Children's Home run by Indigo Children’s Care Homes Limited in Southend on Sea

Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2596906 1

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Indigo Children’s Care Homes Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home is registered to provide care for up to four children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager resigned on 11 January 2021.

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This monitoring visit

The home was registered in August 2020 and has not been inspected since registration. Two children have moved into the home since registration and were living at the home at the time of the visit.

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This monitoring visit

This visit took place following significant concerns raised by external professionals, information received by Ofsted and discussion between the inspector and the responsible individual. The visit was a blended approach of on-site and off-site activity. At the visit, serious shortfalls were identified. Consequently, the home is likely to be subject to enforcement action.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have failed to provide the staff with adequate guidance to understand what they need to do to provide effective care and keep children safe. The children’s care plans are not fit for purpose. Information about serious safeguarding incidents has not been updated in either of the children’s care plans. Staff are not following or incorporating local authority care plans into their practice. Furthermore, there are no behaviour management plans and no individual missing-from-care protocols for staff to follow.

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This monitoring visit

Risk assessments do not adequately mitigate known and serious risks and are ineffective. Most of the assessments are not dated or updated, and the content is insufficient to enable staff to understand and minimise the risks that children face. The staff have regularly bought train tickets for a child who is at high risk of county Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2596906 2 lines involvement and going missing. The staff have failed to provide appropriate boundaries and do not have control. They lack awareness of the potential signs of exploitation. There is no evidence that the staff took action in response to regular occurrences of a child returning to the home under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Staff do not take appropriate action to safeguard children or manage their healthcare needs effectively.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not consistently show ambition for the children. Staff have not established daily routines that engage children in structured activities and education. This has a negative impact on children’s ability to recognise and achieve their full potential. As a result, children have made no progress in education.

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This monitoring visit

Staffing arrangements fail to ensure effective care and supervision for the children. There are shortfalls in staffing deployment. The staff are lone working during shifts of three consecutive days, including sleeping in, despite risk assessments stating that two staff are to sleep in and that there should be no lone working.

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This monitoring visit

Monitoring and review systems are not wholly effective. This means that shortfalls are not identified and limits the capacity of the home to improve. The management team has failed to notify Ofsted of serious incidents that have been ongoing since the home was registered. The current level of scrutiny does not provide a sufficiently thorough overview of the quality of care at the home.

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This monitoring visit

There is no registered manager in post. The responsible individual has not provided effective oversight of the home. The evidence gathered demonstrates that the deputy manager and staff do not possess a secure knowledge of effective safeguarding practice and that their actions and inaction have placed children at serious risk of harm.

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2596906 3

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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—

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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

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iv)(x)) 20 March 2021

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 20 March 2021

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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 10 March 2021 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2596906 4 harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

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 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)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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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—

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 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)(d)(h)) 10 March 2021

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. 20 March 2021 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2596906 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c)(e)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 10 March 2021

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2596906 6

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to establish whether children are safeguarded effectively, following concerns raised to Ofsted.

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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: Indigo Children's Care Homes Limited

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Inspectors

Cathy Russell, Social Care Inspector Trish Palmer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2596906 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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