Children's home run by Partnerships in Care 1 Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 1 Registered provider: Partnerships In Care 1 Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is dual registered with Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to eight children who have emotional health needs and who self-harm.

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Information about this children’s home

This specialist service is part of a large, national, private organisation. The organisation has its own clinical team.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager resigned and left the post before the inspection. At the time of the inspection, other managers were overseeing the home.

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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 7 April 2021, to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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 inadequate

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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: 28 October 2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 2 Overall judgement at last inspection: Requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: The home was subject to a compliance notice under Regulation 32, fitness of workers, after a monitoring visit on 11 March 2021. A further monitoring visit took place on 7 April 2021 where the compliance notice was assessed to be met. Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/07/2019 Full Inadequate 20/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 4

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improvement to be good

The day-to-day experiences of children are not consistently good. This is due to several staff leaving the home, including the registered manager. Staff shortages, especially of those who can drive, have meant that on occasion health appointments have had to be rescheduled and some activities cancelled or postponed.

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improvement to be good

Children are making progress. Of the six children living at the home, four will have left the home by September 2021. They are either returning home or moving on to live independently. These children have gained employment or places in further education colleges.

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improvement to be good

Staff have developed strong relationships with the children. Children are comfortable around staff and enjoy their company. They said that their views are sought and valued by staff. The inspector observed a lot of laughter in the home and found that interactions between staff and children were warm and caring. Children said that they like living here and that they feel well cared for and safe. All children named staff they would go to if they needed to talk. However, they also said that there are not as many staff about as there used to be and they miss this.

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improvement to be good

The range of activities provided is good, although on occasions the shortage of staff and drivers has had a negative impact. The range of activities has also been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but staff have been creative in providing children with alternative activities and have purchased additional activity equipment for the home. Children love doing arts and crafts and proudly showed off their work. Some use the items they have made to personalise their rooms.

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improvement to be good

Children’s plans require improvement. Some are of an appropriate quality and are current for most children. However, for one child there was contradictory information on the frequency of checks to be carried out by staff, which could lead to inconsistency among the staff team. In addition, this child’s health plan was incomplete. Another child has a lack of plans and documents from the placing authority, which should be available for staff. The plans for children leaving the home require improvement as they lack clarity and clear timescales. For example, one child who is leaving the home has no moving on plan. Children’s plans do provide clear guidance for staff on the management of self-harming behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide the children with a good-quality environment in which to live. It is personalised and the children see it as their home. There is ample internal and external space for the children and their pets. However, the number of health and safety signs around the home detract from the comfortable, welcoming environment the staff and children strive to create. Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 5

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding concerns, including a significant safeguarding event, have been appropriately reported. Records of safeguarding events are clear and detailed, but they do not contain the outcome of the investigation or describe the lessons learned from reflecting on these events.

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improvement to be good

Children’s behaviour is generally managed appropriately by staff. However, behaviour management plans need improvement as they do not consistently provide clear information and/or guidance for staff. One of the children does not have a complete behaviour support plan and this does not support the consistency of care.

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improvement to be good

Restraint is only used to safeguard the children. However, there is a lack of evidence of good-quality conversations with children after a restraint. In addition, conversations with staff after a restraint are not consistently held. This does not allow the opportunity for children or staff to reflect and learn from the event.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond appropriately when children go missing from the home. Return home interviews are not being completed in a timely manner by social workers. Staff have raised this, but they have not escalated this concern effectively to senior managers in the placing authority.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are of an appropriate quality and provide clear guidance for staff. However, the inspector was unable to review the impact assessment for the child who moved into the home most recently. This was because the assessment was stored on the deputy manager’s personal computer drive and could not be made available at the time of inspection.

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improvement to be good

One member of staff has been recruited since the first monitoring visit. Their recruitment file contains the relevant information. However, the record of the interview held with them was of poor quality and from only one member of the interview panel.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

At the time of inspection there was no registered manager in post as they had recently resigned.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home is currently being managed by the deputy manager, who works three days a week with additional support from the responsible individual and a senior member of staff from one of the organisation’s other services. This is insufficient and does not support the development of the home. In addition, senior leaders have not ensured that the responsible individual has sufficient capacity to undertake the role effectively. Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 6 Leaders and managers do not have an accurate understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement required for this home. This is due to ineffective monitoring, analysis and evaluation of the work undertaken. This lack of effective management occurs at all levels and includes the registered manager’s monitoring prior to her leaving, monitoring completed by staff, and oversight by the responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Several staff have left and others have recently resigned and are working their notice. Currently, exit interviews of staff who leave are not completed. As a result, leaders and managers do not properly understand the reasons for staff turnover and are unable to identify trends or patterns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The dynamics within the staff group are poor and do not promote a constructive working environment. Staff told the inspector that morale is low as they do not feel supported in their role, made worse by regularly working overtime. Staff supervision is not of a consistently good quality and does not tackle the poor dynamics, provide staff with the right support and aid in their development. Senior managers have recognised this, and discussions have taken place about how to address the concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Limited response to the inspection was received from other professionals. However, those who did provide feedback said that the children are making progress. One professional raised concern about staffing levels and that the quality and level of communication with them has decreased. Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 7

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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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, when return home interviews are not carried out in a timely manner by the placing authority, the registered person must escalate this concern within the placing authority. 13 September 2021

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

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)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure plans are complete and do not contain contradictory information. 13 September 2021

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that— 30 August 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 8 the health and well-being needs of children are met.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure a completed health care plan is in place for each child.

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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;

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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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(d)(h)) 13 September 2021

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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;

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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 arrangements are in place to— 30 August 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 9 plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, each child must have a clear moving on plan to aid them in moving on to the next stage in their lives. All plans must be up to date and all required documentation and plans must be obtained from the placing authority.

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (7)(b)) 13 September 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 30 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse or neglect;

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Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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Requirement Due date

provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response. (Regulation 34 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, records of safeguarding events must include the outcome of the investigation. 30 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that records, which may be kept in electronic form, are kept in an accessible manner. (Regulation 38)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, all required records and documents must be made available to the inspector at the point of inspection. 30 August 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 10

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Recommendations

 The registered person must review the number of health and safety signs in the home, which present an ‘institutional’ impression, and ensure that the environment is homely throughout. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children and staff are provided with the opportunity to reflect on incidents and in particular when restraint has been used. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should monitor and review the patterns and trends of turnover of staff, whether agency or directly employed, and be able understand and where possible, address any negative trends. This must include completing exit interviews with staff who are leaving wherever possible. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.19)

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Recommendations

 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 plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. This information must be contained with an impact or compatibility risk assessment. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that good-quality records of the interview of new staff are documented by each member of the interview panel. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 1247390 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Partnerships In Care 1 Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Wendy Anderson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 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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