Children's home run by Kedleston (Wings Education) Limited

Inspection report children’s home: SC402370 1 SC402370 Registered provider: Kedleston (Wings Education) 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 children’s home with a school on the same site. It is part of a group that provides care and education across the country. It is registered to accommodate up to 54 children, aged between nine and 17 years old. The current occupancy is 30. Children are usually experiencing social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and they may have additional needs.

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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

Inspectors were aware during this inspection that serious child protection allegations were being investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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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 failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC402370 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/07/2019 Full Outstanding 13/08/2018 Full Outstanding 05/09/2017 Full Outstanding 22/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC402370 3

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inadequate

Staff have not supervised children in line with agreed risk management strategies that were put in place during an investigation into safeguarding concerns. This has left children vulnerable.

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inadequate

Staff do not have a good understanding of additional potential risks in the home’s large garden and grounds. As a result, children have not been adequately supervised when they are in the grounds.

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inadequate

A child was accommodated for several weeks in unsuitable accommodation. The area was poorly furnished and poorly presented. This was not a welcoming or nurturing environment for the child. The registered manager ensured that this accommodation was made more suitable after concerns were raised by inspectors.

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inadequate

Communal spaces, such as kitchens and lounges, are locked routinely every evening and overnight. Staff are unclear about why this happens. This means that children’s access to communal areas of their own home has been restricted without justification.

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inadequate

Despite the shortfalls identified, relationships between staff and children are generally warm. Children say that they value the support and guidance provided by staff.

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inadequate

The home has its own healthcare team, including a speech and language therapist, a psychologist and a registered nurse. The nurse provides important oversight of children’s physical and emotional healthcare plans, ensuring that children are provided with good health advice. She also provides training for staff about healthcare issues. Children are healthier because of the work she and the other health workers do.

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inadequate

Children enjoy a wide range of activities in the home and the wider community. This has included going on holidays. Activities include sports, building dens, going on walks, cycling and visits to theme parks. Children have also raised money for charities and taken part in organised community activities, such as litter picking. These activities help to build children’s sense of responsibility, self-esteem and confidence.

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inadequate

Children felt very well looked after during lockdown periods. Staff kept children engaged and ensured that they had plenty of activities to occupy them. Over the Christmas period, staff went to great lengths to ensure that children had a positive experience despite not being able to visit their family members as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak in the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC402370 4

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

In response to safeguarding concerns, a risk management plan was instigated, including enhanced supervision of some children. This plan has not been fully adhered to. As a result, staff were not supervising children adequately at the time that a further alleged incident took place. By not adhering to agreed risk management plans, staff have not protected the children involved.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Potential environmental factors contributing to safeguarding concerns have not been robustly explored. A contextual safeguarding risk assessment has not been completed to gain a clear understanding of how to protect children in the extensive grounds of the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Maintenance systems are poor. This has resulted in hazards around the home that have the potential to place children at risk of harm. One particular accommodation area was of particular concern because fire evacuation routes were not kept clear. Managers made the environment safe when they were made aware of the issue during the inspection.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

The registered manager has taken effective action to investigate concerns that have been raised by children about restraint practice. As a result, he made sure that restraint practice is safe and appropriate. The manager closely monitors restraint practice and has introduced measures that are designed to reduce the frequency of restraints. Consequently, the number of restraints is reducing over time.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Staff follow missing-from-care protocols well. Missing-from-home incidents are closely monitored so that strategies can be reviewed and improved. As a result, these incidents are reducing for most children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager does not have a good overview of safeguarding concerns that have emerged in recent months. Emerging themes or patterns have not been adequately explored. For example, an analysis of the reasons why children have not reported concerns immediately to staff has not taken place. Opportunities to improve the safety of children might have been missed because the management response to concerns has not been well coordinated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has not properly assessed the skills of the staff team to address children’s known vulnerabilities and risk factors. Staff have not received relevant training. Therefore, they do not have the necessary skills to ensure the safety and well-being of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Performance management procedures have not been used effectively to review staff practice. This is particularly the case after incidents in which children’s risk management strategies have not been adhered to. This has meant missed opportunities to improve the care that children receive. Inspection report children’s home: SC402370 5 Full staff team meetings take place every three months. Staff find these useful because they enable staff to be updated on the service as a whole. However, individual accommodation areas do not have their own house meetings. This limits opportunities for staff to review risk management strategies and develop an understanding of children’s particular vulnerabilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have quickly produced an action plan to address the identified shortfalls. Ofsted has imposed a restriction notice on the home. This prevents any additional children moving into the service while managers implement the action plan. Inspection report children’s home: SC402370 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 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

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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(b)(iii)(iv)(v)(b)(d)) 26 November

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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 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 26 November Inspection report children’s home: SC402370 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 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home (regulation 21(c)(i)). Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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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: SC402370 8

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kedleston (Wings Education) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 8 Brook Business Centre, Cowley Mill Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 2FX

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Inspectors

Joanne Vyas, Social Care Inspector Laura Walker, Social Care Inspector Thirza Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC402370 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.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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