Children's Home run by Parkview Care (Broadstairs) Limited in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report children’s home: 1274846 1 Registered provider: Parkview Care (Broadstairs) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home looks after up to six children aged between eight and 17 years who have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 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 home on 14 September 2020 to carry out an assurance 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 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

Date of last inspection: 11 February 2020

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1274846 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/07/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/11/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1274846 3

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improvement to be good

There are currently two children living at the home. The manager completes an impact risk assessment to explore any negative effect that the children could have on one another. However, despite initial paperwork from the placing authority stating that one of the children had a sexual exploitation risk assessment in progress, the manager did not obtain a written copy of this and accepted the social worker’s verbal assurance that the child was at low risk. This meant that the associated risks were not properly considered before the child moved into the home. Consequently, the staff have been unable to manage several serious incidents of the children going missing from home together and anti-social behaviours, and they have not been able to prevent the children’s exposure to exploitative situations.

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improvement to be good

The staff provide high levels of supervision to manage children’s complex risky behaviours. They have spent time developing trusting relationships with the children. They offer regular opportunities for children to express their wishes and feelings. However, the staff do not have a good understanding of how to progress children’s care plans. For one child, despite the child’s openness about some behaviours, staff failed to identify a health need and did not provide the child with ongoing support and advice to promote her sexual health. In addition, staff have not met all the children’s identified health needs in their plans. This lack of progress limits the children’s ability to achieve positive well-being outcomes.

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improvement to be good

The children’s progress in education has been mixed. For one child, staff have been successful in accessing a potential education provider. However, a child who moved in during the holidays did not have an education plan ready for the new school term. This is despite the home’s location risk assessment stating that children would not be admitted to the home if they have no education plan.

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improvement to be good

Since the assurance visit in September 2020, four children have moved out of the home. One child’s move was unplanned. However, three of the children have experienced positive endings. The staff carried out effective work with the children on independence and life skills. This enabled the children to successfully move to independent placements closer to their families.

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improvement to be good

The manager is child centred and a strong advocate. She regularly reminds the children of their rights to access independent support. This means that the children are aware of their rights and entitlements and of the services that are available to them. Inspection report children’s home: 1274846 4

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improvement to be good

The staff have struggled to manage the children’s incidents of going missing from home and, at times, violent behaviours. The manager reviewed these incidents and escalated her concerns to the placing authorities, and a professionals’ meeting was held. However, the manager has failed to obtain information from all return home interviews. In addition, information provided by the children on their whereabouts has not been fully shared with all relevant multi-agency partners and explored. Consequently, potentially valuable information to develop and inform multi-agency safety plans may have been missed.

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improvement to be good

The manager has failed to identify all the children’s risk factors in their behaviour support plans. For both children living at the home at the time of the inspection, the use of social media and online connections is a significant feature of missing-from- home episodes and exploitation. However, the lack of recognition and guidance on these risks means that the staff are not aware of their roles in supporting children to keep themselves safe online.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments fail to detail the nature of potential harm and the individual risk- reduction strategies that are effective. For one child, despite frequent self-harming incidents, there is a lack of detail on specific distraction techniques and on the frequency of welfare checks to be undertaken. Therefore, the staff do not have a clear set of personalised strategies that define the steps to keep the child safe.

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improvement to be good

The staff have, on occasion, used physical interventions to keep the children safe. There have been two interventions since the assurance visit. These have been proportionate and justified.

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improvement to be good

Managers have implemented strong whistle-blowing policies and provide effective responses when allegations are made. Children said that they feel safe and know that if they raise concerns staff will act. This provides assurance that there are strong internal procedures in place to safeguard children.

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good

Historically, there have been frequent changes to the management of the home that have created a lack of stability for the children and staff. Since the assurance visit, both the responsible individual and the registered manager left. This resulted in a lack of organisation and low staff morale. Since the current registered manager and the regional manager have been in post, they have audited the service to identify areas for development.

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good

The manager uses auditing tools to assess the quality of care at the home. However, these tools are not yet fully effective. Some records contain gaps in information. Staff do not consistently recognise the need to evaluate incidents and Inspection report children’s home: 1274846 5 key-work sessions to inform children’s care and risk plans. In addition, the manager has not provided oversight of key-work session records and all incidents. This has led to some practice shortfalls that have not been identified and addressed. These inconsistencies mean that children do not always benefit from staff who are responsive to their needs.

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good

Partnership working has been ineffective at times and has resulted in the lack of a consistent and agreed approach to children’s care.

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good

The manager has worked hard to ensure that the culture of the home is more inclusive and participatory. Staff receive regular supervision sessions and appraisals, and each staff member has a development plan. Consequently, staff say that they feel more supported than they did previously.

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good

The manager undertakes timely and thorough responses to complaints. She provides a full summary of her actions and outcomes. This creates opportunities for reflection and learning to inform future practice.

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good

Both the registered manager and the regional manager recognise the shortfalls that were raised during the inspection. They are actively working to make improvements to the home. They have made recent changes to the staff appraisal systems and children’s meetings. They have developed new templates and procedures for key- work sessions and children’s health plans, although these changes are yet to be embedded. Inspection report children’s home: 1274846 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well- being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff identify all the children’s health needs and that these are recorded in the children’s care and placement plans. In addition, ensure that staff actively work with the children to meet their identified needs and address aspects such as lifestyle choices, sexual health, healthy relationships and managing substance misuse. 11 October 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 11 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1274846 7 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; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that risk assessments are up to date and accurate and provide clear details of what the risks are, recognising online risks. Plans should provide effective risk- reduction strategies to keep children safe from harm and should be understood and implemented by all staff.

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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;

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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

In particular, ensure that the manager regularly reviews and acts on any known risks to children, taking advice and guidance from local partner professionals and agencies.

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Requirement Due date

Children’s plans and missing-from-home protocols should include current information and strategies.

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Requirement Due date

The manager should ensure that admission decisions are taken in accordance with the organisation’s policies and procedures and the location risk assessment. In addition, the manager should ensure that staff engage effectively with the children’s professional network to promote coordinated care planning. 11 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1274846 8

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should take account of information provided by return home interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Specifically, ensure that all staff write full and detailed records and link them to the children’s associated risk assessment, placement and support plans and that identified actions are carried through. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 1274846 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Parkview Care (Broadstairs) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Brentano Suite, Solar House, 915 High Road, North Finchley, London N12 8QJ

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Nicola Beaumont-Carter

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Inspector

Leemya McKeown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1274846 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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