Children's home run by Ivie Lodge Limited

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2483881 1

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Ivie Lodge Ltd

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and provides care and accommodation for up to five children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since October 2020.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was undertaken to review potential concerns that had been identified in notifications submitted to Ofsted. The visit was undertaken remotely. Children declined to speak with the inspector. Staff and managers were spoken to by phone or video call. The inspector also gathered information from placing social workers and other involved agencies by email or phone.

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This monitoring visit

One child is vulnerable to exploitation but is not adequately supported to stay safe because managers have not provided a structured, supervised routine. The child’s most recent plan provides for unstructured free time between 08:00 and 22:00 each day. Staff often do not know where she is or who she is with during her time out of the home. This child is vulnerable to risks associated with going missing from home. Despite this, her ‘free time risk assessment’ is not reviewed after missing from home incidents. This lack of structure limits opportunities for staff to provide support, guidance and protection to the child.

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This monitoring visit

On occasion, staff and managers make poor decisions that do not take account of known vulnerabilities and have the potential to place children at risk of harm. For example, one particularly vulnerable child was taken on a shopping trip to a location that had not been carefully considered. The risks associated with the child going missing also had not been properly considered. Some decision-making by staff increased the risk that the child would go missing from the activity. Subsequently, the child did go missing. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2483881 2 In another incident, a child left the home without permission early in the morning and was away from the home for approximately nine hours before staff realised that she was absent. The failure to check on the child indicates that staff did not provide safe, attentive care.

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This monitoring visit

Following a missing from home incident, the placing authority for a child took the decision to suspend the child’s free time until further notice. However, managers have not updated their own plans to take account of this decision. The child is still allowed some limited free time in the community. This has the potential to lead to further missing incidents.

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This monitoring visit

These incidents reflect a lack of understanding by management and staff of actual and potential risks to children. They also reflect a lack of effective management oversight.

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager has not carefully monitored the quality of care provided in the home. For example, regular quality of care reviews have not been carried out by the manager as required by regulation. This reduces the capacity of the manager to recognise weakness and make improvements.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have not provided enough training to staff. In a number of cases, staff have not received training that would support them to understand and meet the particular needs of children or on how to protect children from harm, abuse and exploitation. This shortfall demonstrates that staff are not supported effectively to care for the children living in the home.

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This monitoring visit

One child has not been in formal education for most of the past year. There is no personal education plan recorded as being in place. It is not clear what plans exist for the child during the school day. There is insufficient evidence of the registered manager challenging the placing authority or seeking to resolve this. This undermines the child’s ability to fulfil their educational potential.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has not ensured that each member of staff receives regular formal supervision. This further reduces opportunities to provide staff with guidance and oversight.

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager has failed to notify Ofsted of all relevant incidents. This undermines the regulator’s ability to have clear oversight of the home. The registered manager has also failed to refer a serious staff practice issue to the designated officer in a timely manner. This potentially undermines any investigation and could place children at risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

Not all previously set requirements were assessed during this monitoring visit. They will be carried over to the next inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2483881 3

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 18/06/2019 Full Good 19/02/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2483881 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 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.

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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

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to supporting children to read, sign and comment on relevant care plans and records. 04 April 2021

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Requirement Due date

that all employees undertake appropriate professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.(Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to staff receiving mandatory and essential training and supervision records reflecting planned and actual dates. 04 April 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 04 April 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2483881 5 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, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the need for the provider to ensure that full information about training, qualifications and experience of agency staff is consistently sought and considered.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify Ofsted and each other relevant person without delay if -

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the need for prompt referrals to be made to the designated officer and relevant notifications to Ofsted. 04 April 2021

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff -

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve the child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to ensure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs. (Regulation 5 (a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the need to ensure education and health needs of children are in place in a timely manner. 04 April 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 04 April 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2483881 6 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any 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

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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staff understanding and implementation of each child’s risk assessments, missing protocols and plans, as well as staff training and experience.

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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

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff understanding and agreeing reasonable amounts of free time with the placing authority. 04 April 2021

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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 a child aspire to fulfil their potential; and 04 April 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2483881 7 promotes their welfare.

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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

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;

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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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that staff have the necessary training and skills to meet children’s needs, as well as management monitoring and oversight of the care provided to children. The registered person must ensure that -

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Requirement Due date

at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. (Regulation 31 (2)(s))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that staff have completed the mandatory and annual refresher training. 04 April 2021

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2483881 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2nd Floor, 9 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 3BE

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Inspector

Tracy Murty, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2483881 9 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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