Children's Home run by Barnardo’s in Oxfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC013143 1 SC013143

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Barnardos

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides full-time care for up to six children who have disabilities, including learning, physical, health and social behavioural needs. The service is delivered and managed by a national charitable organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2014.

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Information about this children’s home

This was a virtual monitoring inspection because of COVID-19 (coronavirus) restrictions, and no site visit to the home took place.

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This monitoring visit

This virtual monitoring visit was conducted because significant concerns were identified at the interim inspection completed on 19 February 2020. The concerns related to the quality of assessments undertaken to consider whether it is right for a child to come and live here. The concerns also included staff’s abilities to meet children’s needs. A significant number of agency staff worked at the home at the time of the interim inspection. The lack of a permanent staff team was adversely affecting staff’s abilities to appropriately provide continuity of care to children. Parent, professional and staff responses to Ofsted’s social care 2020 survey raised similar concerns.

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This monitoring visit

This virtual monitoring visit focused on how the registered persons have addressed the shortfalls identified at the previous inspection.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers met one of the requirements set at the last inspection. A system has been introduced to check whether monitoring systems continue to be necessary for each child. Use of this new system has yet to occur because of COVID- 19 restrictions. At the next inspection, this will be monitored further. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC013143 2 The provider has improved their approach to care planning in relation to the monitoring and surveillance of children. They now carefully balance the need for children’s right to privacy with the need to keep them safe. COVID-19 restrictions have had an impact on the provider’s ability to arrange multidisciplinary meetings to fully implement this approach.

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This monitoring visit

The assessment completed for the one child admitted since the last inspection was well planned and carefully assessed to ensure that his needs are compatible with the other young people in the home. The assessment process included visiting the child at home and talking to his education provider. No record of these visits was available in the written assessment. This is a missed opportunity to record all the actions managers now take to inform admission decisions. Nevertheless, the child’s social worker confirmed that the child had a good introduction to the home.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not demonstrate that they refer safeguarding concerns without delay. Inspectors found two allegations made by a child against staff which had not been referred to the designated officer (DO) for safeguarding in the local authority. This means that these allegations were not subject to independent scrutiny or investigation. This matter was rectified during the inspection, and the details of the safeguarding concerns were shared with the DO.

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This monitoring visit

A recommendation was made at the last inspection that leaders and managers should ensure that there is a clear audit trail of any safeguarding referrals. As no referrals have been made since the last inspection, this recommendation will be reissued.

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This monitoring visit

Children’s care plans and risk assessments are not updated regularly when new information is available. The guidance for staff in care plans and risks assessments does not provide enough information about how to care for each child. For example, these records did not guide staff to use visual aids to help a child when he was struggling with his emotions. This lack of important information creates the risk that staff do not know how they are expected to support and meet each child’s needs. The poor quality of risk assessments and written care plans was not identified by managers. This indicates that the management monitoring systems do not effectively identify shortfalls in areas that have an impact on the quality of care that staff provide to children.

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This monitoring visit

Currently, sufficient numbers of staff work each day to meet children’s needs. During the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the provider has used staff from another Barnardos children’s home. This has reduced the need for agency staff and provides a more consistent experience of care for children.

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This monitoring visit

Plans to recruit more permanent staff to work at this home are in place. Changes to the recruitment offer have been made to attract more staff. Leaders and managers acknowledge that this is, however, an ongoing service development issue. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC013143 3 The recommendation from the last inspection that leaders and managers demonstrate ‘every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted’ is not yet met. Managers have not yet been able to recruit a more permanent staff team to care for children. This recommendation will therefore be repeated.

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This monitoring visit

Children continue generally to make progress. Social workers reported improvements in children’s communication. They also gave examples of other improvements which children have made, such as improved motor skills and increased mobility. The number of incidents has decreased for one child, as he has settled into the home and developed positive relationships with staff.

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This monitoring visit

Generally, professionals said that leaders, managers and staff build positive and effective relationships with them and have children’s best interests at heart. One social worker was positive about how the staff work with her. For example, she receives regular updates, and staff contribute well to the child’s reviews. However, relationships between the staff and some professionals do not effectively support children’s safety, well-being and progress. For example, the communication and relationship with a child’s school have broken down, and this is having an adverse impact on his safety and care.

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This monitoring visit

In February 2020, Barnardos conducted a safeguarding audit, which identified several concerns that link to the issues raised in this report. Inspectors acknowledge that leaders and managers demonstrate an open approach to working to improve the service and had commenced plans to remedy issues. The current COVID-19 restrictions have created some challenges for managers being able to fully implement improvement plans. However, there are significant shortfalls that have not been addressed since the last inspection.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 19/02/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 11/06/2019 Full Good 08/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/05/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC013143 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 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 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. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)) 08/07/2020

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff have the skills to understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(v)) 08/07/2020

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(vi)) 08/07/2020

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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. (Regulation 14(1)(a)) 08/07/2020

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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 helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. 08/07/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC013143 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5(d)) 08/07/2020

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Recommendations

 Each local authority should have clear arrangements in place for the management and oversight of allegations against people who work with children. The relevant officer or teams within the local authority should be informed promptly of all allegations that come to an employer’s attention or that are made directly to the police. For further information, including about the role of a local authority designated officer see ‘Working together to safeguard children’. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.18) In particular, ensure accurate and good record-keeping of safeguarding incidents. (This is a repeat recommendation from the interim inspection of 19 February 2020.)  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, and that those staff are able to respond to emergency

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Recommendations

placements, where accepted. The registered person must demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted, including ensuring that the employment of any temporary staff will not prevent children from receiving the continuity of care that they need (regulation 31(1)) (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10). (This is a repeat recommendation from the interim inspection of 19 February 2020.)  Just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home (regulation 21(c)(i)). Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home, must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s

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Recommendations

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC013143 6 welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. Information on restraint and deprivation of liberty is contained in the protection of children section of the ‘Guide’ from paragraph 9.41. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 3.10, paragraph 15) In particular, the registered person should ensure that their plans to review any restrictions in place, such as night time monitoring systems, are implemented.

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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.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Barnardos, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex IG6 1QG

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Inspectors

Ruth Coler, social care inspector Anne-Marie Davies, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC013143 7 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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