Children's Home run by Pathway Care Solutions Ltd in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC051739 1 SC051739 Registered provider: Acorn Education and Care 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 owned by a large private provider. It provides care and accommodation for up to three children who have emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a relatively new manager in post, who is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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

Date of last inspection: 20 January 2020

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC051739 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/01/2020 Full Good 16/10/2018 Full Good 12/09/2017 Full Good 20/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC051739 3

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improvement to be good

This home requires improvement because management oversight is not yet fully effective. When the practice of staff has fallen below expectation, the manager has not always acted in a robust manner. Additionally, some children’s bedrooms have been allowed to get into a poor state. Managers have not worked effectively with the local authority to progress children’s plans to get children on track to make progress.

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improvement to be good

When children are not enrolled at a school, managers do not work effectively with the responsible local authority to identify the right education provision. Barriers to children accessing education are not addressed quickly enough. For example, one of the children has not had any sustained education since January 2021. This has the potential to negatively affect children’s behaviour and daily routines.

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improvement to be good

There are some missed opportunities to encourage and develop children’s social living skills. Staff do not consistently try to dissuade children from eating meals in their rooms. This can lead to isolation and detachment from the staff and other children.

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improvement to be good

Children have made some good progress in many areas of their development, considering their starting points when moving to the home. The manager and staff quickly understand the children’s needs. They endeavour to secure the services required to meet these needs. For some children with specific cultural needs, staff explore the local community to find ways of meeting this need and helping children to integrate into the local community. Managers have ensured that children maintain regular contact with their previous carers, who are often from the children’s country of origin. Again, these factors mean that children’s cultural needs are better understood and met.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to make decisions about their home. The children’s views about the home are obtained both individually and as a group. For example, they decided to change one area of the home into a games room. This is a work in progress. The children are looking forward to having a dedicated room for gaming.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not ensured that staff have clear procedures to follow when there are safeguarding concerns. When staff raise concerns, managers have made decisions that may have increased the risk to children. Additionally, staff recording of their concerns is insufficient. Managers have not kept a clear record of events following a safeguarding concern. This lack of detailed recording by staff and the Inspection report children’s home: SC051739 4 manager prevents a clear understanding of what took place and the actions of staff to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

The home’s environment has not been monitored effectively. Managers have not ensured that staff have undertaken regular checks to all areas of the home and grounds. This means that children have had access to inappropriate music, films and games. Children are not helped enough to keep their bedrooms in a good condition. The outside gardens have broken leisure equipment. There are sharp objects, not removed, that children could harm themselves with.

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improvement to be good

When children are missing from this home, staff make efforts to locate them and make sure that they are safe. Staff have access to detailed and informative risk assessments. The staff work with the police and other agencies to return children home safely. When children return, they are made to feel safe and cared for. However, children do not always have an independent return interview. This means that opportunities are missed to gather information that may reduce further incidents and keep children safer.

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improvement to be good

Undoubtedly, the staff team has worked hard to reduce incidents of challenging behaviour. As a result of this work, children are increasingly settled. They are more likely to engage with staff in more structured and positive activities. However, there is minimal challenge by staff when children engage in poor behaviour. For example, children have listened to music containing inappropriate language. Staff have also failed to challenge children when they have used poor and offensive language. This has the potential to set a culture in the home whereby these negative behaviours become the norm.

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good

The manager has been in post since May 2021. The manager is in the process of registering with Ofsted. Prior to this promotion, she was an experienced deputy manager at the home. The staff team is both experienced and settled. There has been a low turnover of staff. This provides children with greater consistency of care and support.

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good

Management monitoring systems are not yet fully effective. There are several areas of concern that have not been identified through management monitoring. For example, the cupboard door housing the medication cabinet is broken. Children can access this room. These shortfalls create the potential for additional risk to children.

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good

When children come to live at this home, they are provided with information on how to make complaints. However, when children have raised a complaint, this has not been investigated or responded to by a manager. This means that their grievances are not acted on quickly.

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good

Staff have regular, effective supervision. Managers are good at supporting staff and promoting their well-being. Supervision discussions are wide ranging and discuss the Inspection report children’s home: SC051739 5 children in detail. However, not all staff have received supervision in line with the provider’s own policy and expectations.

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good

Staff undertake regular training to develop and improve their knowledge, skills and abilities. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of this training has been online. However, more recently, staff have attended face-to-face training which has been a welcome addition to the training schedule. This has included training in physical intervention and therapeutic parenting. Staff report that the training prepares them well to care for children.

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good

At this inspection, five requirements and two recommendations have been made in response to the shortfalls identified. Inspection report children’s home: SC051739 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 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers’ oversight of the home not being effective. 1 December 2021

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement; and

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(vi)(viii)) 1 December 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC051739 7 This relates to children not receiving sufficient education.

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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

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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers not taking effective decisions to keep children safe. 1 December 2021

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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 investigating a complaint from a child. 1 December 2021

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as 1 December 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC051739 8 the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers not challenging the placing authority regarding education and missing from care procedures.

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that staff make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. These are fundamentally the same arrangements as a good parent would make but are subject to additional safeguards. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered manager should ensure that staff understand factors that affect children’s motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way. Staff should encourage an enthusiasm for positive behaviour through the use of positive behaviour strategies in line with the children’s relevant plans. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.13)

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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: SC051739 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acorn Education and Care

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Atria, Spa Road, Bolton BL1 4AG

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Inspector

Simon Hunter, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC051739 10 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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