Children's home run by Priory Education Services Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1245984 1 Registered provider: Priory Education Services Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five young people who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager has been in post since March 2019 and has made an application to register with Ofsted.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1245984 2

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children 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. Following this inspection, three compliance notices were issued. The home’s registration was suspended on 17 December 2019.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the time of this inspection, there were four young people living at the home. One of the young people had recently arrived.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There have been a number of serious incidents within the home where young people have caused serious damage to the property. Staff are unable to manage young people’s behaviour and allow incidents to escalate. Staff fail to intervene quickly to reduce risk and potential harm to young people. As a result, on 9 December 2019, the police arrested three of the young people from the home and held them overnight in custody.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff do not always follow risk assessments. When young people go missing from the home, staff do not always leave the home to search for young people or make adequate attempts to look for them. This increases the potential risk of harm to young people. Risk assessments are not up to date and do not reflect the young people’s risk behaviours. Staff do not routinely read risk assessments when they are updated.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff complacency and poor decision-making results in young people being placed in situations where they may be at risk of harm. For example, the supervision and monitoring of young people is inadequate. Young people are able to leave the home without staff’s knowledge and to access areas of the home they are not permitted in, such as the staff offices and staff vehicles.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The day-to-day management of the home has failed to keep young people safe. All four young people smoke, and staff do not challenge this. Staff do not provide young people with healthy or regular meals. Young people currently have little routine, and they are not attending education. They spend large periods of the day in bed and then engage in negative and dangerous behaviours throughout the evening and through the night. On occasions, staff have used non-approved physical intervention techniques to hold young people. This places young people at risk of harm.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff fail to provide consistent boundaries for young people. Staff continue to lock internal doors to prevent young people from entering certain areas, such as the education room. However, in contrast, young people are invited into the staff office. Both practices have led to serious incidents within the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager’s planning for new admissions to the home is weak. The manager has Inspection report children’s home: 1245984 3 not considered effectively how staff will meet the needs of young people who are new to the home alongside those who are already living there. Consequently, young people are not well matched. As a result of ineffective care planning, young people do not always experience positive care within the home and do not make progress.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers have failed to ensure that young people experience continuity of care. There has been a period of insufficient staffing, with high staff turnover. This has led to a reliance on agency staff and staff from other homes within the organisation to cover shifts. Five staff are new to the home, five staff are seconded from another home and three senior staff are currently suspended.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The leadership and management of the home is poor. The manager has not addressed shortfalls identified at the last inspection in June 2019. Nine of the 11 requirements were not met; in addition, two more requirements have been raised as a result of this inspection. The monitoring and management of oversight of incidents is ineffective and fails to drive improvements in practice. Inspection report children’s home: 1245984 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/11/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 26/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/10/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1245984 5

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study; understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers; help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; promote opportunities for each child to learn informally; maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and

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Requirement Due date

the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement; raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority; help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible; help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment; help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(b)) 31/01/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 1245984 6 The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff help each child to— develop the child’s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and

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Requirement Due date

make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 31/01/2020

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that— the health and well-being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff help each child to— achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans; and understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(iv)) 31/01/2020

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff 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 26/01/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 1245984 7 about a child’s welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s

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Requirement Due date

child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))* The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 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; 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 has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

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Requirement Due date

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)(h))* 26/01/2020

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))* 26/01/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— the privacy of children is appropriately protected; children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises— is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; is necessary and proportionate; is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iv)) 31/01/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— undertake appropriate continuing professional development; 31/01/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 1245984 8 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c)) The registered person must ensure that— 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— the name of the child; details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (‘the user’), and of any other person present when the measure was

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Requirement Due date

used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; 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’)—has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 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)) 31/01/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 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 31/01/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 1245984 9 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report children’s home: 1245984 10

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Recommendations

 Staff should understand factors that affect children’s motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way. Staff should encourage an enthusiasm for positive behaviour through the use of positive behaviour strategies in line with the child’s relevant plans. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.13)  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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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: 1245984 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Priory Education Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fifth Floor, 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Inspector

Debbie Holder, social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1245984 12 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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