Children's Home run by Our Place (2008) Limited in Worcestershire

Inspection report children’s home: SC407929 1 SC407929 Registered provider: Our Place (2008) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company operates this children’s home. It is registered to provide care for 10 children with learning disabilities (including autism spectrum conditions) and associated challenging behaviours. Children may stay after they reach 18 years old. The registered person operates a small registered school in a separate building in the grounds and another children’s home on the same grounds.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager was registered with Ofsted in July 2017. The registered manager is appropriately experienced and qualified.

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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 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: 27 November 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC407929 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/11/2019 Full Good 12/06/2018 Full Good 13/09/2017 Full Good 18/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC407929 3

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improvement to be good

This full inspection was carried out in response to a complaint that Ofsted had received relating to the conditions of the home and concerns about the behaviour management strategies being used by staff.

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improvement to be good

At the time of the inspection, 10 children were living in the home. Children’s progress and experiences are inconsistent. Overall, children are making some progress from their starting point. However, staff do not consider how further progress can be promoted. For example, following an incident a year ago, staff had not reviewed a child’s use of plastic plates and cutlery to eat her meals. This was despite the child using metal cutlery and normal crockery when eating meals in restaurants without concerns.

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improvement to be good

The home has extensive outside space for children to play in. The play equipment is age-appropriate. There is an adult-sized swing, spinning top, large trampoline and a full-sized zip wire. Inspectors observed children to be happy and enjoying the equipment with staff supervision.

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improvement to be good

In contrast, the home conditions are poor. The home’s overall appearance is grubby and in need of cleaning. Some areas need repairing and decorating. There is a renovation plan in place which is due to start later this month when the children are on holiday. However, the staff have not considered how they can make the home look more appealing until the refurbishments are completed. Some children have boarded-up windows, due to damage or refurbishment taking place. The boards have not been decorated or painted to improve the appearance. Children do not have headboards on their beds and damage is not quickly repaired.

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improvement to be good

Staff do gather children’s views in a child-centred way, using a Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). However, the children’s views are not always actioned, which makes the direct work tokenistic. For example, children who picked how they would like their rooms decorated are still waiting three months later for this to happen. Children are asked to pick a colour they would like their room decorated in, they are all given the same six colours to choose from. Overall, children’s bedrooms are not personalised.

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improvement to be good

Children’s records relating to their care are poor and do not contain up-to-date information. Two children’s plans that inspectors viewed contained incorrect staffing ratios. One plan detailed behaviour management strategies that are no longer used. Inspectors observed staff trying to support a child who was upset. Staff did not follow the guidance that was in the child’s plan. The written information relating to the incident observed was inaccurate and did not provide enough detail. As a result, staff do not have clear up-to-date guidance to follow, and managers do not review the quality of care provided to children effectively. Inspection report children’s home: SC407929 4 The registered manager and the staff have unintentionally created an institutionalised approach when managing some risk. For example, staff do not eat with the children at mealtimes when in the home. Conflicting information was given

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improvement to be good

to inspectors about why this was. One reason was due to staff needing to wear masks because of COVID-19. However, mask wearing did not apply when staff ate meals out of the home with children. A social worker told inspectors that her child was isolating in her room when she had a sickness bug. Little consideration had been given to how the child would be entertained to reduce the distress of being contained in her room.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are met; they attend appointments, and a multi-disciplinary team has been created to further support children’s needs. During COVID-19, some services stopped, such as therapy play for children and toilet training support. These are hoped to be restarted soon.

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improvement to be good

Staff store and administer children’s medication correctly. Any errors are identified and are investigated quickly. However, staff do not always put letters from doctors in the children’s files. This was rectified during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Inspectors observed positive relationships between children and staff. The staff have worked additional hours to cover staff shortages. This has provided children with continuity of care and has reduced the number of different staff in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the children’s needs and spoke about children with care and kindness. Parents spoke positively about staff, and they appreciate the care that is provided to their children and feel well informed.

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improvement to be good

Children’s education needs are well met. Children progress well in the school that is situated on the same site as the home.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities outside of the home. These have been reintroduced as soon as the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. Children have been on a steam train, swimming and attended after school clubs, such as Guides. Activities and trips outside of the home are plentiful, and these provide children with positive experiences.

