Children's home run by Future 19 Social Care Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2569163 1 Registered provider: Future 19 Social Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider owns and manages this home. The home provides care for up to three children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered on 13 March 2020. The manager, who registered at the same time, left in September 2020. The former deputy manager is the current acting manager. She has submitted an application to become the registered manager.

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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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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 widespread failures that mean children and 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.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Inspection report children’s home: 2569163 2 Following the full inspection in August 2021, the home was judged inadequate. This led to two compliance notices being issued linked to regulation 12, the protection of children and regulation 32, fitness of workers. The provider demonstrated some capacity during the monitoring visit in October 2021 to address some aspects of the notice under regulation 12, but the remainder was reissued alongside the full compliance notice for regulation 32. Inspection report children’s home: 2569163 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/08/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: 2569163 4

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inadequate

The home was judged inadequate based on the lack of effective action and timescales taken by the provider to meet the steps identified in the two compliance notices issued in August 2021.

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inadequate

The children living at the home have experienced a period of stability over recent months. They have established good relationships with most of the staff team. One child has moved on, having experienced a planned transition. This allowed the child to visit the new placement prior to the move and prepare for the change.

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inadequate

Children are supported to take part in fun hobbies and activities to promote their positive experiences. This includes trips to the seaside, theme parks and to Matlock. Others engage in activities such as golf and boxing as a result of the motivation provided by a particular member of staff.

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inadequate

Children do not always engage fully with their education plans. This does not support them to meet their full potential. However, staff do ensure that children are woken up in time for school and their school uniforms are clean and ready to wear. When children do attend, staff transport them to and from school. The manager and deputy engage with the school and social workers to ensure that the plans for children are current and up to date. However, they do not always ensure that these updates transfer into children’s written records. One of the children’s social workers said, ‘They are doing all they can to promote education.’

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inadequate

Children have started to engage in their healthcare arrangements. One child has attended all their personal healthcare appointments and another child has engaged with their optician appointments to explore wearing contact lenses. This aspect of their care has been positive.

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

The compliance notice relating to risk assessments has not been met. The quality of children’s risk assessments has improved but it is not yet good enough. Children’s risk assessments lack sufficient detail and do not clarify their known risks. Neither do they consistently demonstrate the actual level of risk posed. For example, some children are deemed to be at high risk of going missing when they have not been missing for a considerable period of time. This does not demonstrate an accurate assessment of risk.

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

Staff know what to do if children are missing. This includes looking for them and contacting them regularly until they return home safely. Staff have followed children Inspection report children’s home: 2569163 5 when they have left the home and shared the relevant detail with the police and social workers. This is helping to keep children safe.

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

Staff recruitment is still not aligned with the regulations and safe practice. The acting manager has sought advice about how to conduct the checks on new staff, but their records are not providing the required detail to ensure that staff are safe to work with children. This aspect of the compliance notice is therefore reissued.

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

Children are not always prevented from smoking in their bedrooms. The smell of smoke in one child’s bedroom and in the hallway outside their bedroom provided clarity that the child was smoking in the home. This raises the risk of fire in the home and is not addressed with the child.

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

Not all staff have completed a comprehensive training course linked to child sexual and criminal exploitation. While these topics have been touched on in safeguarding training, they were not covered in any great depth. The children living in the home are considered by the manager to be at risk of exploitation. This prevents the manager and staff from fully recognising the signs, understanding the risks and taking appropriate action.

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

Children can identify an adult who they trust and get on with, and are able to speak to them about any anxieties they may have. However, not all incidents that have led to some children having tensions with staff have been acted on. This does not promote a feeling of harmony in the home.

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

The fire risk assessment has been updated. All children and staff have now taken part in a fire drill and know what to do in the event of a fire.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The acting manager is new in post and was the former deputy manager. This promotes their understanding of the home and the children living here. The acting manager has not always felt supported in their new role. A new deputy manager has commenced in the role to support the manager to oversee the running of the home. A new responsible individual has also been appointed by the provider.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The acting manager has not demonstrated a good enough understanding of the management responsibilities involved with running the home. Their limited understanding of the previous shortfalls means their actions linked to overseeing the home have not been sufficient to address the steps required in the compliance notices. This has led to the two notices being reissued again for the third time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The acting manager’s and provider’s oversight and monitoring of the home is still in its infancy. Monitoring systems are not good enough to enable the acting manager to evaluate the impact of the quality of care for children and to make continuous improvements. Consequently, children’s records are not always updated following discussions with their schools, social workers, and other professionals. Inspection report children’s home: 2569163 6 Rewards and sanctions are being recorded but the detail is often missing. This does not promote a shared understanding of the children’s current situation or support consistent practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive supervision from the acting manager that addresses the key issues relating to their development and the children’s care. Staff indicated that they receive supervision regularly and they felt supported. However, staff have not received an appraisal. Therefore, their performance and targets are not explored annually.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

New staff have filled some of the vacancies in the home but there are still gaps that affect the staffing levels. The new staff have felt supported and enjoy working in the home. They receive an induction that covers the required training and have learned about the policies and procedures. However, the information gathered from verifying their references about why these staff left their previous posts or if the referees had any concerns about their practice is not recorded on their recruitment files. This does not support safe recruitment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Most of the previous requirements from the full inspection have been met but some have been repeated following further shortfalls. The manager has submitted the six- monthly quality of care report to Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A new therapist has commenced work with the manager and staff to support their understanding of children’s therapeutic needs. All staff have taken part in the training to inform their understanding of attachment and trauma and the impact of this on children’s behaviour. However, this is still very new and not yet embedded in their daily practice. Inspection report children’s home: 2569163 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 positive relationships standard requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider and manager should ensure that any tensions between staff and children are resolved at the earliest convenience. 30 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— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider and manager should ensure that children are not smoking in their bedrooms. 30 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— that staff—

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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)) 23 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard requires the registered person to— 30 January 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2569163 8 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider and manager should ensure that children’s records are updated with relevant information; staff complete training on child sexual and criminal exploitation to develop a better understanding of the risks to children; and staff receive an appraisal at least annually.

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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

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or 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, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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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) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d)) 23 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report children’s home: 2569163 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: 2569163 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Future 19 Social Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 9 Thorne Road, Rossington, Doncaster, Yorkshire DN1 2HJ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Maxwell Muchenje

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Inspector

Parveen Hussain, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2569163 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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