Children's home run by Acorn Homes (UK) Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 2588753 1 Registered provider: Acorn Homes (UK) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to six children aged between seven and 16 who may experience social, emotional and/or mental health difficulties. The home is run by a private organisation that operates several registered children’s homes.

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Information about this children’s home

This home has not had a registered manager since 8 March 2021.

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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 3 February 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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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 widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people 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: 2588753 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2588753 3

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inadequate

Serious shortfalls in the standard of safeguarding and child protection practice, along with inconsistent management of the home, have resulted in children receiving a standard of care that does not always meets their needs. Children do not consistently enjoy a positive experience at this home.

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inadequate

Although social workers report proactive and positive engagement in the admissions process for children moving into the home, the impact of new children moving into the home is not fully evaluated. In one example, the impact risk assessment describes self-harming and sexualised behaviours. However, strategies were not recorded to guide staff on how to manage these risks for all children within the home. This fails to demonstrate safe and proactive planning.

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inadequate

Children generally relate positively towards one another. However, there are also periods of conflict which lead to aggressive outbursts. The staff are not always able to de-escalate these situations and support the children to adopt a less aggressive approach. This has led to risk-taking behaviour, such as a child running in the middle of the road. The staff are unable to manage these situations, which leaves children at risk of serious harm.

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inadequate

Children’s wishes and feelings are not consistently sought. Children’s meetings are irregular and one-to-one meetings do not take place to challenge bullying incidents, despite this being an agreed action. In addition, the manager did not consult with children following a serious incident. This practice does not demonstrate to children that they are respected and valued.

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inadequate

Sanctions are used in response to negative behaviour without sufficient consideration of supporting a learning process. For example, sometimes monetary sanctions are used inappropriately rather than relevant restoration. The manager is not consistently analysing and reviewing the use of sanctions. This means that opportunities are missed to reflect on the impact of the effectiveness of these.

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inadequate

Staff do not ensure that any damage to bedrooms or furniture is repaired in a timely manner. There is mould in a child’s shower and significant damage to the walls and door of one child’s bedroom. Consequently, the children are not living in a safe and well-maintained environment.

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inadequate

All the children engage with education or employment. Some children have made significant progress in terms of their school attendance. The staff have advocated for children to find the most appropriate schools to meet their needs, such as an internship. The staff have helped one child to prepare for an interview by practising potential questions and answers. He was successful in gaining the job. Inspection report children’s home: 2588753 4

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

The manager and staff have failed to protect the children from risks of harm. Poor supervision practice means that children have been left unsupervised, in contrast to what is stated in their care plans. In one example, this resulted in a child being physically harmed by another child.

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

The poor practice of staff starts with unclear written risk assessment guidance. For example, some risk assessments included other children’s names throughout the document instead of the named child. In another example, the arrangements for one child’s friend to visit safely were not clear. There was no written agreement in place and the risks were not assessed. Risks to children are not reducing. In part, this is because significant events and incidents are not being considered by the manager to review and update the strategies for staff to follow.

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

There are examples where children can explore and experiment, in line with their age, developing personalities and interests. Although positive, similar shortfalls in risk management strategies mean that the potential risks of some of these situations have not been fully considered, for example, sexual relationships. Consequently, it is not clear that the associated risks have been fully explored, understood and mitigated.

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

Restrictive measures, such as staff holding doors to prevent children from leaving the home, and the routine practice of locking internal doors, are not supported by a clear rationale. Nor is such practice subject to any review. Consequently, children’s freedom of movement is being curtailed without the necessary challenge.

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

Some areas of the home are poorly maintained. A number of children’s bedrooms are in a poor state of repair. For example, there is damp in a child’s en-suite bathroom. Another child’s bedroom was not cleaned or repaired following an incident. Some children’s bedrooms are untidy, while other children’s bedrooms are much better presented. This avoidable inconsistency is exacerbated by the staff’s failure to be interested in the condition of children’s bedrooms and their reasons for this.

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

Staff do not consistently follow the home’s safeguarding policy. They failed to identify and report a child’s allegation that was made during an incident. This was not found during the manager’s monitoring processes. The manager reported the child’s allegation to external professionals following the child informing inspectors at this inspection. Due to this delay, there was a potential risk posed to children, and the staff members concerned were not protected from potential further allegations during this time. This undermines the better practice evidenced by another example, when prompt action was taken to investigate an allegation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Inspection report children’s home: 2588753 5 The overall standard of leadership and management is poor. This has been compounded by ineffective monitoring systems that fail to identify poor risk management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since March 2021. The previous manager and deputy manager resigned from their posts following safeguarding concerns, and several other staff also left. The current manager has been in post since February 2021 and has applied to register with Ofsted. These changes have significantly impacted on the management of the home and on consistency for the staff and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not demonstrate a sufficient grasp of the individual and collective needs of the staff team. A workforce plan has not been completed to assess the skills, competency and training of the staff. This is a significant shortfall given the number of new staff who have not received essential training to equip them to respond to complex behaviours, such as a ttention deficit hyperactivity disorder and self-harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Supervision does not occur regularly for all staff, including the registered manager. Gaps in staff’s experience, skills and training are not identified. The manager has the necessary skills and experience for the role. However, she did not have regular formal supervision sessions recorded following her appointment. This was during a challenging time when several key staff left. An acting team leader has not received a formal induction for this new role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The irregularity of staff meetings compromises the staff team’s ability to reflect on and review significant events and occurrences. This is particularly relevant and necessary during challenging periods.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers are not adequately monitoring the home. The manager does not have effective oversight. In particular, incident reports and risk assessments are not being reviewed with sufficient scrutiny.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers are not demonstrating that they have a sufficient understanding of the staff team’s training and support needs, nor that they have tangible plans to make the required improvements. Consequently, the children are not being safeguarded effectively. A restriction notice and three compliance notices were issued as a result of the findings of this inspection. Ofsted will continue to monitor the provider’s progress in meeting these. Inspection report children’s home: 2588753 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to regular children’s meetings and one-to-one discussions with children. 29 August 2021

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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)) 11 July 2021

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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. 11 July 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2588753 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vii))

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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 purpose 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)) 11 July 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—

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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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 11 July 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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 29 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing—

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Requirement Due date

injury to any person (including the child); 11 July 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2588753 8 serious damage to the property of any person (including the child); or

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Requirement Due date

a child who is accommodated in a secure children’s home from absconding from the home.

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2))

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Requirement Due date

This refers specifically to the use of holding and locking doors.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 29 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 40, paragraph 9.36)

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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: 2588753 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acorn Homes (UK) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 424 Margate Road, Ramsgate, Kent CT12 6SJ

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Inspectors

Rebecca Fisher, Social Care Inspector Suzy Lemmy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2588753 10 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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