Children's Home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Herefordshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC062223 1 SC062223 Registered provider: Priory Education Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home offers care for up to five children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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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 inspection 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: 21 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 for children's home: SC062223 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/01/2020 Full Good 13/06/2018 Full Outstanding 27/11/2017 Full Good 07/09/2016 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC062223 3

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improvement to be good

The staff build good relationships with the children living in the home. One child spoken to said that he likes living in the home.

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improvement to be good

The children personalise their bedrooms and the communal spaces are decorated with creative artwork. There is an ongoing programme of maintenance and repair. During the inspection, managers shared their development plan, which includes fitting the home with an updated kitchen and new carpets.

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improvement to be good

The children enjoy a range of activities in line with their interests, such as playing golf, going to theme parks and going on sensory scavenger hunts around the home. In addition, the staff organise themed cookery evenings to provide children with the opportunity to try new foods. As a result, children have fun.

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improvement to be good

Children who were previously not engaged in school have been supported and encouraged to re-engage with education. One child is currently completing an apprenticeship, and another has successfully transitioned to a new school. When children face difficulties in attending education, the manager seeks external support. This helps to reduce the barriers to learning.

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improvement to be good

The staff support and encourage the children to maintain positive relationships with their family. In addition, staff send weekly reports to family members and provide regular updates on their child’s progress. Staff demonstrate an understanding of the importance of children’s relationships with loved ones.

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improvement to be good

There are occasions when staff consult with children through key-working sessions. However, this is not consistent practice. For example, there was no evidence in place to suggest that the staff have supported children to share their views before their review meetings. In addition, staff did not explain to a child the removal of the restrictions proposed in their care plan. This compromises the children’s abilities to reflect on their progress and to influence their experiences.

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improvement to be good

Children in the home say that they feel safe. However, children’s risk assessments lack sufficient detail and require improvement. The documents do not include all the relevant and necessary information, such as how staff should respond to risk and the support measures for children. For example, one child’s risk assessment states that staff should complete phone checks. However, this is not current practice. In addition, the risk of physical aggression for one child was rated low, when this behaviour is frequent. A lack of detailed assessment hinders the oversight of risk- Inspection report for children's home: SC062223 4 taking behaviours and does not show robust strategies to reduce risk and protect children from harm.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of children going missing from home are rare, despite some children having a history of doing so in previous placements. Staff respond to and record the incidents of children going missing. However, on one occasion, the manager did not ensure that the child was provided with an independent return home interview. This is a missed opportunity to support the child and to understand risk-taking behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Multi-agency working takes place. The manager has sought additional advice when required and facilitated multi-agency meetings to discuss children’s progress. This ensures that services are working together to meet the needs of the children.

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improvement to be good

Alarms are used on some children’s bedroom doors at night. Managers have not undertaken an assessment of children’s needs to support the requirement of this measure. In addition, in some cases there has been no consultation with the children or the children’s social workers. As a result, the alarms may be being used unnecessarily, which leads to inconsistencies in staff practice.

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improvement to be good

Medication arrangements are not consistent. There are occasions when staff have not ensured that children have received their medication and the reasons for this are not clearly recorded. In addition, the staff failed to seek specialist advice before restarting the medication, which may have had an impact on its effectiveness. The manager has failed to identify or respond to this shortfall. This practice compromises the children’s health and well-being.

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good

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2019. Staff and external professionals spoke highly of the manager, describing him as supportive and having good communication skills.

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good

Staff say that there are good levels of support, and that the home is a nice place in which to work. The manager provided examples of team building days which have been organised to boost the staff team’s morale. The impact of this is reflected in the low staff turnover.

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good

The registered manager has not ensured that the staff receive sufficient training. For example, there are gaps in mandatory training, such as fire awareness. In addition, staff have not completed training specific to children’s presenting needs, such as the effects of substance misuse. This has an impact on the staff’s ability to care for the children in the home.

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good

Monitoring of the home is not effective. Internal monitoring by the manager has not identified the shortfalls with record-keeping. For example, the staff do not always record and evaluate incidents. During inspection, it was found that a serious incident Inspection report for children's home: SC062223 5 involving a child having access to petrol and a lighter was not recorded. Another example identified was of a child threatening to cause harm to another child in the home. In addition, staff do not always record the outcome when a child has attended a health appointment. This affects the manager’s oversight of a child’s safety and well-being in the home. During the inspection, the manager organised recording and reporting training for the staff.

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good

Children’s case files do not contain all the information required. These shortfalls have not been addressed by managers. This means that staff do not have all the information they need to provide coordinated care. Inspection report for children's home: SC062223 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who —

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to staff supporting children to understanding their care plans and prepare for their reviews. 28 January 2022

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that the children’s risk assessments consider and assess all known risks. 28 January 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC062223 7 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 experiences, qualifications, and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that all staff complete mandatory training and child-specific training. In addition, the manager should ensure that incidents are recorded, to be able to monitor the care provided. 28 January 2022

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that —

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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. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that medication is administered as prescribed. 28 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children. (Regulation 24 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that door alarms are only used as set out in a child’s agreed risk assessment. 28 January 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC062223 8 The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the need for a child’s up-to-date care plan and education plan to be in place. 28 January 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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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 for children's home: SC062223 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Priory Education Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Priory Group, Fifth Floor, 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Inspector

Sophie Hills, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC062223 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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