Children's Home run by Solo Independent Living Adolescent Care Services Limited in Rotherham

Inspection report children’s home: 2589440 1 Registered provider: Solo Independent Living Adolescent Care Services Ltd 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 and privately managed home for one child aged between 12 and 18 years old. The home aims to support the child to develop their social and life skills, to help them integrate safely into the community and move on to independence. During this inspection period, two children have lived at the home at different times.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in June 2021. The registered manager left in August 2021. An acting manager is in post.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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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.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2589440 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2589440 3

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improvement to be good

The overall experience for one child was poor due to a lack of response from staff, which put him at risk of harm. The child has since left the home. This, along with the judgements in the other two areas, contributes to the overall judgement of requires improvement to be good.

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improvement to be good

Staff build positive relationships with the child, who benefits from the nurturing, homely environment he lives in. This has helped him to build trust in the staff, which means that he feels able to discuss concerns with staff and request support from them. Staff respond to his wishes and feelings, and make sure his voice is heard.

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improvement to be good

Care plans are child centred and the child actively contributes to these plans. Some information is missing from the care plans and risk assessments, which is partly due to the level of involvement the child has. This means that staff do not have access to all of the information they need to support him.

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improvement to be good

Numerous conversations take place with the child who is currently living in the home. These include discussions regarding his care, health, education and activities. This gives the child the knowledge and information he will need in order to make positive decisions in the future, and enables the staff to put plans in place to help him progress.

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improvement to be good

Education is actively promoted and the home adapts to meet the educational needs of the child. Education plans are in place, including working with the child’s previous school to continue his online learning, which is in keeping with the child’s wishes. As a result, the child is engaging fully in his education and maintaining positive links with friends.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child to be actively involved in the community. He is involved in daily tasks, such as household shopping, as well as recreational activities, including individual boxing sessions and music lessons. The staff are aware of the importance of helping the child to build the skills to manage these situations safely.

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improvement to be good

The home is decorated to a high standard. There is a sense of family and warmth in the home. Interactions with the child are positive and supportive of his needs.

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improvement to be good

The child is supported to voice his opinions and own preferences. Independent advocates are in place to gather his views. He now feels confident about expressing his own personal style, whereas he did not feel able to do so in the past.

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improvement to be good

Health appointments are made and all children who have lived at this home have been supported to engage in these. This enables health needs to be addressed. However, medication is not recorded clearly; this has resulted in errors which have Inspection report children’s home: 2589440 4 not been identified at the time. This was addressed by the responsible individual at the time of inspection.

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improvement to be good

Staff were unable to keep the previous child safe. They did not follow the protocols that were in place and this put him at significant risk of harm. This included not preventing the child from leaving the home when he was at risk, and not responding to alcohol and cannabis use to ensure that the child was safe. The registered manager did not identify and address the shortfalls in practice. This resulted in the child being at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Since this child left, there have been numerous changes of staff, and therefore changes in the staff team’s knowledge, experience and levels of training. There are still some gaps in the staff’s knowledge of how to respond if a child is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but staff were confident about contacting on-call for support and advice if need be, which mitigates the risk of harm. The current child is not displaying these behaviors at present.

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improvement to be good

Staff know the current child well and support him to manage his anxiety and frustrations. The child has engaged with the staff team to voice any concerns, and staff have put plans in place to support the child to manage and address these. There have been no missing-from-home episodes or restraints, and there has been a reduction in incidents of physical aggression.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are not always clear and do not consistently provide guidance for staff to follow, particularly regarding the power to prevent a child from leaving in line with a deprivation of liberty order. Staff were unaware that they could intervene to prevent the child from leaving. However, this is not a current issue due to the positive relationships staff have built with the child in a short space of time.

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improvement to be good

When incidents occur, these are not always recorded. This means that shortfalls in practice is not identified or evaluated by the manager.

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improvement to be good

Recent incidents of the child displaying bullying behaviour towards staff have been addressed successfully through staff working with the child to build positive relationships and address negative attitudes. However, this has not been clearly recorded, which does not enable the manager to identify the child’s behaviour patterns or the full reasons why improvements have been made.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessment in place for family and friends who are working together lack clarity. Furthermore, the contents of the risk assessment are not known or understood by staff. This has the potential to leave them and the child at risk.

