Children's home run by Barnardiston Hall Preparatory School Limited in West Suffolk

Inspection report children's home: SC427652 1 SC427652 Registered provider: Barnardiston Hall Preparatory School Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home is registered to care for up to four children with complex learning and/or social difficulties, including autism spectrum disorder.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager’s post has been vacant since 5 January 2021.

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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.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 17 September 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the last full inspection, Ofsted served a compliance notice in respect of the leadership and management of the home. A monitoring visit took place on 4 November 2019. At that visit, Ofsted judged that the provider had met the steps set out in the compliance notice and had made progress with addressing the shortfalls. The home was moved to a judgement of requires improvement to be good. Inspection report children's home: SC427652 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/09/2019 Full Inadequate 12/08/2019 Full Inadequate 31/10/2018 Full Good 14/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Ofsted received an anonymous complaint from a third party about the staff’s and the manager’s conduct at the home. The issues highlighted in the complaint were reviewed during this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were no children living at the home during the inspection. Two children had been living at the home since the assurance visit in September 2020. Both children moved on in planned ways to other homes within the organisation. One child had moved out the week before the inspection to live at a home where he knew other children who attend the same school as him. Another child moved out in February 2021 to a larger home that offered independent living space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The two children enjoyed good relationships with staff while living at the home. Staff have remained in contact with both children and, at the time of the inspection, staff were supporting one child in their new home. This arrangement has provided the child with continuity of care from the staff he knows well as he settles into his new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children regularly attended school. The headteacher said that the home and school have worked well together and have shared strategies to provide children with consistent support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have helped one child to make good progress with his reading. This child also made impressive progress with his speech. From a starting point of using single words, staff have helped this child to expand his language and put words together. As a result, the child is now able to ask questions and expand his knowledge in areas that interest him.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff helped children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Staff supported virtual and, more recently, face-to-face meetings by preparing Inspection report children's home: SC427652 3 children and assisting conversation by suggesting topics. One child enjoys arts and crafts, so the staff helped him to send gifts and photographs to his family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff supported children to access activities at the home and in the community. When activities were restricted due to COVID-19 lockdowns, children enjoyed outdoor activities such as feeding the ducks, picnics and accessing the outdoor gym in the nearby town.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The provider is currently reconfiguring the property to provide three bedrooms instead of four. Consequently, one bedroom has gained a large, modern en-suite bathroom. The provider is in the process of submitting a variation to Ofsted to change the number of children for whom it can provide care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The remainder of the house is decorated to an adequate standard. However, a new system for identifying maintenance issues and arranging repairs is not effective. Several maintenance issues were identified by the inspector that had not been identified and reported on by staff. These were rectified during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A foldaway bed has been placed in the lounge for staff to use when sleeping in. This does not offer staff privacy and restricts children’s access to a communal area of the home, albeit during the night.

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

There have been infrequent incidents at the home. Safeguarding incidents involving adults have been shared with the designated officer as required. This ensures that any identified actions are coordinated appropriately with other professionals.

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

One child would regularly self-harm when anxious or upset. Staff introduced a sensory tool for biting and there was a reduction in incidents. Records demonstrate how staff used de-escalation techniques and calming methods with children to avoid the use of physical intervention.

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

When needed, staff used restraint to stop a child from hurting himself. These restraints usually resulted in the child settling. On occasions, when holding a child was not successful, staff took advice from the behaviour management trainer. Staff and children had the opportunity to talk to a senior member of staff after the incident. However, the manager has not consistently signed records within 48 hours of the hold being used.

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

Senior managers have introduced a new induction programme and have completed a review of training to ensure that staff have the knowledge required to meet the needs of the children they are caring for. All staff have training in safeguarding. Staff have also attended face-to-face behaviour management training.

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

There are five members of staff at the home, with varying experience of working with children. This is a newly formed staff team with four members of staff moving across from other homes operated by the provider. The home has a safer Inspection report children's home: SC427652 4 recruitment policy. References are obtained and verified, but the provider has not obtained the reasons why applicants have left previous care roles. This fails to safeguard children as far as reasonably possible.

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

Staff are planning for a child to move into the home. The plan has been developed with other relevant professionals and in recognition of the child’s needs. The plan provides for time for the child to get to know staff before the child is introduced to the home.

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

All children’s bedrooms are fitted with door alarms. It is the home’s standard policy to set the alarms for all children. The manager obtained relevant consent to use the alarms for the children who have now moved on. However, this restriction of privacy has not been assessed. It is therefore not clear if this measure is required and proportionate to keep children safe.

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good

The home does not have a registered manager in post. The day-to-day running of the home is being led by the deputy manager with the support of the responsible individual. The absence of a manager has contributed to inconsistencies in oversight of the maintenance of the home and completion of records.

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good

Senior managers have taken responsibility for responding to complaints. There have been two complaints that have been dealt with formally and within timescale. However, the outcomes of the complaints have not been consistently recorded. Consequently, it is not clear if the complainant was given sufficient information to escalate their complaint if they were not happy with the outcome.

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good

Staff said that they feel supported by the current management arrangements and that they have been established as a team. Staff have regular supervision. Some staff have not received an annual appraisal.

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good

The independent person has not visited the home each month. Until last May 2021, they continued to undertake visits virtually as directed by the senior manager. Due to the children’s communication needs, the independent person has not talked to children about their experiences of living at the home as part of these visits or viewed the property. This limits the quality of material informing the independent person’s assessment. Inspection report children's home: SC427652 5

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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 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that complaint and sanction records are fully completed, and maintenance issues are identified to ensure that repairs are carried out promptly. 12 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered provider is an organisation or partnership. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)) 12 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (2)(a) (3)(d)) 12 July 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC427652 6 In particular, the provider must seek to obtain, as far as reasonably possible, the reasons why previous employment involving work with children or vulnerable adults ended.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(c)) 12 September 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (‘‘the behaviour management policy’’) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or person who is authorised to by the registered person to do so (‘‘the authorised person’’) has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (1)(b) (3)(b)(ii)) 12 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children. their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)) 12 August 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any limits on privacy and access to communal areas of the home are only put in place to safeguard each child in the home. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of each child’s needs, be properly recorded and kept under regular review. This specifically relates to the use of alarms on children’s bedroom doors. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, p15, paragraph 3.10)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff who sleep at the home overnight have appropriate accommodation and facilities to do so. In particular, ensure that staff are provided with a space that offers them privacy and does not encroach on communal areas of the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, p17, paragraph 3.26) Inspection report children's home: SC427652 7

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Barnardiston Hall Preparatory School Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Greenwood House, Greenwood Court, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk IP32 7GY

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Inspector

Paula Edwards, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC427652 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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Inspector

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