Children's Home run by Action for Children Services Ltd in Buckinghamshire

Assurance visit report: SC424103 1 SC424103

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Information about this children’s home

This is a short-breaks service run by a national charitable organisation. The home accommodates up to eight children and young people with learning disabilities. The children’s needs range from moderate to severe learning disabilities with associated physical, health and sensory impairment and/or complex multiple needs.

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Information about this children’s home

There has not been a registered manager in post since 30 September 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection date: 18 September 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.

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Information about this visit

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: SC424103 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

Staff make children feel very welcome on their visits. They are enabled to participate in decisions about activities and meals and the environment. Children are currently choosing new bedding and accessories following the redecoration of rooms.

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The care of children

The manager and staff take great care to meet the health needs of the children, taking advice from parents and professionals as necessary. This includes for children that other settings struggle to cater for.

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The care of children

Parents and professionals are very happy with the care provided by the service and particularly appreciate the stability of the staff team. They describe children who enjoy attending and have positive relationships with the staff. One social worker commended the staff for preserving children’s dignity in difficult circumstances.

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The care of children

Although children think that they are increasing their independence skills, the targets that staff set to promote these are too vague to be able to to judge success. Recording is also sporadic, making it hard to measure the children’s progress. This is a missed opportunity for the staff team to demonstrate how the service helps the children to grow and develop.

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The care of children

The manager and staff consult parents when they believe the children may have particular cultural needs, but they have not been sufficiently proactive in addressing all children’s identity needs. These details are entirely absent from placement plans.

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The care of children

Actions taken to prevent infection due to COVID-19 have been proportionate. Managers successfully advocated for increased services for children and families when appropriate and have done so safely. The service has also provided additional resources, made visits to families in their gardens and kept in regular contact with them as required. Children are aware of the measures to take to avoid infection; one child reminded the inspector of the need to maintain social distancing during this visit.

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The safety of children

The organisation has provided additional training on safeguarding following the last inspection, involving the designated officer of the local authority in a virtual session. As a result, the staff are well aware of the procedures they need to follow should they have concerns, including escalating matters until they are sure that action has been taken to address them.

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The safety of children

No safeguarding concerns have arisen within the service since the last inspection, but the manager and staff have supported families where there have been child Assurance visit report: SC424103 3 protection issues or concerns that a young person’s behaviour could lead to a family breakdown. This contributed to the safety of the households concerned.

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The safety of children

Individual risk assessments are not clear about how the level of severity has been arrived at or what the assessor expects the impact of control measures to be. However, appropriate steps are taken to reduce risks and staff are aware of these.

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The safety of children

Staff have managed the physically aggressive behaviour of a young person through distancing and de-escalation rather than restraint, keeping both the young person and the staff as safe as possible. In the words of one professional, ‘It was remarkable that there was no serious incident.’

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The safety of children

Staff do not consistently complete emergency evacuation records so that all information is available, such as the time a drill took place and in which staff were involved. On one occasion, it was noted that a child refused to evacuate the building, but staff present recalled that this child was eventually persuaded to leave. These irregularities make it hard to know how effective drills are at preparing staff and children for a fire.

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Leaders and managers

The current manager was previously the registered manager of the service but spent almost a year on secondment elsewhere. She is, therefore, an experienced leader. She has applied to re-register with Ofsted as the manager for this service.

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Leaders and managers

The independent visitor has continued to monitor the children’s safety and well- being, using technology when it was not possible to physically visit. This has been successful in terms of providing an evaluation of the service and making effective relationships with the children. One of them remarked that he recognised her from video calls when meeting her face to face for the first time.

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Leaders and managers

The service facilitates an advocacy service and the frequency of visits (made virtually recently) has doubled to increase the opportunities children have of meeting the advocate. Nevertheless, children have limited awareness of the service and of how to complain. The provider has not done enough to promote these processes through publicity, information in the children’s guide or refreshing children’s understanding in children’s meetings and key-work sessions.

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Leaders and managers

The move of a young person during the pandemic to another service has been well managed, including introductory visits, the sharing of information and staff working in the new home with the young person to facilitate the transition.

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Leaders and managers

The manager and staff consult children and families about the service but outcomes from this and any consultation with placing authorities are not included in reviews of the quality of care. Actions are frequently unclear about what is to be done, how or why.

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Leaders and managers

The manager has addressed the requirements made at the last inspection. The team better understands safeguarding procedures, monitoring processes have led to Assurance visit report: SC424103 4 improvements in the physical environment and there is no evidence that serious incidents have occurred which should have been notified to Ofsted. However, the deficiencies in emergency evacuation records mean that the requirement to comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order is repeated, albeit for a different matter.

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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

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(iv)) 30/11/2020 Assurance visit report: SC424103 5 The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that an explanation is given to each child as soon as reasonably practicable after the child’s arrival about—

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Requirement Due date

how to make a complaint or representations in relation to the home or the care the child receives and how any such complaint or representations will be dealt with; and

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Requirement Due date

what advocacy support or services are available to the child, how the child may access that support or those services and any entitlement the child may have to independent advocacy provision.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(iii)) 30/11/2020

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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 feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and 30/11/2020 Assurance visit report: SC424103 6 any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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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

In particular, the report should describe the outcome of consultations and how they have been responded to, should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they agree with the placing authority (usually the child’s parents/carers), and if appropriate, the child’s school, an approach to meeting any relevant education targets while the child is in the short break setting. Short breaks can present an opportunity for the child to enjoy and achieve new things. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.22). This includes setting measurable targets and regularly recording progress against these.  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day to day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations

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Recommendations

including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) In particular, risk assessments should show how staff have calculated levels of risk and how measures recommended are anticipated to reduce these. Assurance visit report: SC424103 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Action For Children

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford, Hertfordshire WD18 8AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Shelagh Frankcom

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Inspector

Chris Peel, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC424103 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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