring of the home to identify areas of weakness and to take decisive action to resolve these. Internal monitoring does not take place regularly and, as a result, the quality and standard of care have fallen to an unacceptable level. The manager has not reviewed some records in the home, or evaluated incidents that have occurred, in order to identify shortfalls in staff practice and to highlight patterns and trends. This means that leaders and managers are not taking action to improve the experiences, care and safety of young people. As a result, children’s progress, welfare and safety are compromised. Inspection report children’s home: 1243966 12 The independent monitoring of the home needs to be strengthened. The independent person has failed to identify some of the shortfall’s identified at this inspection. Furthermore, independent monitoring reports are not being consistently provided to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Ofsted as required. This has prevented the service regulator from evaluating the quality of care provided at the home.

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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: 1243966 13

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Inspectors

Lisa Mulcahy, social care inspector Michelle Edge, social care inspection manager Inspection report children’s home: 1243966 14 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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