Children's home run by Silverlining Childcare Limited

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC458746 1 SC458746

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Silverlining Childcare Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care and accommodation for one child who may have experienced disruption in their life and have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since September 2018. A new manager is in post and has applied to Ofsted to be the registered manager.

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This monitoring visit

On 20 and 21 October 2020, Ofsted undertook an assurance visit. The visit identified widespread and serious concerns. As a result, a notice of suspension was issued. Monitoring visits have subsequently been completed by Ofsted on 4 December 2020, 16 December 2020 and 11 January 2021.

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This monitoring visit

Following the monitoring visit on 11 January 2021, the notice of suspension was lifted and a notice of variation to the home’s registration was issued. This reduced the number of children the home can accommodate from four children to one child.

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This monitoring visit

In addition, on 25 February 2021, a notice of decision to cancel the registration of the home was issued.

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This monitoring visit

There have been no children living in the home since the last monitoring visit.

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This monitoring visit

The home does not yet have enough staff. There are currently only two permanent members of staff in post. This means that there are four staff vacancies. The manager confirmed that two of these vacancies will be filled by bank staff who currently work for the provider. This means that should a child move into the home, the existing staff would be required to cover the shifts of the two vacant staff posts. It is not clear how sustainable this would be. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC458746 2 It is Ofsted’s view that, because of the limited number of staff in the team, it would be unsafe for the home to accommodate any more than one child. Therefore, the existing notice of variation of conditions will remain in place.

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This monitoring visit

Although no children have moved into the home since the last visit, the manager has offered placements to two children. In both cases, the children’s placing local authorities made the decision not to progress with the placements. Notwithstanding this, managers did not follow the home’s admissions procedures before offering placements to the local authorities. Specifically, all decisions about placements to the home should be agreed by the responsible individual. This did not take place. This does not give Ofsted confidence in the leadership team’s ability to plan effectively for new admissions to the home.

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This monitoring visit

The manager informed the inspector that a new operational manager was due to start on 5 March 2021. The inspector requested to review the completed recruitment checks for this individual. These were not available. The manager contacted the responsible individual during the inspection to discuss this. He was informed that the recruitment checks had not been completed and a start date for the operational manager had not been agreed. The incorrect information provided to the inspector does not provide assurances about the leadership of the home.

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This monitoring visit

At the time of the visit, Ofsted had not received a copy of the manager’s six-monthly quality of care review. The manager was not aware that this had not been sent to Ofsted in the required timescales. It was confirmed that the responsible individual had not sent this report to Ofsted. A copy of the report was received during the inspection. The delay in this report being sent shows a disorganised approach to the manager’s oversight of the home.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have recently undertaken a range of training to help develop their skills and knowledge. Training completed has included topics such as domestic violence and attachment. The extent to which this training has enabled staff to safeguard children and meet their needs is untested.

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This monitoring visit

New systems have been implemented to record incidents of physical restraint. These recording systems have been discussed in supervision sessions with staff. As there are no children currently living in the home, the effectiveness of this system and of staff’s and the manager’s ability to use it is untested.

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This monitoring visit

Five requirements have been repeated from the last visit. This includes regulation 36 (case records) which could not be considered as part of this visit because there are no children living in the home.

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This monitoring visit

As set out in this report, there continues to be concerns about the leadership of the home. As such, the responsible individual has not yet demonstrated that she has the skills and experience to supervise and oversee the management of the home. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC458746 3

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 20/08/2019 Full Good 08/05/2019 Full Inadequate 24/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/07/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC458746 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 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 spire 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(e)(f) 31 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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 31 March 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC458746 5 A responsible individual must—

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (7)(b)) 31 March 2021

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record 31 March 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC458746 6 confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that copies of children’s education, health and care plans and children looked after medical reports are on file. 31 March 2021

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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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Inspector

Sam Dulay-Kainth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC458746 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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