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

Inspection report children's home: SC443009 1 SC443009 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 six children with moderate to severe learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since 1 May 2019.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 21 September 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on our website.

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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 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: 12 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC443009 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 10/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/02/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/11/2018 Full Inadequate Inspection report children's home: SC443009 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have been supported to develop strong, trusting relationships with the staff. They feel happy and safe in their care. The quality of care that the staff provide has enabled the children to make good progress. This progress is recognised by the children, their social workers and their families who can see what a positive difference living at the home has made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are currently four children and one young person living at the home. Recently one child has moved in, and another child has moved out. The staff devised comprehensive transition plans to help prepare the children for the practical and emotional changes of a move. These plans have reduced the children’s anxieties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have high expectations of the children. The staff have created home-study routines for children to continue schoolwork at the home, in partnership with schools. One child has made significant progress in his favourite subject, and this achievement has led to a volunteer teaching assistant role at a school. Overall, the children are achieving, and some are exceeding their educational targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For children approaching adulthood, the staff work with them to develop their independence and life skills. The staff adapt plans, to ensure that children can practise new skills at their own pace. This creates a sense of inclusion, whereby children feel in control of their learning and are motivated to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to attend health appointments and to receive the specialist help that they need. The staff use electronic technology to share and monitor one child’s health condition with health professionals. This ensures that levels of medication are accurate. The staff manage this child’s health condition efficiently and ensure there is oversight from health professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff understand the value of family contact. They regularly travel with the children and plan creative activities that children can enjoy with their families. This enables the children to build positive family memories and to maintain their sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The accommodation has not been regularly maintained, and some of the bedrooms are not clean. There are damp marks in some of the children’s bathrooms. The bathroom skirting boards and flooring trim are unfinished and the patio paving slabs are loose. The general lack of upkeep detracts from an otherwise welcoming and homely environment.

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

The staff use a range of creative strategies to encourage the children’s positive behaviours. They use role-modelling activities, such as acts of kindness, to show the children what kind behaviours look like. The children benefit from children’s Inspection report children's home: SC443009 4 meetings, which the staff arrange to help them to explore how they can keep themselves safe . In addition, the staff provide individual key-work sessions following children’s difficult behaviours. These strategies help the children to recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others. Children understand what they need to do to improve their behaviour and keep themselves safe.

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

The manager deals with allegations promptly and effectively. She works closely with senior management staff, social workers and the designated officer, to ensure that information is shared and decisions are made in a multi-agency forum. This collaborative approach helps to keep the children safe.

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

The staff rarely use physical interventions. When used, these are proportionate and protect the children from harm. Children have good, detailed behaviour support plans that guide the staff’s responses. Physical interventions are carried out using skilled teamwork that fully reflects children’s support plans. However, when incidents arise, the staff do not always record a debrief with the child. Therefore, it is unclear whether the children are given the opportunity to reflect on the incident. In addition, the staff and the manager are not consistently signing and dating the incident records. This could make it difficult for the manager to confirm the accuracy and timeliness of what has been written.

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

The inspector was aware, during this inspection, that alleged serious incidents had occurred at the home since the last inspection. These are under investigation by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, actions taken by the home in response to the incidents were considered, alongside evidence available at the time of the visit. Ofsted are satisfied with the provider’s response.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been registered since 2019 and previously worked in different roles at the home, building a range of experience. She has established secure and stable leadership and put appropriate management systems in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff value the manager’s organisational skills and knowledge. They feel well supported by her. This has created a positive team culture and stable workforce that provide the children with consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive regular supervision and some training. However, they have not had the specialist training to understand some of the children’s more complex diagnoses. This may limit their ability to respond to the children’s behaviours as effectively as they could.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One staff member has not completed their level 3 qualification, despite working at the home for over two years. This staff member has not benefited from the interactive support and guidance that this qualification provides. Inspection report children's home: SC443009 5 The manager responds to complaints well. She ensures that the children receive a formal outcome that acknowledges their feelings and when required, informs the staff practice at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that tolerance and diversity are regularly promoted. The staff actively address discriminatory behaviours as they arise with the children. They act as positive role models and explore different cultures and identities with the children, using conversations and themed cultural evenings. This helps children to broaden their knowledge and understanding of different cultures and lifestyles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses both internal and external monitoring systems to assess the quality of the home. There is a development plan that provides a measurable benchmark of the improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager undertakes a group impact risk assessment before children move into the home. However, this impact assessment does not include a clear evaluation of the children’s individual needs, and the potential impact on the children already living at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has addressed most of the shortfalls raised at the assurance visit However, some of the records continue to contain errors such as incorrect dates and names. Therefore, this recommendation has been restated. Inspection report children's home: SC443009 6

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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

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b)) 13 December

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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 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 confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(ii)(c)) 12 July 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC443009 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is maintained to a good standard. In particular, the damp areas in the children’s bathrooms, the bathroom floors and the outside patio. In addition, ensure that the cleaning regime is effective. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that managers work closely with the placing authority to understand the child’s relationship history and the impact that the child’s arrival may have on the group living at the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.3)  The registered person should ensure that the staff can access appropriate resources to support their training needs and understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. In particular, ensure that staff

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Recommendations

have specialist training to understand the individual diagnosed needs of the children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Specifically, ensure that all staff sign and date all records. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC443009 8

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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

Leemya McKeown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC443009 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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