Children's home run by Positive Steps (Care Services) Limited in Peterborough

Assurance visit report: SC061770 1 SC061770

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is owned by a private limited company. The home provides care for up to four children aged between seven and 18 years who have learning disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorders and are experiencing emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since October 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection date: 27 November 2019

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection judgement: Requires improvement to be good

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Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:

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Information about this visit

 children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership. This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assurance visit report: SC061770 2

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Findings from the visit

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit.

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The care of children

Three children were living at the home during lockdown. No children have joined or left the home since 1 April 2020.

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The care of children

The manager and staff have a good knowledge of the children’s complex needs. Staff support children in line with their plans and have effective relationships with other professionals. This means that children are making good progress in some areas of their development. When children need specialist support, the manager requests this.

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The care of children

All three children were home schooled during lockdown. Staff established new routines and children adapted to these well. Staff successfully engaged children in learning. This resulted in one child learning to write their name. The child’s social worker highlighted this as an ‘incredible achievement’.

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The care of children

Staff help children to maintain relationships with their families. This happened virtually during the height of restrictions. Staff supported non-verbal children to use this new way of interacting with their families and external professionals.

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The care of children

The home is spacious. The communal areas have been recently decorated, which gives the space a welcoming feel. However, some areas of the home are restricted by keypads or locks. This means that children do not have access to all rooms as they would in a family home. These restrictions have not been risk assessed and it is not clear why they are necessary or if they are proportionate to the risk levels.

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The safety of children

The manager has a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and has reported incidents to other agencies as required. This has enabled the designated officer and Ofsted to maintain objective oversight of incidents at the home.

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The safety of children

Staff undertake training in safeguarding, including safeguarding disabled children. This helps them to understand the additional vulnerabilities of the children for whom they provide care.

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The safety of children

Staff create a calm environment for children. They are knowledgeable about what can upset each child and the actions to take to de-escalate a situation. Restraint is only used when necessary to keep children and staff safe. Staff are curious about changes in behaviour and explore this with other professionals.

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The safety of children

The manager maintains oversight of incidents and practice at the home. This helps to reduce inaccuracies and errors and enables the manager to guide good practice. Assurance visit report: SC061770 3

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Leaders and managers

External professionals and the staff have confidence in the manager. They highlighted communication as a particular strength.

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Leaders and managers

The manager has made improvements at the home. The staff said that they are happy in their work. There is now a full staff team. This means less reliance on agency staff, which gives children a greater sense of consistency.

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Leaders and managers

However, some shortfalls remain. The manager does not routinely confirm that all safer recruitment checks are in place for agency staff. This does not provide the manager with the information that she needs to assess the suitability of these staff before they work at the home.

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Leaders and managers

Not all staff have achieved a relevant diploma at level 3 within the required timescales. The manager has accepted that some staff have an alternative qualification. However, she has not mapped these qualifications to demonstrate equivalency and to identify any gaps. This means that the manager does not know if there are any fundamental gaps in staff’s learning.

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Leaders and managers

The independent visitor’s reports are now submitted to Ofsted monthly as required. However, the visitor does not routinely seek feedback from external professionals or parents, which limits the breadth of the overall assessment.

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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

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is necessary and proportionate; 30/10/2020 Assurance visit report: SC061770 4 is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 3 Diploma’); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1 April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff who are required to have a qualification achieve this within the timescale and that any alternative qualification is evidenced as a suitable equivalent. 31/03/2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, 30/10/2020 Assurance visit report: SC061770 5 if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Positive Steps (Care Services) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bank Chambers, 27a Market Place, Market Deeping, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE6 8EA

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Inspectors

Paula Edwards, Social Care Inspector Louisa Bayley, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC061770 6 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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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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