Children's home run by J & R Care Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2591854 1 Registered provider: J & R Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to two children. It is owned and run by a private organisation. The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2020.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 1 July 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

No additional enforcement action was taken following the most recent inspection that was a monitoring visit, conducted on 1 July 2020. The three compliance notices Inspection report children’s home: 2591854 2 issued in respect of regulations 12, 13 and 34 were judged as met, and the suspension notice was ended. Inspection report children’s home: 2591854 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences vary in quality. All the children who have lived at the home have stayed for a shorter period than was intended. Several placement endings have been unplanned, which causes disruption to children’s lives.

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improvement to be good

Staff receive support from the organisation’s therapist to help them to work therapeutically with children. However, staff struggled to maintain a trauma- informed approach with a child who has recently left the home. When the child behaved in a way that staff found challenging, the staff team did not fully consider the needs of the child or the child’s previous experiences. As a result, staff are not consistently providing nurturing care which fully considers and meets children’s individual needs.

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improvement to be good

Despite the brief nature of most children’s stays, they make some progress in education at the on-site school. Two children who have now left the service had their work published in a poetry book. This was a significant achievement for them, and their success was celebrated.

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improvement to be good

One child who no longer lives at the home had a positive start to her time there. She initially made very good progress in relation to her emotional and psychological well-being. The child was unable to cope when another child moved in. Both children had unplanned placement endings when managers realised that they could no longer keep the children safe. Both children had several hospital admissions, relating to incidents that had happened, before they moved from the home. Staff were committed to looking after the children while they were staying in hospital. Children benefited from the continuity of care afforded by this flexible approach.

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improvement to be good

There is a strong ethos of supporting children to celebrate being who they want to be. Children are sensitively supported to understand more about their sexuality. An inclusive culture, which promotes equality and diversity, enables children to explore their developing sense of identity.

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improvement to be good

The child currently living at the home has recently come to live at the home for a second time. They told the inspector that they were pleased to be back.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not ensured that all risks are considered prior to children moving into the home. This is despite there being clear processes for this to happen. For example, a child came to live in the home but their needs were not considered in relation to the needs of a child who was already resident. This was a missed opportunity to demonstrate that careful risk assessment and matching took place. Inspection report children’s home: 2591854 4 Most staff have received training to meet the specific needs of the child living at the home. An accredited self-harm awareness course has been planned for the staff to strengthen their knowledge. However, some staff members who work part-time at the home have not attended the organisation’s therapeutic parenting training. This means that not all staff have the skills to meet the complex needs of the children in their care.

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improvement to be good

Before the child living at the home came to live at the home again, managers attended a multi-agency consultation meeting which included professionals from the mental health service. In line with the multi-agency advice, managers have written and implemented a risk assessment designed to keep the child safe. Measures which have been put in place include adapting the environment, adjusting the staff rota, and providing specific guidance to staff about the level of supervision the child needs. The child has only very recently returned to the home and so the effectiveness of these safety measures is not yet known.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers are unable to demonstrate safe recruitment practice. Managers do not explore candidates’ reasons for leaving all positions involving work with children and vulnerable adults. This represents a risk of unsuitable adults being employed at the home.

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improvement to be good

The quality of risk assessments has improved. The child living at the home described being aware of their own risk assessments and of the plans in place to reduce risks. They said they would speak to their key person if they wanted to talk about changes being made. This empowers the child to have a view about how their own risks are managed and this contributes to their protection and sense of security.

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improvement to be good

Managers have recently started to allow children to have access to mobile phones, including internet access. A contract is written alongside the child, so they understand what they need to do to keep themselves safe. Robust monitoring ensures that managers are quickly made aware if inappropriate internet sites have been accessed. These systems help children learn how to stay safe online.

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good

Managers have acknowledged the challenges the home has recently faced. They have been carrying out direct work with children to provide support during a particularly difficult time. This has had a clear effect on the quality of management and oversight of the home.

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good

Staff speak positively about the day-to-day support they receive from managers. However, staff have not been receiving regular, formal supervision. As a result, there are no records which demonstrate how the registered manager is making sure that all staff know how to safely meet children’s needs in line with their care plans and risk assessments. Inspection report children’s home: 2591854 5 The registered manager has not completed a review of the quality of care provided to children. This means the registered manager does not have a well-rounded view of the experiences of the children, and the impact the care is having on outcomes for them.

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good

Managers have responded robustly to significant incidents, and they have taken steps to reduce the risk of a recurrence. However, there have been avoidable delays between serious incidents occurring and the registered manager notifying Ofsted.

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good

The organisation maintains the statement of purpose and ensures that it is regularly updated. However, updates are not submitted to Ofsted.

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good

The management team understands the importance of working in partnership with other professionals. Additionally, effective joint working between the therapy, care and education teams within the organisation provides a wraparound service for children. Inspection report children’s home: 2591854 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

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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to ensuring that compatibility risk assessments demonstrate how new children’s needs are considered alongside those of children already living at the home. 13 December 2021

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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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 13 December 2021

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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 (3)(a)(b)) 13 December 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2591854 7 The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should seek to verify the candidates’ reasons for leaving all previous roles involving work with children or vulnerable adults. 13 December 2021

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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 (4)(b)) 13 December 2021

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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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 13 December 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months. 13 December 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2591854 8 In order to complete a quality of care review the registered 13 December 2021person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that positive relationships are characterised by consistency and unconditional positive regard for the child on the part of the carer; and that the carer acknowledges the importance of understanding and responding to the child’s lived experience of care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 21, paragraph 4.3) Inspection report children’s home: 2591854 9

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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: 2591854 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ash House South, Longfield, Kent DA3 8JF

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Inspector

Helen Simmons, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2591854 11 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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