Children's home run by ERA Care Limited 5921904 in Epping Forest

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC478707 1 SC478707

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ERA Care Limited 5921904

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 a small group run by an independent provider. This home provides care and accommodation for up to four children, irrespective of gender, who may have behavioural and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was closed for 18 months before reopening in July 2019. The new, suitably qualified manager has been registered since 1 July 2019. This is the manager’s first registered manager post.

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This monitoring visit

This home was closed for 18 months before reopening in July 2019. In October 2019, Ofsted undertook the first full inspection since the home reopened and judged the home as inadequate. Concerns about care practice, safeguarding and the leadership and management of the home led to Ofsted serving a notice of restriction of accommodation and two compliance notices.

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This monitoring visit

The primary purpose of this monitoring visit was to ensure that the provider is complying with the notice restricting accommodation and has met the actions specified in the compliance notices. The home is currently empty. One child moved from the home within a few days of the last inspection and another child moved out four weeks later. No children have been admitted since the last inspection. The provider is complying with the restriction notice.

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This monitoring visit

At the last inspection, concerns regarding staffing numbers, staff deployment and staff’s skills and experience were raised. Since the last inspection, no further staff training has taken place. Concerns about the number of appropriately trained and qualified staff have increased since the last inspection. This is because all the staff, except for the manager, have left their employment at the home. The home is therefore not equipped to provide care and support to children. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC478707 2 Lack of effective risk assessment and helping children to understand risk were identified as an area of concern at the last inspection. Some work has started on improving risk assessments and evidencing some discussion with children about keeping safe when on a planned activity. One risk assessment that was of concern at the last inspection was reviewed at this visit. The manager has updated one child’s

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This monitoring visit

risk assessment to include important information of relevant risks regarding road safety and antisocial behaviour. However, despite clear indications that a child who was due to move on was going to go missing, including a statement by the child of their intent to go missing, the staff did not develop any strategy or take positive action to prevent this. The child therefore placed themself at potential risk of harm by travelling independently back to their home area, which is a significant distance away from the home. The records of this event are not held in a central and clearly accessible place and a record of a telephone call made to the manager by the child is not documented. Poor recording of significant events impedes effective monitoring and limits the provider’s ability to ensure that the children receive effective and responsive care.

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This monitoring visit

The home continues to require redecorating to provide children with a homely and nurturing environment. Spillage damage can be seen on the kitchen wall, the bathroom window is broken, paintwork is flaking off, radiator covers require repairs, there are many bare hooks in the lounge where pictures used to hang and the children’s bedrooms require furniture.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has reflected on safeguarding situations and is able to identify what she would now do if she had concerns regarding a member of staff. However, she has not undertaken sufficient training and professional development to improve her knowledge and skills. As a result, she was not able to demonstrate that she has the skills and experience to manage the home effectively.

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This monitoring visit

Internal monitoring of the home is ineffective. The manager has begun to introduce some monitoring tools for incidents. However, these did not identify the shortfalls in recording as noted at the last inspection.

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This monitoring visit

This is the manager’s first registered manager post. The provider has not ensured that the manager has received effective supervision, support and challenge.

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This monitoring visit

Organisational monitoring arrangements are poor. The home has had only two independent visits, rather than the required minimum of four, since reopening the home in July 2019. Both visits were announced, therefore staff had time to prepare for the visit. These visits lacked rigour. The visit reports failed to give an insight into the standard of safeguarding and the quality of care. The report of the most recent visit, which was carried out after Ofsted had judged the home as inadequate and taken enforcement action, does not give any sense that the visitor was aware of these concerns.

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This monitoring visit

Many requirements from the last full inspection are restated. This is because they Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC478707 3 are not met or are matters which were not reviewed as part of this inspection.

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This monitoring visit

The leadership and management of the home are poor. Consequently, the actions set out in the compliance notice relating to leadership and management are not met. The manager and responsible individual have not demonstrated sufficient evidence of improvement or capacity to drive future improvement. The restriction of accommodation remains in place and is subject to ongoing monitoring. Ofsted is considering its next steps in relation to the provider’s failure to meet the actions in this compliance notice.

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This monitoring visit

Progress has been made to address the safety of the building. The open gas cupboard has been secured. The radiators are now working and are secured to the wall. The fire door to the kitchen has been repaired and the fire doors are kept closed. The local fire officers have visited, and although they made suggestions for improvement, indicated that they are satisfied with the fire management arrangements.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has updated the location risk assessment to reflect the dangers of the road and strained relationships with local residents.

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This monitoring visit

Although the provider has met some of the actions in the compliance notice relating to the protection of children, a number of actions remain unmet or could not be evidenced by the provider. These aspects have been raised as requirements at this monitoring visit.

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted will continue to monitor the home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/10/2019 Full Inadequate 25/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/07/2016 Interim Not judged 12/04/2016 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC478707 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i)(ii)) 02/12/1019

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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—

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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; 02/12/2019 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC478707 5 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

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(xi)) 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— that staff—

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so 02/12/2019 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC478707 6 as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)) 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

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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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;

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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)(a)(c)(d)(f)(h)) 02/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home; manage and review the placement of each child in the home; 02/12/2019 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC478707 7 and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)) The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iv)) 02/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

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 02/12/2019 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC478707 8 measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

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’)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

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 ensure that the following items, which may be kept in electronic forms are kept in an accessible manner—

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Requirement Due date

records of the use of measures of control, discipline or restraint (see regulation 35);

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Requirement Due date

children’s case records (see regulation 36). (Regulation 38(h)(i)) 02/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(c)) 02/12/2019

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Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC478707 9

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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.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: ERA Care Limited 5921904

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit G22 Allen House, Station Road, Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire CM21 9JX

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Inspector

Joanna Heller: social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC478707 10 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 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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