Children's Home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Cornwall

Inspection report children’s home: 1236278 1 -

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Registered provider: Priory Education Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides care for up to three children. This home is part of a large, national organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 29 May 2020. There are currently two children living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 29 November 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1236278 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2018 Full Inadequate 10/10/2018 Full Inadequate 04/07/2018 Full Inadequate 04/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1236278 3

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improvement to be good

Experiences for children are mixed. One child had been living in the home without other children for a long period of time and had been settled. This child has established strong and trusting relationships with adults. The progress he has made in all areas of his life is excellent. However, the same child has felt unhappy and scared more recently because he has witnessed or heard adults being hit and injured by another child who has since moved in. The adults make good efforts to support positive interactions between the children, which were observed during the inspection. However, not enough attention has been given to helping the child feel safer and more protected. The child said: ‘I don’t want to leave my home or the adults. I love it here, feel safe with them and it’s become my home, but I don’t want to live with the other child, and I know he can’t leave.’

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improvement to be good

Various professionals are involved with one child but are not all aware of each other’s interventions. The child’s plan is not based on a thorough, coordinated multi- disciplinary assessment of need. This in turn means that guidance carers use to support and look after the child is not fully considered. Consequently, the child’s ability to progress to his full potential is limited.

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improvement to be good

Both children have previously been out of education for a significant time. Now, they attend school full time. The headteacher reported that the children engage well and are supported by the positive regard that the adults in the home have for the children. Children are starting to enjoy clubs and activities as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) restrictions start to relax. One child is blossoming into young adulthood due to the meaningful relationships he has made in the home. He has career aspirations and can now respond to therapy in relation to past experiences. His family relationships are also improved. This means that his future life experiences as an adult living away from the home are more likely to be successful.

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improvement to be good

Positive experiences that the children enjoy are captured by the adults in photographs and in ‘good news’ letters sent to family and professionals. However, these memories have not yet been organised so that children can look back at them in the future.

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improvement to be good

More recently, adults have not been able to diffuse situations enough to prevent themselves from getting hurt on a regular basis. Consequently, their ability to emotionally and physically safeguard children, who have extremely complex needs, is compromised at times. This is partly due to inconsistent responses to children and the lack of an effective multi-agency plan that all professionals are signed up to and contribute to. Inspection report children’s home: 1236278 4 Physical intervention has occurred on one occasion, and this led to the child and adults involved raising concerns. Safeguarding procedures were not followed correctly, leading to the child being exposed to risk. Leaders and managers took this seriously and have carried out a full investigation and made clear recommendations to prevent this from happening again.

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improvement to be good

The process of recruiting adults to care for children is now safe and thorough. Medication administration procedures are also robust and safe.

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good

The adults in the home have suffered a concerning number of injuries. The system that leaders and managers use to respond to these accidents is not robust or supportive enough. Records do not evidence that strategies to prevent accidents from happening are examined. This has led to some staff feeling despondent.

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good

When incidents happen, there is not sufficient debrief of adults, although meaningful conversations do take place with children. Incident reports do not always contain the relevant information. Management reviews of incidents do not unpick events enough to consider the effectiveness of care given or highlight inconsistent responses to make future improvements to guidance.

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good

The manager demonstrates a strong commitment to her role. She has covered staffing vacancies. When she has been involved in incidents, the benefit of independent management oversight has not always been applied. Due to the extra hours that the manager has worked, she has not been able to give management duties her full attention, including analysing events that happen in the home, so that she can identify patterns. The manager has now recruited enough staff to work in the home.

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good

Team meetings have stopped, although the manager intends to resume these quickly. Supervision, challenge and support are not always sufficient or regular enough for managers and staff. Staff have not received all the training necessary to ensure that they are skilled at supporting children who have complex diagnoses. However, training relating to children’s individual needs is now booked.

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good

The home environment is well maintained and homely. The recommendations made at the assurance visit are now met.

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good

Professionals said that they have noted recent improvements in the home, and a social worker recognises the progress made by a child who has recently moved in. The registered manager is child focused, resilient and very committed to the children she is responsible for. The home employs an independent visitor to provide monthly reports on the quality of care given. The visitor provides strong scrutiny and constructive challenge. Inspection report children’s home: 1236278 5

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff— protect and promote each child’s welfare; provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iv)) This particularly refers to ensuring that children have a joined-up multi-disciplinary plan that meets their needs. Leaders must also ensure that effective guidance is provided that correlates to these plans and that children receive the necessary support they need. 25 June 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— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; 4 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1236278 6 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)(d)(h)) This requires the manager to ensure that the recording of incidents and accidents has improved and that management review and oversight, including independent management oversight where relevant, are robust and consider the consistency and effectiveness of actions and strategies used.

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Requirement Due date

The process for reviewing and providing support to staff when accidents occur must be strengthened. Additionally, leaders and managers must ensure that sufficient and effective supervision and debriefs are completed. The manager must also ensure that team members have regular team meetings.

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Recommendations

 Staff should keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of the time spent living at the home and help them record significant life events. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 1236278 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Priory Education Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Priory Group, Fifth Floor, 80 Hammersmith Road, London, Middlesex W14 8UD

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Hannah-Marie Bennetts

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Inspector

Sarah Canto, Social Care Inspector Michelle Oxley, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report children’s home: 1236278 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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