Children's Home, Residential special school run by ROC Northwest Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1258769 1

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Roc Northwest Ltd

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is one of several homes operated by a private provider. The home provides care and accommodation for up to 29 children who have disabilities and/or behavioural needs. Accommodation is provided across nine individual units on the site.

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This monitoring visit

This home was judged as requires improvement to be good at the full inspection on 8 and 9 April 2019. Due to breaches in regulations, requirements were made regarding safeguarding, risk management and leadership and management.

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This monitoring visit

Following the full inspection, Ofsted identified a worrying increase in the number of significant notifiable events, several of which had resulted in children being harmed. Due to these concerns, a monitoring inspection was carried out on 21 and 22 August 2019. During this visit, there was further evidence that the provider had breached a number of regulations in relation to safeguarding, risk management and leadership in the home. It was found that there had been a number of adverse incidents at the home, some of which had resulted in further incidents of physical and emotional harm to children. These incidents included a child being physically injured by staff who carried out an unsafe physical intervention. Staff had used inappropriate language to a child, and there had been six separate allegations that staff had caused harm to children.

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This monitoring visit

As a result of the significant concerns identified, three compliance notices were served, and a restriction notice limiting the number of children that can be accommodated at the home.

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This monitoring visit

Following the monitoring visit in August, Ofsted received further notifications, again highlighting serious concerns relating to significant events that potentially placed children at risk from harmful practice. Therefore, a further monitoring visit was Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1258769 2 conducted on 9 September 2019.

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This monitoring visit

During this visit, inspectors found further evidence that managers and staff had again failed to protect children from the risk of harm. Poor risk management and unsafe practice had placed children at unnecessary risk.

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This monitoring visit

The visit identified that the provider had again failed to ensure that effective arrangements are in place to protect children’s safety and well-being. For example, in one incident a child sustained a serious injury that required medical attention. The record of this incident questions the ability of the staff member involved to manage a child’s behaviour effectively. This is exacerbated by the fact that the staff member had not received the training identified by the provider to manage complex behaviours.

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This monitoring visit

Prior to this visit, an external agency alerted Ofsted to concerns regarding an injury that had been sustained by a member of staff at the home. Inspectors established during the visit that although managers were aware of the incident, there was no written report and no investigation had taken place. This means that opportunities to understand the circumstances of the incident or identify learning were lost.

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This monitoring visit

Recording and monitoring of physical interventions continue to be inadequate. Records of incidents are often unclear and fail to provide an accurate account of what has occurred. Some records are inconsistent or include information that should alert managers to the fact that further enquiry is necessary. However, on several occasions this information has not been identified. Failure to record and monitor physical interventions effectively means that children are not protected against inappropriate or excessive restraints.

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This monitoring visit

The findings from this monitoring visit, added to the significant concerns previously identified at the visit carried out in August 2019, demonstrate an ongoing failure to safeguard children and protect them from harm. The serious concerns identified and significant events which have taken place indicate that children continue to be at risk of potentially harmful practice. Therefore, Ofsted will take further compliance action. Ofsted will continue to monitor the provider closely and will consider further action if the necessary improvements to protect children from harm and provide them with safe care are not achieved. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1258769 3

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 09/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/01/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/01/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1258769 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

*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—

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(iii)(vii)) 20/09/2019

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and 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

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

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and 20/09/2019 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1258769 5 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b)(2)(c)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

*The registered person must ensure that 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 a description of the measure and its duration. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv)) 20/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 1258769 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5th Floor, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1AG

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Inspectors

Marie Cordingley, social care inspector Julia Toller, regulatory inspection manager Sophie Thomson, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1258769 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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