Children's Home run by T. How Homely Limited in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report children's home: 2599773 1 Registered provider: T. How Homely Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned home that provides care and accommodation for up to two children and young people who may have emotional, behavioural and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

This home was first registered in September 2020. The registered manager left in May 2021. The post is currently vacant.

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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 conducted a monitoring visit to this setting on 25 February 2021. 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children's home: 2599773 2

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improvement to be good

This home has had a difficult start. The registered manager left after eight months. Additionally, the interim management arrangements came to a sudden end. Three children have moved into the home since it opened and each has subsequently moved out in an unplanned manner. The referral and admission processes are weak. There is insufficient information being gathered to make an informed decision about the ability of staff to meet children’s needs. This requires improvement.

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improvement to be good

The child currently at the home became subject to a deprivation of liberty order soon after moving to the home. This required increased staffing and the child could not access the local community. The statement of purpose for the home does not indicate how the staff team and managers could safely care for children with such vulnerabilities.

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improvement to be good

The interactions between the child and staff demonstrate genuine care and warmth. Despite the challenging situation, it is evident that the child is relaxed in the company of staff. However, staff lack experience of working with a child who continually displays challenging behaviour. Consequently, this places additional strain on the placement.

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improvement to be good

Information provided by family members and involved professionals is variable. Overall, family members and professionals alike report that the team is working well with them. However, communication from the home could be improved.

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improvement to be good

The child is not presently attending school, having moved to the home during the school holidays. Staff are working with external professionals to decide the longer- term plan for the child, including education provision. Professionals understand the importance of ensuring the child is in an educational placement without further delay.

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improvement to be good

The staff team received training from medical staff to help them provide the child with good healthcare in relation to a specific medical condition. This training was successful and ensured that medication was administered correctly. The medical staff delivering the training complimented the staff for their commitment to the training. This proactive, multi-agency approach helped to safeguard the child’s health.

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improvement to be good

The support given by staff to prepare children to live independently is variable. One child has had the help they needed to learn and develop these crucial skills. However, other children have not remained long enough for this work to start effectively. Inspection report children's home: 2599773 3 Children’s records are kept both electronically and in hard-copy formats. There is a lack of clarity over which copies are the correct versions. This prevents staff from working with up to date information.

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improvement to be good

House meetings between staff and children are irregular. It is unclear how feedback from children is being used to shape the service.

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improvement to be good

Decision-making in respect of the admission of children requires improvement. At times, staff have struggled to meet children’s needs and their safeguarding needs have not been met.

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improvement to be good

Staff have received the correct training in physical intervention. There has been one incident of physical intervention in the home. Staff successfully use de-escalation techniques when children’s behaviour becomes heightened. However, there have been incidents when there has been a difference of opinion between staff. This relates to whether they should have physically intervened to prevent a child from attempting to place themselves at risk. Following incidents, there has been a lack of debriefing and team discussion to learn lessons and agree approaches should a similar situation arise.

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improvement to be good

Staff regularly liaise with the police when they have concerns for children’s safety, for example, when concerns arose about a child’s risk of exploitation through suspected involvement with gangs and county lines activities. Staff acted quickly and took the necessary steps to prevent such exploitation through working with the police and other involved agencies.

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improvement to be good

Children have placed themselves at risk through going missing from care. Overall, these incidents have been managed well, but the recording of these events is incomplete. This hinders the ability of leaders to track whether the necessary actions took place, for example, return home interviews.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments are not updated following incidents or changes in children’s care planning. The risk assessments lack attention to detail and inadvertently give an incorrect overview of risk. For example, the colour coding is confusing and incorrect.

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improvement to be good

The risk assessment relating to the location of the home has not been updated. This fails to identify relevant places of concern that could place children at risk, such as a nearby railway bridge. This prevents staff from being clear on the steps they should take to divert children from places where there is increased risk.

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improvement to be good

When children try to harm themselves, staff do not have access to the equipment they need. For example, staff do not have ready access to tools such as ligature cutters, despite such self-harm being a risk for one child. Inspection report children's home: 2599773 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Currently, there is no manager in post. The interim management arrangements that were in place came to an abrupt halt due to disagreements in decision-making. The responsible individual is overseeing the home. She is actively trying to familiarise herself with all the documents and processes. This task is difficult due to poor document management and she is moving the home’s records to an electronic system to improve the situation. However, the inadequate record-keeping has an impact on the ability to assess whether children have made progress or not. This situation highlights poor oversight from managers and leaders.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The quality-of-care review and report which is submitted to Ofsted is poor. The report lacks evaluation and focused on one child, rather than an overview of the care provided in the period to all the children who have lived at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Some staff have left the home and there is a dependence on temporary staffing. Managers and leaders have not ensured that all the required information is held for agency staff working in the home. Additionally, no information was obtained by managers and leaders regarding staff deployed to the home from a placing local authority. This is poor leadership and management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Team meetings and individual supervision sessions are not taking place at the required frequency. This prevents staff from being able to reflect on their practice or the impact the work is having on them. This is particularly concerning for staff who are new to the home and working with children who are very vulnerable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers and leaders benefit from the independent visitor’s monthly reports, which are comprehensive and challenging. These reports enable leaders to know where change and improvement is required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders in the organisation are carrying out a review to learn lessons, to be better prepared for new referrals and admissions. They have agreed to keep Ofsted informed of future developments and of the progress they intend to make going forward. Inspection report children's home: 2599773 5

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to finding out the child’s wishes, feelings and views and using these to inform the day-to-day care and services the home provides. 19 September

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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— 19 September Inspection report children's home: 2599773 6 that staff—

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the staff understanding the safeguarding needs of each child and taking effective action to keep them safe, in line with their assessed safeguarding needs. Further, that staff understand and implement the safeguarding policies of the organisation.

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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— 19 September Inspection report children's home: 2599773 7 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; and

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring robust management oversight of incidents and the day-to-day running of the home, and that the manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home and takes effective action to address weaknesses.

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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.

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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 each child’s relevant plans are followed.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 19 September Inspection report children's home: 2599773 8 This specifically relates to weak admission processes. Sufficient information should be obtained by managers to understand the ability of staff to meet children’s needs and care plans should be followed and implemented.

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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,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; and

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring the registered person holds full information regarding any staff working in the home, including temporary staff. 19 September

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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.

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Requirement Due date

Case records must be kept— 19 September Inspection report children's home: 2599773 9 securely in the children’s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there; and

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Requirement Due date

in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to records in the home regarding children being kept up to date, accurate and signed by the author.

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it;

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3)) 19 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. 19 September Inspection report children's home: 2599773 10 (Regulation 46 (1) (2))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to identifying known risks in the local area and setting out the actions to be taken to address these risks.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the responsible individual is visible and accessible to staff and able to deliver their leadership and management responsibilities. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.7)  The registered person should ensure that all staff consistently follow the home’s policies and procedures. In particular, conduct a fire evacuation drill whenever a new child moves in. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)  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. (‘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: 2599773 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: T. How Homely Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: T. How Homely Limited, Main Road, Middleton Cheney, Banbury OX17 2PW

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Inspector

Sonia Hay, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2599773 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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