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improvement to be good

An independent person has been put in place for staff to speak to about any concerns relating to this, but their name and contact details are contradictory. Inspection report children’s home: 2589440 5 Changes to the current staffing levels for the child will reduce the likelihood of staff working directly together.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager resigned from her post with immediate effect in August 2021. The manager had attempted to identify and address some of the shortfalls in staff practice. However, staff did not respond, and the child moved out. The registered manager made the decision to resign from her role following this. The responsible individual did put support in place for the manager, but there were numerous shortfalls in the manager’s oversight, which had a negative impact on the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual has appointed an acting manager who does not meet regulations because she has not recently worked in a children’s home. Although the job is currently advertised, at the time of inspection there was no clear deadline for applications and no plan in place to address the shortfall in management. The lack of stability in the management of the home is having a negative impact on the child and the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual and acting manager are responding to shortfalls identified in external audits, but there is a significant lack of oversight, and internal auditing systems are poor. This does not enable shortfalls in practice or documents to be identified or addressed quickly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are numerous shortfalls in documentation, for example essential information about the child is missing or incorrect. These shortfalls had not been identified by the acting manager, and therefore had not been addressed. Information is not clearly shared with staff and the acting manager is not ensuring that staff are aware of their roles and accountability. This does not provide staff with all the information and guidance they need to support the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Supervisions for staff do not take place in line with the statement of purpose. Newer staff have only recently had supervisions, despite being in their roles for up to six weeks. This does not give staff support and does not enable the manager to identify areas for improvement in the staff’s practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not have full enough knowledge and information to support the child. The training matrix is out of date and does not enable the manager to identify gaps in the staff team’s training. The staff’s understanding of their training, in particular safeguarding training, is not checked to ensure that they have retained and understood the information given.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff files have been reviewed and all information is on file, except for staff photos. The review identified that a staff member was working even though a reference had not been provided. Furthermore, the acting manager was unable to obtain the reference because the staff member prevented it. The staff member has since left, and the acting manager has made a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service to Inspection report children’s home: 2589440 6 raise concerns that there are potential issues with practice. It is positive that this has been addressed and that systems have been reinstated to prevent this from reoccurring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The previous registered manager made the decision to move a child into the home without the relevant documents, which prevented her from making an informed decision about whether the staff team and the home were suitable for the child. The acting manager has improved this process and has ensured that the staff team had the training needed prior to the newest child moving in. The records do not fully evidence this and continue to need improvement. Inspection report children’s home: 2589440 7

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular: 21 November Inspection report children’s home: 2589440 8  Ensure that risk assessments give staff clear guidance as to how to support the child, and are in line with the directives given from the local authority and court.  Ensure that staff have the necessary knowledge and understanding regarding how to respond when a child is under the influence of alcohol and/or cannabis or makes an allegation.  The registered manager must ensure that there is a clear risk assessment in place for family and friends who are working together, and that the contents of the risk assessment are known, understood and followed.

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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—

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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 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)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

 The manager must have oversight of all records and documentation, and the use of new auditing systems 19 December Inspection report children’s home: 2589440 9 must be embedded in order to support the development of the home.  Staff must be given the training they need to meet the child’s needs. Also, the training that is undertaken by staff must be clearly recorded, to enable the manager to have oversight of any training needs.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

 The manager must ensure that the staff can meet the needs of the child, and that any additional training which is necessary is identified and put in place.  Any child moving out of the home must be supported to do so in a way that enables them to understand the reasons for the move.  Staff must understand and follow the children’s plans in line with the local authority and any court orders. 19 December

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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. 29 November Inspection report children’s home: 2589440 10 In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)) 29 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 19 December

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 2589440 11 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: 2589440 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solo Independent Living Adolescent Care Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 77 West Park Road, Girlington, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD8 9SG

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Inspector

Debra Boldy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2589440 13 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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