Children's Home run by Oracle Care Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC368982 1 SC368982 Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private provider. It provides care and accommodation for up to three children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager in post. A new manager has recently been appointed.

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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 16 March 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 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

Date of last inspection: 19 November 2019

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC368982 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/11/2019 Full Good 10/01/2019 Full Good 23/01/2018 Full Good 15/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC368982 3

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inadequate

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. The child receives inconsistent care due to the high turnover of staff. Managers do not provide sufficient direction to the new and inexperienced staff group. Care plans and individual behaviour support plans provide poor guidance on how staff should support the child. As a result, the child is not achieving his full potential.

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inadequate

Not all staff know the child well or understand his needs. Staff have not had training to help them understand certain conditions, for example attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. This lack of knowledge means that staff do not have the skills and knowledge to promote the child’s needs.

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inadequate

The company’s clinician has worked with some staff to discuss the child’s needs and how to meet them. However, some of the staff who attended these sessions have since left and newer staff have not benefited from this input. This contributes to the variable quality of care provided to the child.

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inadequate

Staff do not understand why the child is prescribed a certain medication. One medication allows for an additional dosage to be given if he becomes agitated. However, there is no shared understanding between staff or guidance as to what would warrant the medication being given.

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inadequate

The home does not currently provide a nurturing and homely environment. Some areas of the home need improvement. Walls are dirty, bathroom areas are unclean, and writing has been etched onto some doors.

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inadequate

Staff are ill-equipped to manage the child’s behaviour. This means that staff are sometimes ineffective in promoting positive behaviours in the home. Despite this, staff have been successful in reintegrating the child back into school after a period of absence. This is an early success, he is attending full time and is settled in school.

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inadequate

There have been two significant medication errors in the home. Both incidents required medical advice to be sought to ensure that the child’s health was not at risk. In response to these incidents, an internal investigation was completed. Managers have not been effective in implementing the learning from the investigations. Safe medication administration processes are not in place. For example, staff who have not had medication training are administering the child’s medication and/or countersigning as a witness that the medication has been given correctly. Medication records are confusing, and they are not completed correctly. This poor practice could result in harm for the child. Inspection report children’s home: SC368982 4 one occasion a child tried to exit a moving car at high speed. At the time of the incident, staff acted quickly to keep the child safe. However, the follow-up action of staff and managers has been poor. The risk assessment relating to car travel is not

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inadequate

sufficient. Furthermore, staff do not always adhere to the risk assessment. For example, staff travel on busy roads which they have been advised against travelling on. The staff who travel in the car with the child have not always been trained in behaviour management techniques. In addition, the door locking mechanism on the car has not been checked to confirm it works. These shortfalls mean that the child is at risk of harm when traveling in vehicles with staff.

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inadequate

A further incident involving risk associated with car travel took place but was not documented. This was because both staff involved were new to the home and did not understand how to, or that they should, record the incident. This is an example of the disorganised approach to safeguarding in the home.

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inadequate

Some staff have not had basic safeguarding training. They are not confident in such procedures and they are not clear on the home’s whistle-blowing policy. Some staff have attempted to raise concerns, and these have not been listened to.

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inadequate

Behaviour management strategies, such as the use of rewards and consequences, are limited. Recordings of how and when these are used are poor and lack detail and management oversight. For example, when a child received a sanction for breaking some reading glasses, he was told he would have to pay for them from his pocket money each week. There was no detail of the cost or how long he would have to pay. The appropriateness of this action had not been reviewed by a manager.

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inadequate

Although staff try their best to manage risks, they are not well equipped to meet the child’s behavioural needs. Not all staff have completed physical intervention training which has prevented them from holding the child safely. This has resulted in staff sustaining injuries during some incidents.

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inadequate

Recruitment checks are not compliant with safer recruitment. For example, some references and addresses have not been verified. This means that managers do not confirm the suitability of staff before they are allowed to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home does not have a registered manager. However, a new manager has recently been appointed. Prior to the inspection, leaders and managers had begun to recognise some of the shortfalls in the care being provided to children. A decision had already been made by the provider not to move any children into the home until the staff and management team had been stabilised. However, the scale of shortfalls was not understood by leaders. This contributed to their failure to take effective action to make improvements to the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC368982 5 In response to this inspection, managers have implemented a detailed improvement plan. Enhanced management oversight is at the centre of this plan. The effectiveness of this remains untested.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Although staff present as child focused, their resilience is diminished because of the challenges they have faced in working at the home. Staff morale is low, they feel undervalued and, as a result, staff continue to leave. Managers have now implemented a plan to buddy experienced staff with less experienced colleagues to provide support, guidance and direction.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not feel supported by leaders and managers. Prior to the inspection, staff had raised with managers their concerns about the safety of the child, poor staffing arrangements, and a lack of staff training. These concerns have not been managed well and staff have been made to feel that they were wrong to raise these concerns. This does not promote an open and transparent safeguarding culture and has created fear and worry in the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

New staff have not had a suitable induction into the home and are often left working with other inexperienced staff who have also had no training. This does not provide the child with good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not have regular supervision in line with the home’s policy. New staff should have increased supervision for the first six months. This has not taken place. Staff who have reached the end of their probation have not had a probation review. Inspection report children’s home: SC368982 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 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;

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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 to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the home’s conditions and helping children to reach their full potential. 22 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 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(b)) 05 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC368982 7 This specifically relates to ensuring that risk assessments are effective and give staff enough guidance to keep children safe.

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff having appropriate training and skills prior to working with children in the home. 05 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person equipping staff to administer children’s medication competently and safely. 05 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children’s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs.

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Requirement Due date

at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. (Regulation 31 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children being cared for by a consistent staff team whose members are first aid trained. 22 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC368982 8 The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. (Regulation 32 (1))

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Requirement Due date

The specifically relates to references and address being verified. 22 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)(b) (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff being supported through supervision and probation period reviews. 22 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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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

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person 22 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC368982 9 adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the use of rewards and sanctions in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person notifying Ofsted of serious incidents. 22 October 2021

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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: SC368982 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suites 1 & 5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 0RN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jodie Whitehouse

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Inspectors

Lisa O’Donovan, Social Care Inspector Karen Gillingwater, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC368982 11 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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