Children's Home, Residential special school run by Kedleston (High Peak School) Limited in Cheshire East

Inspection report children’s home: SC484134 1 SC484134 Registered provider: Kedleston (High Peak School) Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care and accommodation for up to 24 children who may have learning disabilities and/or emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A private company runs the home and offers education onsite at a registered school.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2019.

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Inspection date: 3 March 2020

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC484134 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/06/2019 Full Good 05/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/02/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 25/05/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC484134 3

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last 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

Some physical interventions used within the home are not in line with the home’s own restraint policy. Records of physical interventions are not sufficiently detailed or evaluated by managers. This shows a lack of leadership and management oversight.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children have sustained injuries due to physical interventions. Managers have not always made the placing authorities aware of harm caused to children in the home. In some instances, this has prevented child protection medical examinations. Managers have been aware of injuries to children in the home, but they have failed to ensure that those children received prompt medical attention. This does not promote children’s well-being.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children have made allegations against staff. These include allegations of being held by the throat and other lengthy and painful physical interventions. Managers are aware that the use of physical interventions is a concern. Despite these concerns, staff involved remain working in direct contact with children, without suitable risk assessments in place to protect children. This potentially places children at risk of harm.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children have not always been offered opportunities to express their feelings about their experience of their restraints. This means that children cannot explore and reflect on their feelings about the impact of the incident.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Safeguarding notifications are not always sent to the designated safeguarding officer, Ofsted and placing authorities in a timely manner. Delayed notifications restrict external oversight of safeguarding practice. Serious safeguarding incidents include children being hospitalised for substance misuse. The registered manager suspected child criminal exploitation, but she failed to robustly pursue a police investigation.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children have not always been adequately monitored. On one occasion, children’s safety was put at risk due to inadequate staffing ratios. The lack of staff supervision enabled a child to obtain car keys from the staff office and to access a car. This placed a child and others at risk of potential harm.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff boundaries have been of concern. Staff have failed to follow the provider’s own policies. This has led to a female resident being given the telephone number of a senior male member of staff. This places children at potential risk of harm, and is poor safeguarding practice. Staff do not prevent children from accessing age- inappropriate social media and phone applications. Inspection report children’s home: SC484134 4 Children’s bedrooms are dirty. Poor hygiene in bedrooms and bathrooms pose a risk to children’s health and well-being. Bedrooms do not provide a lockable cabinet or drawers to securely store personal items. This restricts children’s privacy.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children live a long way from their families and home communities. Children are not given access to advocacy support which meets their choice or preference. This restricts the opportunity for children to share their wishes, feelings or concerns.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers have not ensured that children have a designated telephone. This further limits their ability to raise concerns or make a complaint to an independent agency.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The provider implemented an immediate safeguarding action plan following this inspection. They are committed to working with Ofsted and the local authority designated safeguarding officer to ensure robust safeguarding practice. Inspection report children’s home: SC484134 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

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

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)) 05/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

that each child is registered as a patient with a general medical practitioner and a registered dental practitioner; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(c)) 05/04/2020

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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.

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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; 05/04/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC484134 6 that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(b) (d)). *Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (1)(2)). 05/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (5) of regulation 22, the registered person must ensure that children are provided at all reasonable times with access to the following facilities, which they may use without reference to persons working in the home: a telephone on which to make and receive telephone calls in private. (Regulation 22 (3)(a)). 05/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

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 — details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; 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

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Requirement Due date

measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(ii)(v)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)). 05/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 05/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report children’s home: SC484134 7

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Recommendations

 The capacity and competence of staff to build constructive, warm relationships with children that actively promote positive behaviour provide 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)  The registered person is responsible for ensuring that all staff consistently follow the home’s policies and procedures for the benefit of the children in the home’s care. Everyone working at the home must understand their roles and responsibilities and what they are authorised to decide on their own initiative. There should be clear lines of accountability. Each home must have clear arrangements in place to maintain effective management when the manager is

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Recommendations

absent, off duty or on leave. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20).  Children should be provided with appropriate furniture, such as a lockable cabinet or drawers to securely store personal items, including any personal information. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.19)  All children must have access to appropriate advocacy support, and where possible this should be provided by a person that the child chooses. Looked after children are entitled to an independent advocate to advise them and ensure they have the support needed to express their views, wishes and feelings about their care and lives. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.16)  Any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity to express

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Recommendations

their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. In some cases, children may need longer to work through their feelings, so a record that the child has talked about their feelings should be made no longer than 5 days after the incident of restraint (regulation 35(3)(c)). Children should be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. Children should be offered the opportunity to access an advocacy support to help them with this (regulation 7(2)(b)(iii)). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.60).  Sufficient staff means a home having enough suitably trained staff (including someone in a management role) on duty to meet the assessed needs of all children in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the

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Recommendations

quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1).  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information Inspection report children’s home: SC484134 8 about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4). Inspection report children’s home: SC484134 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: SC484134 10

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kedleston (High Peak School) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 8 Brook Business Centre, Cowley Mill Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 2FX

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Inspectors

Amanda Ellis, Social Care Inspector Simon Hunter, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC484134 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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