Children's Home run by Orchard Children Homes Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1257740 1

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Orchard Children Homes Ltd

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. Some of the young people may have an autism spectrum disorder. The home is operated by a private company.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager was appointed in September 2019. She has made an application to register with Ofsted.

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This monitoring visit

A monitoring inspection was conducted in response to information received by Ofsted which raised concerns about the safety of young people. Specifically, safeguarding notifications were received by Ofsted in relation to significant safeguarding incidents. Additionally, independent visitor reports submitted to Ofsted raised concerns that the manager required more support.

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This monitoring visit

Managers lack professional curiosity. This has a negative impact on the effectiveness of the strategies used to keep young people safe. For example, a young person attended the hospital accident and emergency department in the early hours of the morning in a distressed state. When hospital staff contacted the home and told staff that the young person had been admitted, staff thought that he was still in his bedroom. The manager told Ofsted that the young person had left the home through his bedroom window, and therefore had not triggered his bedroom door alarm. However, during the monitoring visit the young person told the inspector that he had left the home by opening the front door, and that staff did not respond to the alarm. Records show that the young person also informed the manager of this. The manager did not update Ofsted about this discrepancy or complete a review of the incident with staff to establish the facts.

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This monitoring visit

Managers’ monitoring systems are ineffective in improving the quality of care provided for young people. Although the manager reviews incidents, she fails to Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1257740 2 appropriately evaluate staff practice. For example, a staff member gave a young person her own money to buy some items. The young person became upset when the staff member asked for the money to be repaid. The young person caused damage in the home, went missing and placed himself on the outside of a bridge, where he was at risk of significant harm. The managers review of the incident fails to highlight the poor decision-making of staff. Furthermore, there has been no consideration given to areas of learning or development for staff.

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This monitoring visit

The manager does not evaluate incidents in which staff have not followed young people’s plans and acted to de-escalate young people’s behaviours. For example, a staff member clearly escalated a young person’s behaviours after the young person had calmed following an incident of restraint. Despite this clear evidence, the manager evaluated that staff had acted appropriately. The independent visitor has raised the lack of support provided for the manager with strategic managers, and a deputy manager is being recruited. However, strategic managers have not acted quickly enough to offer the manager immediate support. This has impacted on the safety and well-being of young people.

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This monitoring visit

Young people’s risk management plans are not updated to reflect the current strategies to keep young people safe. They do not include the most up-to-date information about a young person’s risks or provide staff with clear instruction on what to do to de-escalate young people’s challenging behaviours. This includes when young people when make serious and repeated threats to self-harm. This does not demonstrate a robust approach to safeguarding.

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This monitoring visit

The effectiveness of the bedroom-door alarm system is diminished by the staff’s inconsistent response when these are set off in the night. Staff told the inspector that they do not routinely get up when the bedroom-door alarms are triggered. This is despite all staff being instructed by the manager to complete visual checks should an alarm be triggered. The staff’s idle approach to safeguarding places young people at risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not receive the training that they need to meet the needs of young people. Four new members of staff are still completing induction training and have not received training in behaviour management. Despite two young people living in the home who are identified as being at high risk of self-injurious behaviours, eight staff have not completed any training related to this, four staff have not completed training related to ligatures and eight staff have not completed training related to depression and suicide. Therefore, staff have not been supported to develop the skills and knowledge that they need to keep young people safe.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not carry out regular health and safety checks of young people’s bedrooms. A young person has a pet rabbit in a hutch in their bedroom. Rabbit droppings and straw are on the floor of the bedroom and the room is dirty and unhygienic. This is a risk to the young person’s health. A can of paint was left in another young person’s Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1257740 3 bedroom. The young person spilled the paint over the carpet. This is a risk to the safety of the young person and staff.

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This monitoring visit

Staff are not supporting young people to develop essential skills to live independently. A young person has plates of congealed food, clothing and cosmetics scattered across the floor of her bedroom, and the bed is unmade. Staff are not helping the young person to clean and to develop a sense of pride in her room, which impacts on her self-esteem.

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This monitoring visit

Young people do not have essential items that they need to live in the home comfortably. A young person does not have a laundry basket in his room. His dirty clothes are strewn across the bedroom floor. Another young person has a desk that is suitable for a much smaller child. Therefore, he cannot sit and work comfortably.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not always ensure that young people live in a nurturing and homely environment. The door handle on one young person’s wardrobe door is broken and needs replacing. A young person has defaced his bedroom door and wall, and staff have not supported the young person to remove this or cleaned it themselves. The television in the lounge has been replaced and wires from the original wall-mounted television are clearly visible.

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This monitoring visit

The shortfalls identified at this inspection bring into question the senior leader’s, responsible individual’s and manager’s capacity, skills and ability to manage the home.

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This monitoring visit

Four of the five regulations from the recent Ofsted inspection have been judged as met. Managers and staff now inform Ofsted of serious incidents involving young people. The manager has ensured that staff have received training in safeguarding and working with agencies such as the designated safeguarding officer and children’s social workers. Staff receive a debrief following an incident of restraint and the manager ensures that references for new staff are requested. A requirement relating to staff training in keeping children safe and meeting their individual needs has been reissued.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 29/10/2019 Full Good 22/08/2018 Full Outstanding 09/01/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1257740 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

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(2)(vi)(vii)) 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

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. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)) 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— 05/04/2020 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1257740 5 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. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(b)) 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(h)) 05/04/2020*

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Requirement Due date

A responsible individual must have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26(7)(b)) 05/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

A person may only manage a children’s home if, having regard to the size of the home, its statement of purpose and the number and needs (including any needs arising from any disability) of the children, the person has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills to manage the home effectively and lead the care of children. (Regulation 28(1)(b)(i)) 05/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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; however, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s home’s regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1257740 6

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1257740 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Orchard Children Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2nd Floor, 118 Calais Road, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire DE13 0UW

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1257740 8 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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