Children's home run by A & S Children’s Services Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2611288 1 Registered provider: A & S Children’s 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 was registered with Ofsted in February 2021. The manager was registered at this time. The home is owned by a private company and it provides care for up to three children who have experienced childhood instability that has resulted in trauma and complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection since the home was registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded. The care and experiences of children are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2611288 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected. Inspection report children’s home: 2611288 3

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inadequate

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. Two children have recently left the home due to safeguarding concerns and fears for their safety in the community. From their challenging starting points, children have made little progress while living in the home. Missing-from-home episodes have increased in number.

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inadequate

A full assessment of children’s suitability is not completed prior to them moving into the home. This has resulted in children not being suitably matched with the existing children and staff being unable to meet the needs of the children in their care. Impact risk assessments about the group living dynamics and the potential impact of children’s behaviours on each other are not sufficiently considered. Consequently, negative peer influence within the home has triggered a number of incidents of children influencing other vulnerable children to engage in antisocial behaviours.

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inadequate

Children’s education outcomes are variable. Although children have an educational placement, their attendance is poor. Behaviour agreements are not put in place to encourage educational attendance. At the time of this inspection, none of the children in the home were engaging in their educational provision. A social worker said: ‘The home is committed to [the child] but have struggled to engage her in any meaningful activity or get her to attend education.’

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inadequate

Generally, staff promote the health of children well. Children are registered with health practitioners and staff support children to access medical treatment when necessary. However, while healthy eating routines are recommended in children’s plans, these are not consistently implemented.

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inadequate

Children develop positive relationships with the core staff team. One child reported a good relationship with the staff team, stating that they felt respected and in turn was respectful of the staff team.

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inadequate

The unkempt state of children’s bedrooms demonstrates lack of care for children. Expectations for staff are unclear and children are not encouraged to value their own private space or their belongings. This has a detrimental impact on children’s self-esteem and their feelings of self-worth.

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

Children have been involved in a number of serious incidents at the home and in the community. Incidents include violence and aggression, alcohol and illegal substance misuse, children going missing from care, criminal activity and antisocial behaviour. One incident involved three children barricading themselves in a bedroom at the home, where they consumed alcohol and illegal substances. Staff admit that they felt powerless to manage this incident. Consequently, staff did not take action to Inspection report children’s home: 2611288 4 safeguard the children from harm. The manager and staff have not reflected on such incidents or identified suitable learning and development opportunities to improve behaviour and risk management at the home.

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

Staff do not always know where children are, what they are doing or who they are with. Children told the inspector that they spend little time in the home and do not share details of their whereabouts with the registered manager and staff. Information from return home interviews is not shared with staff. This limits the ability of staff to understand and analyse children’s missing behaviours. On occasion, the police have returned children to the home when they have been missing and reported that they have allegedly been involved in incidents such as robbery, shoplifting, serious physical assault and possession of illegal drugs.

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

Staff do not manage children’s behaviour well. Children have colluded to go missing together and encouraged each other to engage in antisocial behaviours. Positive behaviour is encouraged through the use of a rewards system and staff use sanctions rarely. However, this is not effective in helping children to manage their behaviours. A lack of clear boundaries, unclear expectations and ineffective responses by managers and staff do not help the children to manage their frustrations and learn socially acceptable behaviour.

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

Children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans fail to identify all risk-taking behaviours. They do not provide staff with clear guidance on how to safeguard children. Multiple shortfalls were identified in these documents and they are not an accurate reflection of children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has experience of leading a staff team in a residential setting. He has the level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager acknowledges that his team has faced significant challenges since the home was registered. Although leaders and managers are beginning to understand the strengths of the service, they do not sufficiently recognise the areas for development. For this reason, leaders and managers do not understand the impact that the poor quality of care has on the progress and experiences for children. This lack of understanding inhibits the capacity for improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not ensure that sufficient assessment and planning take place prior to children moving into the home. This has contributed to placements being terminated after a few weeks because staff did not have the skills, knowledge and experience to meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management monitoring and oversight at the home are weak. Poor management oversight has resulted in a failure to identify shortfalls in practice. For example, the management oversight and challenge of records is poor, with some serious incidents Inspection report children’s home: 2611288 5 not having sufficient management oversight and challenge. As a result, shortfalls in staff practice and recording have continued and remained unchallenged.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home was registered with Ofsted in February 2021. However, the first visit from an independent visitor did not take place until May 2021. Furthermore, the independent visitor did not report on whether children are safeguarded effectively, nor on the conduct of the home in promoting children’s well-being as required by regulation. This does not demonstrate safe and effective monitoring and oversight of the home by leaders and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The children’s guide does not contain sufficient information for children or their parents about how to make a complaint and the process for dealing with any complaints.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff reported to the inspector that they had not received supervision since the home opened, although there are weekly team meetings where concerns for the children are discussed. Staff training has mainly been completed online during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the majority of the staff have not completed training in first aid or safe restraint practice. Some staff reported that they are aware of what is expected from them to support children and to prevent and reduce the use of physical intervention. Leaders and managers have produced a training plan that outlines the arrangements for face-to-face training in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Not all of the staff working in the home have a suitable qualification in children’s residential care; nor are they enrolled to complete such qualifications. This means that some staff do not have the necessary residential skills and knowledge to support and care for children. Inspection report children’s home: 2611288 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

*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 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 1 September 2021

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding.(Regulation 11(1) (2)(i)(ii)(iii)) 1 September 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— 1 September 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2611288 7 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)) 1 September 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person. 1 September 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2611288 8 The registered person must take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual who is working at the home and who does not fall within paragraph (2)(a) and (b) is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties. (Regulation 32 (7)(d) (8))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

if the child dies before attaining the age of 18, for 15 years from the date of the child’s death;

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Requirement Due date

in cases not falling within sub-paragraph (a), for 75 years from the child’s date of birth;

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Requirement Due date

securely in the children’s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there; and

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Requirement Due date

in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 1 September 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

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

HMCI. (Regulation 44 (1) (4)(a)(b) (7)(a)) 1 September 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2611288 9 * These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. The home should take account of information to understand and analyse children's missing behaviour to enable them to manage risk. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plan and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive

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Recommendations

environment that meet the needs of the children. In particular, the registered provider should repair or replace damaged and missing bathroom doors, young people’s bed headboards and the kitchen television aerial. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20).(‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, paragraph 10.8, page 53)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand the factors that affect children’s motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way. Staff should encourage an enthusiasm for positive behaviour through the use of positive behaviour strategies in line with the child’s relevant plans to ensure that behaviour is managed effectively. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations

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Recommendations

including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.13)  The registered person should ensure that where there is a possibility that a child will run away or go missing from the home, the child’s risk assessment is reviewed and includes strategies to reduce risk when the risks of children going missing increase. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.24)

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: 2611288 10 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: 2611288 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: A & S Children’s Services Limited

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Inspector

Juanita Mayers, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2611288 12 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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