Children's home run by Total Care Matters Limited in Nottingham

Inspection report children’s home: SC378600 1 SC378600 Registered provider: Total Care Matters Ltd Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by an independent provider. It is registered with Ofsted to provide care and accommodation for up to four children and young people between the ages of seven and 17 who may have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The focus of this inspection was to review how well staff manage children’s behaviour. Ofsted had received a number of concerning notifications regarding incidents at the home and how staff had managed these. Additionally, Ofsted received complaints about how children’s behaviour was being managed, from the local council and neighbourhood.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since August 2019, there has been a deterioration in how children’s behaviours are managed, and children have not been kept safe. This can be partially attributed to the compatibility of some of the children living at the home, and volatility within peer relationships. Children have repeatedly been involved in incidents of verbal and physical aggression. Staff have not intervened in disputes between children in a timely manner. As a result, children have assaulted each other, and staff have also been assaulted.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff have not been able to manage children’s behaviours. This has led to an over-reliance Inspection report children’s home: SC378600 2 on the police, who have been increasingly called on by staff. Incidents have escalated due to staff not implementing effective de-escalation strategies. The failure to intervene and prevent situations from escalating has also led to an increase in the use of physical intervention. Some physical intervention practice has potentially placed children at risk of harm.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff have not always kept children safe after an incident. A child was able to take a piece of glass from a window he had smashed and use it to self-harm. This was despite staff clearing the smashed glass away and trying to board the window up.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff have failed to adhere to professional boundaries. They have little understanding of how their own interactions with children may exacerbate situations. An example of this is that a member of staff was play-fighting with a child after an incident. This is not good practice.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Risk assessments in relation to the physical interventions used in managing children’s behaviour do not give any details about what de-escalation techniques to use or the types of physical intervention to use. The risk assessments are not always updated when a child has raised concerns about the restraint used.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Management monitoring of incidents and physical interventions has not been robust, and following some incidents there is no evidence of staff learning from the incident. Not all incident report forms and physical intervention forms have been reviewed by the registered manager. Additionally, there is no evidence that the registered manager investigated a concern raised by a child about the use of physical intervention. The manager did not ensure that the physical intervention used was appropriate and safe. Furthermore, this lack of scrutiny means that the manager is less able to ensure that staff are following the agreed physical intervention techniques, and that practice will be safe/safer in future.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The poor management of some children’s behaviour is affecting other children. A child said that the behaviour of some of his peers has meant that he is not able to go out with his key worker so often and he does not get so much time with the staff, who he has developed strong and positive relationships with. This has also had an impact on some of the children’s education. A child refused to go to school on one occasion due to another child’s behaviour, which had kept him awake all night.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager, along with the company’s operations manager, has recently reviewed the staffing rotas to assess the balance and experience of the staff who are on shift. Some staff will be moving to work at another children’s home run by the company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection report children’s home: SC378600 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/06/2018 Full Good 23/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/07/2017 Full Good

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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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. 25/11/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC378600 4 (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(xi))

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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

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(h)) 25/11/2019

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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

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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

(Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)) 25/11/2019

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: SC378600 5 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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Total Care Matters Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 230 Bathley Street, Nottingham NG2 2ER

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Inspector

Katarina Djordjevic, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC378600 6 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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