Children's Home run by The Beeches UK limited in Peterborough

Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 1 SC466786 Registered provider: The Beeches UK Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for four children who have a learning disability and other complex needs. The registered manager left her post on 31 July 2019. An acting manager is in post, but she has not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 28 January 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2019 Full Good 11/05/2017 Full Good 10/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/11/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 3

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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 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) 31/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 3 Diploma’); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1 April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1 April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual— does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a 28/02/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 4 prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part-time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b)(6)(a)(b)) The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual who is working at the home and who does not fall within paragraph (2)(a) and (b) is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties. (Regulation 32 (7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(8)) 31/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

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. 31/12/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 5 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 intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (‘the quality of care review report’).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)(4)(a)(b)(5))

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, ensure that the carpets are replaced and that the communal areas are decorated to a good standard.  The behaviour management strategy should be understood and applied at all times by staff and must be kept under review and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The experiences of the children are positive. They benefit from individualised support and staff who care about their well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff help the children to express their views and influence their activities through key-working and consultation sessions. The staff creatively adapt information for the children using alternative forms of communication. The children have access to independent advocates. This ensures that their views are listened to and responded to Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 6 effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend education regularly. The staff work closely with schools to ensure that they continue to make progress towards their targets. The staff offer good support at times of behavioural difficulties. This reduces any barriers to children’s learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have an active role in the running of the house. The staff encourage high levels of participation through daily activities and household tasks. Consequently, the children develop independence skills that will help them in their adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from good relationships with the staff. The children enjoy a wide range of activities, which include swimming, visiting the theatre, shopping trips and using public transport. The children attend local clubs, which enables them to develop their interests and hobbies. These opportunities provide the children with new and meaningful experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have managed the children’s transitions into the home well. Assessments are carefully considered, and the staff spend time with the children prior to their admission. An activity box of children’s preferences is prepared before their arrival. This helps children to feel welcome and at home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have taken an active part in compiling memory books. These books include photographs and pictures outlining their important accomplishments and milestones. These memorabilia help the children to recall their achievements and improve their self- esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and well appointed. The children benefit from personalised bedrooms in line with their preferences. However, the communal areas are not decorated to the same standard. The carpet in the living room is torn and paint is worn in some areas. This detracts from an otherwise homely environment.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The staff support the children with their social interactions. The high levels of staff supervision enable good group dynamics. The children appear relaxed and comfortable with one another.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The staff are aware of their responsibilities. They follow the safeguarding procedures and know how to raise concerns. A recent allegation against a staff member was managed appropriately. This provides assurances that there are systems are in place to protect children.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The staff focus on proactive behaviour strategies. Positive reinforcement and distraction techniques are used well in response to the children’s behaviour. Physical interventions are proportionate and used as a last resort. Positive behaviour management contributes to the good relationships that the staff build with the children. Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 7 Behaviour management plans and risk assessments are generally updated in line with incidents. However, this is not consistent. One child’s plan was not reviewed in response to an event when they left the home unattended. This does not ensure that steps have been taken to consider and mitigate the potential risks to a child who is vulnerable.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The selection and checking process for the recruitment of permanent staff is adequate. However, the checks for agency staff are not clearly documented. This does not sufficiently reduce the potential for unsuitable people to gain employment at the home.

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

The home is managed effectively by an interim manager, who is supported by a deputy manager. These managers are adequately qualified and experienced for their roles.

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

The managerial monitoring is not good enough. A failure to undertake suitable health and safety checks resulted in a significant incident. This incident had serious repercussions for a child who was subsequently dealt with by the police.

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

The manager’s review of the quality of care is not effective. Internal reviews are not submitted within the required timescales and they fail to highlight the home’s strengths and opportunities to improve. Gaps in reviewing the physical intervention records and recruitment checks show a lack of management oversight. Consequently, opportunities to identify any shortfalls in practice are missed. This lack of analysis undermines the ability to ensure continuous improvement at the home.

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

Only one member of staff, except for the management team, has a suitable level 3 qualification. One member of staff who should have achieved this qualification has yet to do so. This does not ensure that the staff have the necessary knowledge and skills required.

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

There has been a high turnover of staff in the past year, and the team is relatively inexperienced. Despite this, the staff are positive about their roles and the support that they receive from the management team. The staff benefit from practice-led supervisions and regular team meetings. These forums enable good reflection and help the staff to meet the needs of children.

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

The children’s records provide clear and detailed evidence of their experiences and progress. One professional said, ‘Communication is excellent. The staff send comprehensive weekly reports and [the child] is clearly achieving well.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 8

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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.

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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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Beeches UK Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 14 Poland Street, London W1F 8QD

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Inspector

Mark Anderton: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 10 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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