Children's Home run by Broadlands Hall Limited in Suffolk

Inspection report children’s home: SC060936 1 SC060936 Registered provider: Broadlands Hall Limited

p.1

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, accommodation and education for up to eight children who have moderate to severe learning difficulties and/or autism spectrum disorders. There is a large education provision, last inspected by Ofsted in May 2017, in the grounds of the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was appointed on 1 May 2019. She has yet to register with Ofsted.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 9 to 10 September 2019

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

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted served a notice, on 17 June 2019, suspending the registration of this home because of serious concerns that were identified at the full inspection on 17 and 18 June 2019. Two compliance notices were served under Regulations 12 and 13, relating to the protection of children and the leadership and management of the home. A monitoring Inspection report children’s home: SC060936 2 visit took place on 17 July 2019. The provider had made sufficient progress for Ofsted to lift the suspension of registration. Ofsted subsequently reduced the number of children for whom the home is registered from 11 to eight. Inspection report children’s home: SC060936 3

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/06/2019 Full Inadequate 07/03/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 26/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC060936 4

p.3

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.4

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.4

Requirement Due date

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

p.4

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.4

Requirement Due date

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

p.4

Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

p.4

Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i)) 30/09/2019

p.4

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.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

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;

p.4

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.4

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; 30/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC060936 5 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h)) The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

p.5

Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

p.5

Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child. (Regulation 23(1)(2)(b)(c)) 10/09/2019

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. (Regulation 32(1)) 10/09/2019

p.5

Recommendations

 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 staff undertake training in relation to autism.  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) In particular, ensure that monitoring under regulation 44 results in timely report submission to the provider and Ofsted. Inspection report children’s home: SC060936 6

p.5

improvement to be good

The management team has made some progress since the suspension of the registration was lifted. Some of the serious shortfalls that were identified at the last full inspection have been addressed. However, the improvements have been made from a very low base and much work remains necessary before children receive a good enough service.

p.6

improvement to be good

The quality of the environment continues to improve. Occupied bedrooms are in a good condition and appear homely. However, further work is needed to ensure that all rooms and the wider environment are of an acceptable standard.

p.6

improvement to be good

At times, the staff have not followed the medication policy. On occasion, staff have failed to sign medication records and have failed to send medication home with children. This has the potential to compromise children’s health and well-being.

p.6

improvement to be good

Feedback from social workers was strong. One social worker said, of a child at the home, ‘In the last two years, in terms of behaviour and interaction and being out there in the community, there has been a massive improvement.’

p.6

improvement to be good

The staff work well with local authorities to enable children to spend time with their families. The staff help children who have not spent time with their families for many years to begin to do so.

p.6

improvement to be good

There are regular opportunities for children to share their views and opinions. The children have access to a range of activities. The staff encourage children to take part in indoor and outdoor activities that they enjoy.

p.6

improvement to be good

Managers have failed to follow the organisation’s own safe recruitment policy. For one member of staff, this meant that no overseas check took place prior to them starting their employment at the home. Failure to make safe recruitment checks gives rise to the chance of unsafe people gaining employment at the home.

p.6

improvement to be good

The children said that they feel safe. They said that they can talk to staff and that the staff listen to them.

p.6

improvement to be good

The manager liaises with local authorities to develop risk assessments for each child. The manager has written risk assessments in relation to physical interventions. These assessments now set out which interventions can be used for each child.

p.6

improvement to be good

There have been no incidents of physical intervention since the suspension of the Inspection report children’s home: SC060936 7 registration was lifted. There is an increased emphasis on de-escalation. This has contributed towards staff managing incidents without recourse to physical intervention.

p.6

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

The manager has yet to submit a completed application for registration to Ofsted. She has repeatedly failed to do this despite escalating correspondence from Ofsted.

p.7

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

There are enough staff to meet the needs of the current number of children who live at the home. However, the staff team remains inexperienced. A parent spoke about staff turnover and the potential impact that this has. The staff recognise that any increase in the number of children at the home will necessitate an increase in the number of experienced staff on each shift.

p.7

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

Management monitoring remains weak. The systems are not strong enough to drive improvements. For example, following a significant incident in which a child managed to access the basement, no review of the incident took place. This lack of reflection does not allow for issues to be identified, weaknesses addressed, or risks mitigated.

p.7

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

The staff receive regular supervision. They have received training in safeguarding and first aid. However, a number of staff have not had training in relation to autism, despite the home accommodating children who have autism spectrum conditions. This does not ensure that staff have access to all the learning and development that they need to carry out their role.

p.7

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

An independent person visits the home each month. Their reports are not always sent to Ofsted, or the provider, in a timely manner. This affects the speed with which the manager can address issues and compromises Ofsted’s ability to monitor the service.

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 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: SC060936 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Broadlands Hall Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Greenwood House, Greenwood Court, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP32 7GY

p.8

Inspector

Ashley Hinson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC060936 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.

p.8

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9