Children's home run by Jamores Limited in Bexley

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1234163 1

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Jamores Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and run by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children. The home has been without a registered manager since May 2017.

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This monitoring visit

This visit was undertaken to monitor the action taken in response to the compliance notice issued against Regulation 14 following the full inspection on 14 and 15 May 2019. The completion date for the notice was 19 July 2019.

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This monitoring visit

The manager, in conjunction with senior staff, has amended the process for admitting children to the home. This has involved reviewing current practice, policies and the statement of purpose to reflect the extra information that will be considered before admitting a child. In addition, the manager has conducted a skills audit for staff to identify areas requiring further training and development. Three new staff have been employed, two of whom have extensive experience working with children who have similar needs to those of the children in the home.

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This monitoring visit

The admissions policy is now clear about the information required prior to a child moving into the home and about the other professionals the home’s staff liaise with prior to offering a placement. It details how emergency placements will be considered, ensuring that all relevant information is gathered. A new matching process considers if the needs of the child are compatible with others already living in the home. The process highlights if staff’s current skills can meet children’s needs and if not, what training staff will require prior to the child moving in to manage specific needs such as medical conditions. An induction checklist provides staff with all the information that they will need to care for a child from the first day of their placement. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1234163 2 A variation to reduce the number of children living in the home to three and to remove a condition of registration relating to children’s needs has been agreed. The

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This monitoring visit

management team members believe that this will be a more manageable number of children to support in the home and this will ensure that they are receiving appropriate referrals.

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This monitoring visit

During this monitoring inspection, the other nine requirements made following the last full inspection were reviewed. Progress had been made by the provider in working to meet the requirements and to improve the quality of care provided. It was judged that seven of these requirements were met, with two being partially met. Consequently, two requirements are reissued against the specific elements that remain unmet and one additional requirement is made under regulation 5.

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This monitoring visit

Developments and changes to meet the requirements include ensuring that children’s plans and risk assessments are now clearer about how to care for the child and how to respond to situations where a child may be at risk of harm. Health plans and responses to a child’s specific health needs have been significantly strengthened with clear liaison and guidance from health professionals. The information is now shared with staff through team meetings. A senior member of staff will be on all shifts to support staff and to give accountability for decision making.

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This monitoring visit

Records and responses to children who go missing are more robust and show staff’s curiosity about where the child has been, their presentation on return and where unexplained gifts and items have come from. Joint working with the police is evidenced throughout the records. A new requirement is set to ensure that the placing authority is involved in agreeing plans for children’s free time in the community.

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This monitoring visit

Records of safeguarding concerns and the follow-up actions taken have improved. There is greater consideration of triangulating evidence when investigating a concern. Some gaps remained, for example a lack of records of telephone discussions with partner agencies, including the designated officer in the local authority.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has reviewed and reordered children’s files and records to make information sharing easier for staff. He has oversight of the quality of information and content of records to make sure that they contain the information that staff need in order to care for children appropriately.

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This monitoring visit

The home now has a fit for purpose fire risk assessment completed by a suitably trained person. The consideration of fire setting has been included in children’s individual risk assessments.

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This monitoring visit

Work has been completed to make sure that the home has all necessary information regarding staff already working in the home. There are still some gaps in the references sought, particularly in relation to applicants who have worked with Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1234163 3 children or vulnerable people. The application form and policy have both been suitably updated to reflect what information is required, in particular a full employment history. Staff are currently benefiting from monthly supervision. However, there had only been one month to monitor at the point of this inspection.

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This monitoring visit

Overall, there has been a concerted effort to meet the requirements that have been met and to improve the quality of the home environment. The responsible individual could not attend this inspection. Therefore, his wider understanding of the home, including his plans to secure continuing improvement, could not be fully tested at this inspection.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 14/05/2019 Full Inadequate 18/12/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 27/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/09/2017 Interim Not judged Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1234163 4

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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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff— seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)) 14/09/2019

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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 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (2)(a)(vi)) 14/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s home if 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)(3)(d) (Schedule 2, 4)) 14/09/2019 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1234163 5

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Recommendations

 Any registered manager placed in charge of a children’s home or staff member in a deputy or supervisory role such as ‘shift leader’ should have substantial relevant experience of working in a children’s home and have successfully completed their induction for the home in which they are employed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.21)  The registered person must challenge (under Regulation 5 (c)) any placing authority who asks them to accept a child in the absence of a complete and current relevant plan, as the expectation that a placement of a child without the necessary information would go ahead (in circumstances other than an emergency) is inadequate in relation to their role. It is essential that homes understand what will be required of them before they accept responsibility for a child’s placement, to avoid disruption and instability for the child in future

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Recommendations

and for other children in the home. For non-looked-after children, the home should ensure they have sufficient information from the child’s ‘placing authority’ (usually their parents/carers) and other relevant agencies to effectively assess whether they can meet the child’s needs before agreeing to the placement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.5)  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 between 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 the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1234163 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Thames Innovation Centre, Studio 52, Veridion Way, Erith DA18 4AL

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Inspector

Jennie Christopher, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1234163 7 to 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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