Children's Home run by Genesis CTE Limited in Gloucestershire

Inspection report children’s home: 1277861 1 Registered provider: Genesis CTE Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children and young people. The provider states in their statement of purpose that the home works with children and young people who have sexually harmful behaviours, in a unique therapeutic environment.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 21 to 22 November 2019

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1277861 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/09/2019 Monitoring Good 31/07/2019 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: 1277861 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

12: The protection of children standard 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

that staff 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, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, if the staff confiscate an item belonging to a young person because of safeguarding concerns, ensure that the item is not able to be retrieved by the young person until it is safe for them to do so. 16/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard 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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1)(b)) 16/12/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1277861 4 In particular, ensure that the home’s staff recruitment procedures are followed to ensure that only suitable adults are employed in the home.

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Requirement Due date

14: The care planning standard The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that arrangements are in place to

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the therapeutic care plans for each young person are regularly reviewed, updated and clearly detail the progress each child is making. 20/12/2019

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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. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safely legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

In particular, ensure that the large industrial refuse bin is removed from the front entrance to the home and that the health and safety signage in the home is kept to a minimum.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The young people are settled and are developing a sense of belonging at the home. Most of the young people are making progress after experiencing multiple moves, as previous carers have been unable to meet their very complex care needs. However, the positive outcomes for most young people are overshadowed by the shortfalls in the home’s safeguarding arrangements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home provides specialist therapeutic interventions for the young people and employs Inspection report children’s home: 1277861 5 three appropriately qualified psychologists to provide this service. It is not clear from therapeutic plans and care plans exactly what individualised therapeutic interventions the young people are receiving, how often these are taking place and how the therapy is supporting them to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

All the young people attend the company school. There are plans to move some of the young people on to mainstream schools in the area, as they are making good progress with their education. However, the timescales and the steps that need to be taken to achieve this aim are not clearly documented in each young person’s care plan. All young people, including those who previously refused to engage in education, have achieved very good attendance at the school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The staff encourage and support the young people to take part in a variety of activities inside and outside of the home. Some young people attend local sports clubs. Other young people enjoy taking part in activities such as golf and cycling. They enjoy spending time with each other out of the home, such as attending clubs or going together to the cinema. These activities help the young people to channel their energy positively and increase their sporting skills and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Moves in and out of the home are well managed and carefully planned by the staff. Two young people have successfully left the home to return to live with their family or move to adult supported accommodation. Young people moving in to the home are invited to visit the home prior to moving in and choose the colour and soft furnishings for their bedroom. The young people are carefully matched and generally get on well with each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The staff support the young people to keep in touch with and visit their family. Parents commented positively on how they are regularly kept informed about their young person.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The young people are encouraged to develop their independence skills, such as cooking, budgeting and personal hygiene skills. The young people recently took part in a cooking competition in the home, which they reported that they really enjoyed.

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

Staff recruitment procedures are not always adhered to. Managers are not providing rigorous oversight of staff recruitment and are not using professional curiosity and vigilance to ensure that only suitable people are employed at the home. On one occasion, a member of staff started working at the home before all the necessary checks were completed. Anomalies in references were not explored and verified, leaving the young people at possible risk of harm.

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

The staff fail to always follow safeguarding procedures to keep the young people safe. One young person was found by the staff to be using an unauthorised electronic device to access unsuitable internet sites. This device was confiscated by the staff and put in an Inspection report children’s home: 1277861 6 unlocked drawer in the staff office. It is not clear whether the young person was able to retrieve it themselves, or whether it was returned to the young person by a member of staff before it was installed with internet safeguards. The young person then used the device to access unsuitable and potentially harmful internet sites.

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

Young people do not go missing from the home. They reported that they feel safe living at the home and could name a member of staff they could speak to if they feel unsafe or worried. Routines run smoothly in the home, and there are minimal incidents of restraint.

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

Risk assessments are comprehensive and offer the staff detailed guidance on how they should manage identified risks. Positive behaviour is promoted through the staff supporting the young people to learn from any mistakes and praising positive behaviour. Any incidents are swiftly de-escalated by the staff, and conflict management is effective.

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

The home has effective links with relevant safeguarding agencies and other agencies that offer specialist support to the young people. Safeguarding incidents are promptly referred to the relevant agencies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The previous registered manager of the home resigned in October 2019. A succession plan was in place. The home’s psychologist has been appointed as the manager and has submitted an application for registration to Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The consistent and stable staff team reported that team members feel well supported and trained, so that in turn they can offer good-quality care to the young people. Supervision sessions are comprehensive and take place on a regular basis. The staff are trained in a variety of topics including safeguarding, first aid, the ‘Prevent’ duty and the prevention of child sexual exploitation. The staff also receive a range of specialist training to ensure that they have the skills to meet the complex care needs of the young people living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home’s development plan identifies the home’s strengths and proposed areas for development. There is a plan of how managers will build on the strengths and plan improvements to address the home’s areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Feedback from placing authorities and families of the young people is positive. They commented positively on the progress their young people have made since being placed at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home offers a family environment that is personalised by the young people. There are photographs of the young people and adults caring for them around the house. Work has been undertaken to improve the appearance of the front of the house and gardens. However, excessive health and safety signage and a large institutional-type refuse bin situated at the entrance to the drive detract from the otherwise homely appearance. Inspection report children’s home: 1277861 7

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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: 1277861 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 and 3 The Hawthorths, Hawthorn Lane, Staunton, Gloucestershire GL19 3NY

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Inspector

Tina Maddison, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1277861 9 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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