Children's Home run by Oracle Care Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC368982 1 SC368982

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Oracle Care Limited

Monitoring visit 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 for up to three children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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This monitoring visit

At the full inspection carried out on 14 and 15 September 2021, the home was judged inadequate in all areas. We found serious shortfalls in the protection of children, the care planning for children, and the leadership and management of the home. As a result of the inspection, nine requirements were made.

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This monitoring visit

At this monitoring visit, we reviewed three of the nine requirements. These related to the safeguarding of children, leadership and management, and the administration of medication. We found that limited progress has been made. Following the last full inspection, leaders and managers shared an action plan with Ofsted setting out how they would make the required improvements. The action plan has not been adhered to. As a result, the three requirements reviewed have not been met.

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This monitoring visit

At the time of the visit, one child was living in the home. Poor risk management was raised at the full inspection and managers have made minimal improvements in this area. Staff are not provided with clear guidance to keep the child safe. Following two incidents, involving the child, the child’s behaviour support plan has not been updated. This means that there has been a lack of consideration as to how future risks can be reduced. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC368982 2 At the last full inspection, concerns were identified in relation toan incident where 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 was poor. At the monitoring visit, we identified that there had been a further incident while a child was travelling in a car with staff. Managers had not reviewed the

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This monitoring visit

effectiveness of agreed risk reduction strategies following this incident.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have been transporting the child in a car that needs to be repaired to make it roadworthy. Managers and staff have failed to recognise that this is a concern and have not taken appropriate follow-up action.

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This monitoring visit

Not all staff, including the manager of the home, have completed safeguarding training. This means that staff and the manager do not have the skills and knowledge required to keep the child safe. Overall, managers were unclear about what training staff had completed.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have failed to implement monitoring and auditing tools to ensure that staff in the home have the skills to care for the child and meet their basic needs. Staff had not accurately accounted for the child’s medication when signing it into the home. Managers had not identified this error because they had not started monitoring the administration of the child’s medication or assessing staff’s ability to administer medication safely.

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This monitoring visit

The home’s environment is in a poor condition and is unclean. For example, staff had not cleared away food that had been left on the floor, there were stains on the walls, and staff had not cleaned up after the child’s bath time. Managers have failed to address this poor practice.

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This monitoring visit

Staff raised several concerns about the quality of the leadership and management in the home. These concerns included the lack of action to make improvements to ensure that the child receives good enough care from a consistent staff team.

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This monitoring visit

Following the monitoring visit, the provider requested that their conditions of registration be varied, requiring them to give Ofsted three months’ notice of their intention to move a child into the home. Ofsted has agreed to this variation of registration conditions. The one child who was living in the home at the time of the visit has been moved to a new place of care.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 14/09/2021 Full Inadequate 19/11/2019 Full Good 10/01/2019 Full Good 23/01/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC368982 3

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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. 28 November 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; 28 November 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC368982 4 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))

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Requirement Due date

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. 28 November

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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. 28 November 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

The registered person must ensure that— 28 November 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC368982 5 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 trained in first aid.

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Requirement Due date

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

This specifically relates to ensuring that references and addresses are verified. 28 November 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. 28 November 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 28 November 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC368982 6 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 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. 28 November 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC368982 7

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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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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Inspector

Lisa O’Donovan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC368982 8 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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