Children's home run by Evergreen Children’s Home Ltd

Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: 1241407 1

p.1

Evergreen Children’s Home Ltd

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since January 2018.

p.1

This monitoring visit

At the last full inspection carried out on 22 and 23 July 2019, the home was judged as requires improvement, although leadership and management remained inadequate. Following this inspection, Ofsted received two complaints that raised serious concerns regarding the care and safety of the two young people in placement.

p.1

This monitoring visit

These concerns triggered a monitoring visit on 22 August 2019. The early progress found at the July full inspection had not been sustained. Ofsted served a restriction of accommodation notice to prevent any new young people from being admitted to the home.

p.1

This monitoring visit

Due to the lack of capacity to sustain improvements and ongoing concerns regarding the care and progress of young people, Ofsted served a notice of proposal to cancel the registration on 8 October 2019.

p.1

This monitoring visit

The purpose of this monitoring visit was to review compliance with the restriction of accommodation. There was only one young person in placement. The second young person had moved to a more suitable placement following concerns about his progress and safety.

p.1

This monitoring visit

At this monitoring visit, the inspector found there had been a deterioration in the remaining young person’s progress. The young person had disengaged from Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: 1241407 2 education and rarely stayed at the home long enough to have access to healthy meals. Despite these increased concerns, managers and staff have been far too slow to take appropriate steps to protect the young person from ongoing risk of harm.

p.1

This monitoring visit

Staff do not follow the young person’s missing-from-care protocol. They do not look for him when he is missing, and independent return interviews have not taken place. Records made by staff fail to show that they have done enough to help the young person to understand the risks and dangers of going missing.

p.2

This monitoring visit

Risk assessments continue to lack sufficient detail to help the staff to keep young people safe. For example, staff have not recorded enough detail in risk assessments to help them to manage and/or reduce risk.

p.2

This monitoring visit

The inspector found that a new staff member has been working alone in the home despite a reference that highlighted significant concerns over that person’s fitness to work with children, namely that he had been dismissed from a previous position for gross misconduct in relation to a safeguarding matter. This has placed the young person at risk of harm from having a staff member caring for him who may not be a suitable person. Managers have not put a risk assessment in place regarding this risk and took inadequate action to assure themselves of the background of the member of staff.

p.2

This monitoring visit

Most staff are new to the home and only one member of staff has currently passed their probation. This means that the young person only has a few members of staff who he has known for more than a couple of months caring for him.

p.2

This monitoring visit

Staff do not recognise and are not alert to signs that might indicate that the young person is at risk of harm. The young person has recently increased the number of times he is going missing from the home; at times this is for over 24 hours. Staff do not know where he is or who he is spending time with.

p.2

This monitoring visit

As a direct result of the weaknesses found during this monitoring visit, Ofsted made the decision to suspend the home’s registration from 14 October 2019 to 5 January 2020 inclusive.

p.2

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 22/07/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/04/2019 Full Inadequate 30/11/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 26/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: 1241407 3

p.2

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.3

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; seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs; if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)) 18/11/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(vi)) 18/11/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— 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; help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; 18/11/2019 Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: 1241407 4 manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; 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

p.3

Requirement Due date

child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)) 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; or 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, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that— the individual is of integrity and good character; and 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)(d)) 18/11/2019

p.4

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— the name of the child; details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; 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 of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; 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”)—

p.4

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and 18/11/2019 Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: 1241407 5 has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 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 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii) (c)(iv)) The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; a child protection enquiry involving a child— is instigated; or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the

p.4

Requirement Due date

outcome of the child protection enquiry); or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 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. 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; 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. 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

p.5

Requirement Due date

intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)) 18/11/2019

p.5

Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: 1241407 6 Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  Regulation 19(2) details sanctions that are prohibited in behaviour management. Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home

p.5

Recommendations

should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  Equally, staff should understand the system for rewarding and celebrating positive behaviour and recognising where children have managed situations well. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.39)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8) This is in regard to ensuring that the workforce development plan is up to date and reflects the current staff team.

p.6

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.

p.6

Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: 1241407 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Evergreen Children’s Home Ltd

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fairgate House, 205 Kings Road, Tyseley, Birmingham B11 2AA

p.7

Inspector

Debbie Holder, social care inspector Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: 1241407 8 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.

p.7

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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8