Children's Home run by Greenfields Adolescent Development Limited in Herefordshire

Inspection report children’s home: 1271587 1 Registered provider: Greenfields Adolescent Development Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home was registered by Ofsted in June 2020.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 2 November 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 12 November 2019

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 1271587 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/10/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1271587 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress. Three children are in the process of moving back to live with their families. One child has made significant progress and, as a result, is no longer going missing from home. Children recognise that their achievements and success are down to the support and care they receive from staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a consistent and committed staff team. Staff provide children with daily hugs, and staff understand each child’s individual needs. The in-house therapist works with both the staff and the children. This enables a consistent approach to each child’s care.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are creative in providing stimulating activities for children. During the COVID- 19 pandemic, a new pool table and trampoline have been purchased. Children have enjoyed going on walks in the local countryside. As restrictions have lifted, children have enjoyed going to theme parks and beating staff at golf.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last full inspection, the home has benefited from redecoration and the introduction of new soft furnishings. This has included staff proudly displaying children’s artwork. A member of staff commented that ‘the registered manager has brought in a homely feel; she has made it a home rather than just a place where children stay’.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their independence skills at a pace that suits them. One child is able to make ‘a mean crumble’ and another child is able to keep his bedroom tidy and complete his own washing. This gives children a sense of achievement and pride.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have ensured throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that children have had access to art-and-craft supplies and that children’s bicycles have been fixed and safe to use. However, the lack of Wi-Fi in the home has impacted on children and staff. This is something that the manager has worked tirelessly to try and fix. However, this has left children sometimes feeling isolated and frustrated.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Alarms on bedroom doors are used to help keep children safe at night. However, there have been occasions when staff have not followed agreed plans, and the alarms have been used unnecessarily. This impacts on the otherwise homely environment.

p.3

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children no longer go missing from home or require police support and guidance. A police officer told the inspector that ‘I feel that children are kept safe, and I believe that the lack of call outs is due to the good management of staff, and that this should be viewed as a positive…. Their records are always well kept, and I believe Inspection report children’s home: 1271587 4 they keep me informed when necessary’ .

p.3

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff respond to children’s challenging behaviours in a positive way, with the use of restraints being kept to a minimum.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There have been times when children have been unkind to each other. Staff have challenged this behaviour to help send a clear message about what is and what is not acceptable.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Although sanctions are reviewed by the registered manager, she is not yet recording whether the measures used are effective and appropriate or not. This creates a missed opportunity to review staff practice.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

When appointing new staff, the registered manager has not consistently followed safe recruitment practice, for example, not enough checks are carried out to explore the reasons why a member of staff left their last employment when they had previously worked with children or vulnerable adults. This has the potential to compromise safeguarding measures when recruiting new staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is motivated, resilient and ambitious for the future of the home. She has worked hard to bring about the necessary changes to the home since the last full inspection.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have been committed to ensuring that children do not experience interruption in their care, despite the impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A core staff team has, when needed, isolated in the home with the children to keep everyone safe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff state that they now feel empowered and confident in their roles and responsibilities. They feel able to approach the registered manager with any concerns they may have, and they feel that they will be listened too. This has helped to raise staff morale.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An independent visitor visits the home once a month to monitor and report on the quality of care. The registered manager states that she finds this an effective tool to help drive improvement within the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular training to make sure that they have the necessary skills to meet the diverse needs of the children who they look after. One member of staff is outside the timescale for achieving the required level 3 diploma in residential childcare. However, this delay is due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspection report children’s home: 1271587 5 Although many improvements have been made, there are some minor shortfalls. For example, staff talk about receiving good-quality supervision. However, the written notes do not always capture this. Furthermore, although children are regularly consulted, this is not fully captured in the home’s quality of care report. Inspection report children’s home: 1271587 6

p.4

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that appropriate Wi-Fi connection is available. 4 June 2021

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children.

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s bedroom alarms are only used as set out in their agreed risk assessments. 4 June 2021

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. 4 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1271587 7 The requirements are that—

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that if a person has previously worked in a position involving work with children or vulnerable adults, the registered person seeks verification so far as reasonably practicable of the reason why the employment or position ended.

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all sanctions are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should ensure that all staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, must have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.12)  The registered person should ensure that a record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The registered person should ensure that they undertake a review that focuses on

p.7

Recommendations

the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

p.7

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: 1271587 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Greenfields Adolescent Development Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Caretech Community Service Ltd, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1AG

p.8

Inspector

Louise Battersby, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1271587 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9