Children's home run by Care Perspectives Ltd

Inspection report children's home: 2633498 1 Registered provider: Care Perspectives Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private company. It provides care for up to two children. Children may have mental health and/or emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered on the 10 March 2021. Ofsted have not previously inspected this home.

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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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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/or widespread failures that mean young people 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: not previously inspected

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children's home: 2633498 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children's home: 2633498 3

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inadequate

Leadership and management of the home is weak and ineffective. This has a negative impact on the child’s safety and welfare. Two compliance notices have been issued under regulation 12 and regulation 13 following this inadequate judgement.

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inadequate

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. The child has lived at the home for approximately six months. She told the inspector she likes living at the home. She especially likes her bedroom which is decorated exactly how she likes it. However, the child’s overall experiences and progress are poor.

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inadequate

The child receives inconsistent care due to the high turnover of staff meaning she is cared for by unfamiliar staff. The lack of strong, consistent relationships with carers compromises the child’s emotional health and well-being. Furthermore, the lack of consistent relationships means staff are not attuned to the child’s care needs which affects their ability to support her appropriately.

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inadequate

Not all staff have the sufficient skills and training to meet the child’s needs. Staff have not had training to help them understand certain conditions. This lack of knowledge means that staff do not have the fully understand the care the child requires.

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inadequate

When the child complains, managers do not keep the child up to date about the progress of the complaint. Additionally, managers do not make a record of important conversations. This has the potential to leave the child not feeling confident about the complaints process and whether she is listened to.

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inadequate

The child is making some progress from her starting point, in respect of a specific health need and her education. For example, staff support her to attend specialist health appointments for a long-term condition. She has also recently begun to attend a nearby school where she follows a bespoke timetable.

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

Leaders and managers do not provide the child with adequate support to keep her safe. As such, the child has had negative experiences in the home.

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

Staff do not have sufficient skills to manage the child’s known complex behaviours. During a serious incident, staff left the child alone in the home, which is contrary to the required level of support and supervision. Staff called the police to support the child, which resulted in the child being further criminalised. This demonstrates the lack of suitable and skilled staff. Inspection report children's home: 2633498 4 Staff do not manage potential risk or follow the child’s risk assessments. This poor practice has put the child at risk of harm. On two separate occasions, the child was able to access the medication cabinet. This lack of vigilance and staff’s further poor response to these incidents caused the child further distress and was detrimental to her emotional well-being. Following these incidents, managers did not update records to provide staff with enough information to reduce the likelihood of such

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

Managers do not always ensure that children live in a safe environment. Building work is going on in the grounds of the home. There is a suitable safety assessment in place. However, during the inspection, loose bricks were stacked on the driveway. The manager and the responsible individual were both present at the time and failed to notice the risk posed by potential projectile objects in the grounds of the home.

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

Recruitment practice is not safe. Omissions in safe recruitment of staff means managers cannot be sure they only recruit suitable staff to care for the child. This puts the child at risk.

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

Managers and staff use incentives and rewards with the child to promote positive behaviour. This includes promoting the child’s skills for independent living. This means that the child is acquiring important skills, such as cooking and budgeting, as well as gaining a sense of achievement which will improve her self-esteem.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There have been three managers at the home since it was first registered in March 2021. There has not been a registered manager since April 2021. The current manager has worked at the home for three months; however, they are yet to submit an application to register. In addition to this, there have been significant changes within the staff team. This has not provided the child with continuity of care, or provided staff with strong, consistent leadership.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not ensure there are sufficient staff to supervise the child and keep her safe. The child’s risk assessment states that two staff are to supervise her at all times but this is not always adhered to. This shortfall impacts negatively on both potential risk for the child as well as the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not hold regular team meetings. Therefore, staff do not benefit from sharing experiences and knowledge. This reduces staff’s ability to work as a team to meet the child’s physical, emotional and educational needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have not received training to enable them to meet the specific needs of the child. Additionally, newly recruited staff have not been trained in the company model of behaviour management or completed mandatory online training before they work with the child. This does not demonstrate effective leadership or assure the regulator that managers and staff have the skills and knowledge to meet the specific needs of the child. Inspection report children's home: 2633498 5 Leaders and managers do not have efficient systems in place to ensure they monitor the quality of care provided to the child effectively. When managers monitor incidents, they do not always update the child’s plans with relevant information. This limits manager’s and staff’s abilities to develop strategies to prevent similar incidents reoccurring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Safeguarding practice is weak. Managers are unclear about the number of allegations or complaints the child has made against staff. This means that issues raised by the child, about the quality of care, are not always investigated properly. This places the child at potential risk in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager updates the statement of purpose when there are changes in staffing. However, they do not send the updated document to Ofsted. This means that the regulator is without accurate information about the skills and qualifications of staff working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers are taking action to improve staffing and consistency in the home. The manager has recently recruited experienced staff. At the time of the inspection, the home had one staff vacancy. Four of the five staff had a level 3 qualification, and one is enrolled. This means that there is potential for the child to receive more consistent care. Inspection report children's home: 2633498 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

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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers not updating children’s risk assessments and to staff not having the skills to de-escalate children’s complex behaviour.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to staff leaving the child in the home unsupervised.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to staff allowing the child into the office and not being vigilant about risk. 27 November

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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— 27 November Inspection report children's home: 2633498 7 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)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to loose bricks being stored on the driveway of the home which pose a potential risk.

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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

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;

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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 13 (1)(b) (2)(b)(c)(d)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers not arranging regular team meetings and not ensuring that training is available to staff in respect of special educational needs and/or disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and that staff have completed mandatory training before working with the child.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to a lack of consistency in the management and staffing of the home.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to managers not using monitoring systems to update behaviour management plans with relevant information, and not informing the regulator about changes to staffing. 27 November Inspection report children's home: 2633498 8 It also relates to managers not being aware of allegations made by the child.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staff’s comments about the child’s behaviours and the negative impact on the child of inconsistent staff relationships. 27 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1)(3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to sending the most up-to-date statement of purpose to the regulator. 27 November

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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

The registered person may only— 27 November Inspection report children's home: 2633498 9 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. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers not practicing safe recruitment.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (1)(3))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers not recording important conversations in response to a child’s complaint and being unable to evidence that the complaints procedure has been followed. 27 November

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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) Inspection report children's home: 2633498 10 Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children's home: 2633498 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care Perspectives Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 36 Frederick Street, Loughborough LE11 3BJ

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2633498 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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