Children's Home run by Positive Outcomes Childcare Ltd in Dudley

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC483958 1 SC483958

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Positive Outcomes Childcare Ltd

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since December 2019.

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This monitoring visit

At the last inspection in May 2019, the home was judged to be requires improvement to be good, and leadership and management were judged as inadequate. There is a new manager in post who was registered by Ofsted in December 2019.

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This monitoring visit

On 20 May 2020, Ofsted completed a monitoring inspection of the home in response to safeguarding concerns raised at another home in the company. This inspection was completed remotely due to COVID-19 (coronavirus). The inspector considered a sample of documents provided via email, conducted interviews with the registered manager and gained feedback from the placing authorities.

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This monitoring visit

The inspector identified a number of concerns at this inspection.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not effectively safeguard young people. When young people go missing from home, staff do not make adequate attempts to keep in touch with them by phone or search areas where they may be located. On 17 May 2020, a young person was missing overnight. Staff did not take sufficient action to keep in contact with her and went to bed while she remained missing. The young person attempted to Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC483958 2 contact staff in the early hours of the morning, but staff did not respond as they were asleep. This delayed the young person’s return home.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have failed to respond and report safeguarding incidents to the right professionals and agencies. Timely and effective action has not taken place, and child protection procedures have not been followed. In addition, Ofsted as the regulator, is not notified of all serious incidents, such as allegations of sexual harm or when police are called to the home in response to aggressive behaviours. This prevents the regulator from having oversight of safeguarding incidents in the home.

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This monitoring visit

Although managers have reviewed risk assessments, they lack enough detail to help staff keep young people safe. Risk assessments are not up to date and do not reflect known risk behaviours. This leaves staff without the accurate information necessary to ensure that young people are safeguarded from harm. Staff do not consistently follow risk assessments or maintain a clear record of when they apply a sanction to a young person following a concerning behaviour. This has the potential to place young people at potential risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not sufficiently challenge unsafe activity. Staff allow young people to smoke. Young people are permitted to smoke in the garden despite this being a non- smoking home. Staff allow young people to have their cigarettes and lighters on them. Despite staff being aware of the risk of smoking, they have done little to address or reduce this behaviour. Another young person, who does not smoke, also retains a lighter. This young person has a known risk for burning items. Staff do not challenge this young person to hand in lighters.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not take effective action to reduce young people’s substance misuse. Young people are known to abuse cannabis. When staff smell cannabis in the home, they do not respond quickly to address this behaviour. Staff have failed to manage this risk by not completing room searches and removing concerning items.

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This monitoring visit

Young people have misused alcohol both in and outside the home. When young people are believed to be under the influence of substances or alcohol, staff do not follow the observation protocol. In February 2020, one young person returned home under the influence of alcohol, and she vomited during the night. Staff did not carry out the required checks on this young person throughout the night.

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This monitoring visit

One young person living at the home has a pet dog, which is not house trained and leaves faeces in the home. This is unpleasant for staff and the other young people living in the home and has the potential for infection control issues.

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This monitoring visit

Young people are not attending school or college. One young person has no education provision in place. Another young person is currently not engaged with her college placement.

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This monitoring visit

Record-keeping is poor. For example, incident reports are poorly written, contain some, but not all information about an incident, and do not consider what could Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC483958 3 have been done differently. The manager has failed to complete effective reviews of incidents.

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This monitoring visit

Placing authorities reported that young people are making progress from their starting points. They reported that the registered manager and staff communicate with them effectively, and they are aware of the incidents that occur in the home.

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This monitoring visit

The provider does not have a robust system in place for monitoring the home. Managers’ oversight of the home has not been sufficient to ensure that staff follow the home’s protocols and procedures put in place to safeguard young people. The manager has failed to recognise or address the shortfalls in staff practice following review of incident reports.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has not ensured that he has reviewed the home’s statement of purpose and supplied Ofsted with an updated copy when changes are made in the home.

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This monitoring visit

The leadership and management of the home have not been sufficient to drive improvements. Six of the requirements raised at the full inspection in May 2019 have not been met and will be reissued.

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This monitoring visit

In response to concerns found in respect of the safeguarding of young people and the leadership and management of the home, two compliance notices were issued. In addition, three new requirements were raised.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 30/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 22/05/2018 Full Good 20/03/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC483958 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 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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

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;

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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 each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(x)) 01/07/2020

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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—

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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 01/07/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC483958 5 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

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 act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(d)) * 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; 01/07/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC483958 6 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;

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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)(c)(d)(f)(h)) * 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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)) 01/07/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must 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

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 3 Diploma’)

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. 01/07/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC483958 7 This is in relation to maintaining a copy of an accurate staff duty roster of persons working at the home, and a record of the actual rosters worked. (Schedule 4(3))

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 37(1)(2)(a)(b)) The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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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

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40(4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 01/07/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (‘a quality of care review’) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. 01/07/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC483958 8 After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (‘the quality of care review report’).

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Requirement Due date

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; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45(1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)(4)(a)(b)(5))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC483958 9

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Recommendations

 Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (regulation 36 (schedule 3(14)). This information should be shared with the placing authority and, where appropriate, with the child’s parents. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31) This is with particular regard to ensuring that staff fully complete missing from care documentation.  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

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Recommendations

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) This is with particular regard to ensuring that independent return interviews are offered when children return after being missing or away from the home without permission.  The registered person is responsible for ensuring that all their staff have been adequately trained in the principles of restraint and any restraint techniques appropriate to the needs of the children the home is set up to care for as defined in the home’s Statement of Purpose. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.57)  Children should be encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’ supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes

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Recommendations

regulations including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)  Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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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: SC483958 10 Ofsted is aware of the challenges that COVID-19 is currently posing to those we inspect. During this visit, the inspectors took into consideration the impact of any measures being taken to slow the spread of COVID-19 by the home. This has included the effect these have had on staffing arrangements.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Positive Outcomes Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Positive Outcomes Childcare Ltd, Suite 3, Churchill House, Queen Street, Wellington, Telford, Shropshire TF1 1SN

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Inspector

Debbie Holder, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC483958 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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