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improvement to be good

Staff keep children safe in the home. Staff consider different strategies to help children feel safe. For example, in response to children running into bathrooms when they are being used by other children, staff have created a traffic light system. This prompts children to think before they enter.

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improvement to be good

When potential safeguarding concerns do arise, the registered manager responds appropriately and takes appropriate action to ensure that children and staff are safe. Inspection report children’s home: SC407929 5 Children are well supervised by staff. Some safety measures have been implemented to keep children safe. For example, plastic windows have been fitted over the glass windows in all children’s bedrooms. While this is appropriate for some children, it has not been considered on an individual basis for each child. This puts unnecessary restrictions in place for some children.

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improvement to be good

There is a high level of physical interventions in the home. For one child, a deprivation of liberty order (DLO) is in place which allows for environmental restraints to be used, when needed. Overall, restraint practices appear to be proportionally used. However, the recording and the reviewing of these incidents are not as good as they could be. Staff who have been involved in the incidents are completing the debriefs with children. Debriefs with staff are not always recorded, and there is a lack of management scrutiny and professional curiosity.

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improvement to be good

Health and safety checks are in place and corresponding risk assessments are up to date. Fire drills are completed to comply with fire safety. However, staff had failed to take down fire exit signs when an outside door was no longer a fire exit. In an emergency, this could have confused and delayed the staff’s and the children’s ability to leave the home safely. Managers rectified this at the time of the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has been in post since July 2017. Since January 2021, she has been overseeing the provider’s other home, which is located on the same site. This has impacted upon her management oversight of the home and has led to a deterioration in the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring and review systems are not effective. There are limited monitoring systems in place that evaluate and scrutinise the care and the progress children make. For example, the six-monthly quality-of-care review has not been completed within the required timescale. Furthermore, the independent person’s monthly visits have not identified the concerns found within this inspection. These factors have contributed to the registered manager being unaware of the concerns and not implemented a timely action plan to drive improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Not all professionals, including social workers, are not complimentary about the home. For example, social workers have expressed concerns about the poor quality of the home environment, the lack of progress children are making and the restrictions implemented when managing COVID-19 and sickness bugs. The registered manager and the staff are not currently working effectively with some professionals to address the concerns in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home’s statement of purpose does not contain all the required information, including the behaviour management practices within the home and what training staff have had relating to this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home and the grounds are undergoing a lot of building work. Building works include a new school, ensuite bathrooms to some bedrooms and an extension to the Inspection report children’s home: SC407929 6 home to include an office and reception areas. The registered manager did not inform Ofsted of these structural changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Despite the shortfalls identified, staff spoke positively to the inspectors about the support they receive from managers. They reported that they had received a good induction that prepared them well for their role and received regular and meaningful training. Inspection report children’s home: SC407929 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

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation (Regulation 5 (d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that there is clear and effective communication between placing authorities. 24 September

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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; and

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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

The specifically relates to children’s plans being up to date, being followed by staff and taking into account children’s needs. 24 September

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who— 24 September Inspection report children’s home: SC407929 8 take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. (Regulation 7 (1)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers and staff actioning the views that have been gathered from children.

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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

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)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the condition of the home environment. 24 September

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and

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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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager’s oversight of the care provided and to using monitoring and review systems to improve practice on the quality of care provided. 24 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. 24 September Inspection report children’s home: SC407929 9 (Regulation 16 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to including the behaviour management practises used in the home.

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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

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)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to debriefs with staff and children being completed and to them being completed by an appropriate authorised person. 24 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months. (Regulation 45 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates the quality-of-care review being completed within the required timescale. 24 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must give notice in writing to HMCI, as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so, if any of the following events take place or are expected by the registered person to take place—

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Requirement Due date

the premises of the home are significantly altered or extended, or additional premises are acquired. (Regulation 49 (g))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager informing Ofsted informing when building work is being completed that alters the home or grounds on where the home is situated. 24 September Inspection report children’s home: SC407929 10

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that medical information is updated when new information is provided. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: SC407929 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Our Place (2008) Limited

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Inspectors

Lisa O’Donovan, Social Care Inspector Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC407929 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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