Children's Home run by United Children's Services Limited in Leicestershire

Inspection report children’s home: SC489036 1 SC489036 Registered provider: United Children’s Services Limited

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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 is a privately owned children’s home. Since the last inspection, there has been a change in registration conditions. The home has increased its number of beds. It is now registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six children and young people who have been assessed as presenting with emotional, behavioural and/or educational difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left at the end of June 2019. A new manager was appointed in December 2019.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 11 February 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC489036 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/02/2019 Full Good 07/08/2017 Full Good 09/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 17/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC489036 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(iii)(viii)) 01/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which–

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

ensuring that young people’s risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that they reflect their current needs and risks.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)(Schedule 3)) 07/02/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC489036 4 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 are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(vii)) 31/01/2020

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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 an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there.

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the prevision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to ensuring that weekly fire alarm tests are carried out and records kept.

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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

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; 01/03/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC489036 5 ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)(d)(e))

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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

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

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; and

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(f)(h)) 07/02/2020

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. 07/02/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC489036 6 (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must 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.

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Recommendations

 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 arrangement 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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improvement to be good

Young people’s experiences have been affected by changes in the management team and high staff turnover since the last inspection. However, the appointment of a new management team in the last two months has provided some stability.

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improvement to be good

Young people have shown great resilience in coping with the staff changes and they continue to make progress. Comments from social workers have confirmed that young people are making progress, despite the staff changes. A social worker said that staff are ‘nurturing but with clear boundaries’.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s progress in education is variable. Some young people are doing very well. However, due to a lack of management challenge, some young people’s education arrangements have been allowed to drift. Some young people have been provided with home tutors, but this has not been the best option for them. The new management team, in partnership with the social worker, is taking action to address this.

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improvement to be good

Young people are generally happy and settled in the home. Their care and safety have been prioritised by the new management team. Young people have positive relationships with staff and they know that staff care about them. Young people feel listened to.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s care plans are detailed, and they contribute to their plans. Inspection report children’s home: SC489036 7 A strength of the home is the promotion of independence. Young people are encouraged and supported to acquire and improve their existing daily-living skills.

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improvement to be good

Young people are safer since living at the home. Their risk-taking behaviours have reduced significantly. A social worker said that their young person was safer and has shown ‘growth and maturity’ since living at the home. However, shortfalls identified during this inspection have the potential to affect young people’s safety and hinder their progress.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s risk assessments are not always kept up to date and they do not accurately reflect all areas of current need and risk. This means that new staff are not fully informed about how to meet young people’s needs and keep them safe. This also has the potential to affect the consistency of care provided.

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improvement to be good

The registered provider has not always ensured that allegations made by young people have been referred to the designated officer. This is with reference to an incident where a young person complained that they had been hurt by a member of staff during a physical intervention. This does not ensure that young people are protected from the risk of harm or abuse. Additionally, Ofsted has not always been notified of such allegations or other child protection concerns.

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improvement to be good

Weekly fire alarm tests have not always been carried out and when they have, the tests have not always been recorded. This is of concern, as there was a fire in the home in November 2019. This potentially places young people and staff at risk. The manager took steps during the inspection to address this shortfall and has included the fire alarm tests on the shift planning sheets.

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improvement to be good

Young people rarely go missing from the home, which is significant progress. When a young person goes missing, staff follow appropriate procedures. However, independent return home interviews are not always carried out by the placing authority as required.

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

The home has gone through a very unsettled period since the last inspection. This is due to significant changes in the management and staffing of the home. Shortfalls identified during this inspection can be mainly attributed to these changes.

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

The registered manager left at the end of June 2019. A new manager was appointed soon after, but resigned before they were registered with Ofsted. This has meant a period of instability for both the young people and staff. The home has been without a registered manager for over 26 weeks. Inspection report children’s home: SC489036 8 A new manager was appointed in December 2019 and is in the process of applying to register with Ofsted. She is being supported by managers from the company’s other homes.

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

The current management team was aware of some of the shortfalls identified during this inspection. However, the management team has prioritised the young people’s well-being and safety. Managers have worked hard to try to reduce the impact of the staffing changes on young people. Managers have been working on shift to cover staff shortages. This has provided support to the new staff and some consistency for young people. However, this has affected the management team’s ability to carry out management tasks, including robust management monitoring.

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

The high turnover of staff has meant that young people have not always received continuity of care from staff whom they know well. Agency staff and staff from other homes run by the company have been used to cover staff shortages. Young people commented that they do not want people working in the home who they do not know.

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

Staff had not received regular supervision from June 2019 up until recently. Regular supervision is particularly important to support new staff and to monitor staff practice.

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

Although a review of the quality of care was undertaken in August 2019, a copy of the report was not sent to Ofsted as required.

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

Ofsted has not received revised copies of the home’s statement of purpose as required.

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

There is a commitment to partnership working. Feedback from professionals has been mixed. Comments made generally reflect the instability in the management and staffing of the home. Some professionals have noticed an improvement in communication in recent months. One social worker said that communication has been excellent, and this is ‘the best home’ they have ever worked with.

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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: SC489036 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: United Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Old Coach House, Drinsey Nook, Lincoln LN1 2JJ

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Inspector

Katarina Djordjevic, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC489036 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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