Children's Home run by Paramount Children Care LTD in Leicester

Inspection report children's home: 2627088 1 Registered provider: Paramount Children Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to four children who may be experiencing emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since the home opened in March 2021.

p.1

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.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

p.1

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.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children's home: 2627088 2

p.1

Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report children's home: 2627088 3

p.2

improvement to be good

The staff and the manager achieve some positive outcomes for children. However, these are overshadowed by shortfalls in safeguarding practice. This places children at increased risk of harm and means that the home is not yet delivering good outcomes for children.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children who have struggled to attend education in the past all now attend school or have college placements. This is very positive, given many have experienced disruption to their education. The staff work very closely with education professionals and they understand the barriers to education that some children experience. Children’s education is promoted and this helps them to make progress. Should any problems arise with children’s education these are tackled quickly by the staff in conjunction with education professionals.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children are supported by staff to lead healthy lives. The mental health and well- being of children is a high priority, as well as their physical health. Staff encourage children to engage in appointments with mental health practitioners. Joint working with mental health professionals supports children’s progress in this area. Children have access to the help they need, and they are supported by staff to access this help.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children feel that staff are there for them. They feel a sense of belonging in their home and that their lives have been improved because of the care they receive. One child said: ‘I feel like I belong for the first time.’ Children have developed very good relationships with the staff. Nurturing language is used, and children receive a loving and kind approach.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff do not always implement children’s risk assessments. This leaves children open to harm. For example, a staff member assumed that a child was in their room for two hours, but in fact the child had gone missing. This error could have placed a child at increased risk.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff have not always made sure that children have been appropriately supervised in accordance with their individual risk assessments. For example, risk assessments set out that some children should not have been left alone. However, staff did leave them alone and they went missing. Additionally, no independent return home interviews were conducted. Managers and staff did not ask the children where they had been or who they had been with. This practice falls short of the required standard. There is the potential for children to be harmed if these shortfalls are not rectified. Inspection report children's home: 2627088 4 Staff manage children’s safety in many areas well. For example, there are very close relationships with school staff, which have helped to keep children safe. Staff are creative in their approach and they anticipate risk to children. They put plans in place and are flexible in their approach to managing risk as issues arise.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff recognise the triggers which cause children to engage in self-harmful behaviour. Staff are dedicated to supporting children. For one child, their self-harm incidents have reduced in frequency and intensity. For another, staff acted quickly in response to an incident of self-harm. Staff demonstrated great care and commitment to the child during this incident.

p.4

improvement to be good

Physical interventions are rare. They only take place when necessary to protect a child’s welfare. However, children’s understanding of behavioural boundaries is unclear. For example, there have been times when children have been allowed to go out together unsupervised, contrary to agreed safety plans. On another occasion, children planned and subsequently engaged in a serious incident that led to a physical intervention and necessitated police assistance to manage behaviour.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has identified variable practice from staff, which has at times been poor. The manager has not consistently acted when concerns over staff practice have arisen. On some occasions, shortfalls have not been formally raised with the staff members concerned. Leaders have not always recognised some elements of poor practice. Staff have made mistakes and the quality assurance systems of leaders and managers have been ineffective. Records are not scrutinised in enough detail and staff are not always held to account when mistakes are made.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers and leaders do not always follow safe procedures in relation to staff recruitment. For example, one member of staff has regularly worked at the home without adequate vetting or risk assessment. This staff member has looked after very vulnerable children alone for long periods. Poor recruitment processes leave children at increased levels of risk.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has faced some challenges since it opened. For example, some staff have had to self-isolate because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the home’s electronic system was not adequate for purpose. This caused problems with the transfer of information. The home now has a system which is considerably improved.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff care for children a great deal and always put the interests of the children first. However, managers and leaders are not yet ensuring that staff have the skills, knowledge and direction required to provide good care. Inspection report children's home: 2627088 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.5

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

This is in relation to staff not following children’s risk assessments. 17 October 2021

p.5

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—

p.5

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.5

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

p.5

Requirement Due date

This is in relation to quality assurance systems not being sufficiently robust or effective. 17 October 2021

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. 17 October 2021 Inspection report children's home: 2627088 6 The registered person may only—

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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,

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to the safe recruitment, vetting and checking of staff and, where required, complete risk assessments of staff.

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such 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 supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. This is in relation to making sure that shortfalls in staff performance are addressed in supervision. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) Inspection report children's home: 2627088 7

p.6

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: 2627088 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Paramount Children Care Ltd

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 60 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1FB

p.8

Inspector

Caroline Brailsford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2627088 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9