Children's home run by The Open Care Group

Inspection report children’s home: 2605108 1 Registered provider: The Open Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in January 2021. It is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides medium to long-term care for up to three children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager registered at the same time. This is the first inspection of 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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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: 2605108 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2605108 3

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improvement to be good

Children in the home make progress at different rates. One child has seen a reduction in missing episodes, improved engagement with education and is focusing on future career choices. Professionals say the support the child has received from the home has contributed to this progress.

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improvement to be good

Children have experienced trauma in the past and staff work at the child’s pace to support them and encourage them to understand the emotions this can prompt. This supports good relationships between staff and children, who mostly say they like living in the home. One child says it’s the ‘best home’ they have lived in. However, not all children have the same trusting relationships with staff and this contributes to them spending less time in the home.

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improvement to be good

Some children do not make progress at the same rate. There are periods when they spend a lot of time away from the home, and overall the incidence of children going missing is high. These children have also not attended education. There have been incidents involving drug and alcohol misuse, and police involvement has followed.

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improvement to be good

Some children mix with peers who may be a negative influence on them. Staff work to disrupt these associations, but not always successfully. There are occasions where staff do not know where, or with whom, children spend their time. However, staff make efforts to identify properties where children go, and find out about the people who live there. This helps to promote the children’s safety.

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improvement to be good

The care provided for the children is personalised. Children’s rooms are decorated to their taste and activities like go-karting are chosen by them, reflecting their interests. Sometimes, the children will have joint experiences which support positive peer friendships. The personalised elements of care help to promote children’s sense of identity and belonging. Children say they feel listened to, which increases their sense of worth and improves their life experience. This is a strength of the home.

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improvement to be good

Children should have a record of their time in care which can help them in the future to understand their childhood experiences better. The home has not been effective in compiling this record on the children’s behalf, which does not support the children to understand their sense of identity and belonging.

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improvement to be good

Risks specific to the children are generally understood and recorded. There is good multi-agency working, which promotes the safety of the children. There have, however, been a number of shortfalls identified with regard to wider safeguarding practice. These can generally be summarised as lack of consistency across records, Inspection report children’s home: 2605108 4 lack of effective information-sharing in the team, insufficient detail in recordings, and ineffective steps to prevent children being exposed to harm.

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improvement to be good

Of particular concern is the fact that some children leave the home during the night. Although staff attempt to dissuade them, this rarely stops children from going out. On these occasions, staff do not always have reassurance that the children are not going to places or to meet people who may pose a risk to them. In respect of practice around children going missing, the independent return interviews are not provided consistently. This is a missed opportunity to learn more about the reasons the children are leaving the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff record information regarding risk and behaviours, but do not always share it widely enough through the team, or in a systematic way which guarantees that all staff have the same understanding. This does not promote a consistent approach to supporting the children.

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improvement to be good

Staff have identified that there are risks to children on the internet/social media, but staff do not robustly monitor children in this regard. Instead, staff encourage children to voluntarily share information, which leaves the children potentially vulnerable. The staff have introduced some parental controls in the home’s internet settings, which does reduce risks while children are on the premises.

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improvement to be good

There were shortfalls in the condition of the premises observed during the inspection. For example, window restrictors were broken, and one child had a prohibited item on the premises. Staff do complete room checks but had not identified these shortfalls. Remedial action was started during the course of the inspection.

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good

There have been occasions when significant events have not been notified in line with regulations. These include staff finding a dangerous item in a child’s possession, missing from home incidents out of area, children’s involvement with the police, and children accessing a tattoo gun. This does not enable the regulator to have effective oversight of practice in the home and ensure that children’s safety is being promoted.

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good

When significant events occur, debriefs are not completed in line with regulations. This reduces staff’s ability in the future to effectively manage behaviours or be supported.

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good

Shortfalls were identified in recruitment practice, where references had not been properly verified and evidence of qualifications sought. This does not provide reassurance about the suitability of workers. However, staff’s integrity had not come into question and some aspects of recruitment were good, especially inductions to the home which were consistently delivered. Training has been maintained despite the pressures of the pandemic and is described as being of a high quality by staff. Inspection report children’s home: 2605108 5 Supervisions are said to be helpful to staff, but sessions are not delivered at the frequency described in the home’s supervision policy. There is insufficient recording of reflective discussions within supervision sessions relating to the children. Staff describe leaders and managers as supportive and have praise for the personal development opportunities offered to them.

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good

Team meetings are held on a regular basis and written minutes produced, but the manager does not have a mechanism for checking that absent staff have read and understood the records. This also applies to disseminating other information within the team, as there is no mechanism for checking if staff have read and understood changes to care or other plans. Inspection report children’s home: 2605108 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, the 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This is in reference to: Conducting effective room checks/searches to remove dangerous items. Taking effective action to reduce risks to young people, especially with regard to going out during the night. Ensuring that safety-related repairs are completed as a matter of priority. Ensuring that risk assessments clearly set out steps for staff to follow in order to manage risks. Ensuring that independent return interviews are provided, alongside safe and well checks after all missing episodes. 31 August 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2605108 7 Ensuring that an online safety risk assessment identifies strategies to minimise this risk, and that staff use these strategies. 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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is with reference to: Ensuring robust mechanisms for information-sharing between staff. Leaders and managers reassuring themselves that care is being delivered by staff who understand and follow the plans. Introducing monitoring to evidence that information has not only been received by staff but has also been read, understood and implemented. 31 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, 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 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(d)) 31 August 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2605108 8 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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, supervision should be at least monthly in line with policy and provide an opportunity for reflective discussion on practice, especially related to the children. 31 August 2021

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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 spoken to the user about the measure; and

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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)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This is with reference to: Undertaking and recording a full post-crisis/incident debrief with staff and young people. 31 August 2021

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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. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, include who has added information into child’s records and documents and when, so that actions, progress and currency are clear 31 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; 31 August 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2605108 9 an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Recommendation

 The registered provider should ensure that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Children and their parents should be supported to understand the nature of records kept by the home and how to access them. Staff should understand their important role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. 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 62, paragraph 14.5)

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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: 2605108 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Open Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 17 Dunston House, Livingston Road, Hessle, East Yorkshire HU13 0EG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Philippa Grantham

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Marlie-Rae Willerton

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Inspector

Rachel Ruth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2605108 11 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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