Children's home run by Beaufort Care Group Ltd in Barnet

Inspection report children’s home: SC046480 1 SC046480

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Registered provider: Beaufort Care Group Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered for up to four children. It provides care for children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a private provider which has three other homes in the area.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspection: 4 September 2019

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC046480 2

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

In the short time since the last inspection, the overall effectiveness of the home has declined.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The actions set by senior managers in response to this decline are not consistently carried out. For example, staff are expected to provide children with a welcoming and nurturing home, and managers are required to check this every day. However, inspectors found that the staff do not always make the children’s beds, fresh fruit is left to go off and personal items in children’s rooms are not always stored tidily. The garden lacks care and attention, as broken items and clutter are left on the ground. This poor attention to detail has been identified at previous inspections. Four children live in the home, but the photographs displayed are of only two children. This inequality and lack of value of each child is unacceptable practice.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Weak decision-making has led to a fourth child moving into the home during a period when it was unsettled and when there were vacancies on the staff team. At times, children’s behaviour has been challenging and not always managed well by staff. This has meant that, on two occasions, the police have been called. At times, staff provide good, nurturing care and consistently follow children’s plans. However, this is not always the case. On four occasions, over 50% of the staff on duty overnight have been from an external agency. Senior managers are aware of these weaknesses and are starting to deal with poor performance. Additional staff have been brought in and, over the last week, things have started to settle, a child has started to engage more with staff and ‘missing’ incidents have reduced. However, it is early days yet, and more work is required to ensure that all staff always adhere to directions.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A plan agreed in consultation with multi-agency professionals and designed to keep a child safe has not been effective. Senior managers did not take enough action to challenge this plan and ensure that it was fully fit for purpose. In addition, staff have not consistently followed the plan. As a result, the child has been left at significant risk while out in the community at night. A key element of the plan was changed a week before the inspection, but leaders, managers or the multi-agency team took no action to review the plan or put in place remedial strategies.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff do not always maintain good safeguarding records, and leaders and managers failed to notify Ofsted as required of serious disclosures made by a child that indicated exploitation.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Not enough action is taken to protect children. For example, staff do not do enough Inspection report children’s home: SC046480 3 to prevent a child from going missing. Staff do not always disrupt the behaviours that a child uses to enable them to leave the home, nor do they know the times of the buses taken by the child when they have run away. Staff do not confidently know who the child is spending time with when away from the home and do not assure themselves that these people are suitable. In another case, staff had not ensured that a book that a child is halfway through reading is appropriate for children.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The quality of restraint records has improved. These important records now detail the duration of each restraint used and the conversations with children and staff after a restraint has taken place, providing both with an opportunity to reflect on the event.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children are helped well to join in with activities that they enjoy and are encouraged to attend and achieve at school. Staff were observed interacting positively with children during the inspection, and the one-to-one discussions in recent weeks show that the relationships are developing further.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager has resigned from the post and is currently working with the newly appointed manager to provide a handover. Senior managers took swift action to respond to the concerns identified during this inspection. This has included an urgent review of a child’s safety plan.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/09/2019 Full Good 22/11/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/08/2018 Full Inadequate 19/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC046480 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

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff–

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Requirement Due date

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(c)) 20/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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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 understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose; ensure that staff–  understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;  protect and promote each child’s welfare;  provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;  provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably; 20/12/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC046480 5 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

 meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b), (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iv)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff provide nurturing care for each child and that this care is evident in all interactions, including the attention given to the quality of the environment. 11: The positive relationships standard

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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

 mutual respect and trust;  an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and  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

that staff–  meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;  help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;  encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;  help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;  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;  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;  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

 understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through 20/12/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC046480 6 behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;  are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same.  de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;  understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and  have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and  that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c), (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii)(ix)(x)(xi)(xii)(xiii)(b)) 12: The protection of children standard

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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;  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;  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 child protection policies.  that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and 20/12/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC046480 7 delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm.  that the premises used for the purposes of the home

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Requirement Due date

are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, urgently review a child’s safety plan and agree with the multi-agency team appropriate strategies to mitigate the risks and keep the child safe. Ensure that staff follow the plan consistently. 13: The leadership and management standard

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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 work as a team where appropriate;  ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;  ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;  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;  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)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h)) 20/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

If there is a referral of a person working in the home pursuant to section 35 (Regulated activity providers: duty to refer) of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006(a), the registered person must without delay notify–

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Requirement Due date

 HMCI; 20/12/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC046480 8  the placing authority; and  each other relevant person.

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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

 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 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(3)(a)(b)(c), (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Recommendations

 The capacity and competence of staff to build constructive, warm relationships with children that actively promote positive behaviour, provides the foundations for managing any negative behaviour. Staff should have the skills to respond to each child’s individual behaviour. Where necessary they should manage conflict, maintain constructive dialogues and react appropriately if challenged by a child in their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.14) In particular, ensure that the police are not used to manage young people’s behaviours.  No more than half the staff on duty at any one time, by day or night at the home should be from an external agency. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.17) Inspection report children’s home: SC046480 9

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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

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC046480 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Beaufort Care Group

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 42 Lytton Road, New Barnet, Barnet EN5 5BY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jennifer Kendall

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Inspectors

Wendy Anderson, Social care inspector Paula Lahey, Social care regulatory inspection manager Inspection report children’s home: SC046480 11 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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