Children's home run by CareTech Community Services Limited in Hertsmere

Inspection report children's home: SC426719 1 SC426719 Registered provider: CareTech Community Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a large private company. It provides care for up to six children who have physical and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, a new manager has taken over the day-to-day running of the home. She has applied to register with Ofsted and holds a level 5 qualification in health and social care for residential childcare.

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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 provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC426719 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/10/2019 Full Outstanding 19/02/2019 Full Outstanding 07/03/2018 Full Outstanding 14/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC426719 3

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improvement to be good

The manager has plans to improve the home environment as it requires attention. It is not decorated well throughout, and children are sitting on torn sofas. Unnecessary and unsightly locks are in place on some doors which give an institutional feel to the home. Damaged equipment in the sensory room has not been replaced. In addition, standards of cleanliness in the home are variable. As a result of not keeping abreast of maintenance, the environment lacks homeliness and is not maintained to a good standard throughout.

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improvement to be good

Children are registered with local health services. Staff support children to attend most routine appointments. However, on one occasion, this did not happen, resulting in an unnecessary delay in accessing support. On another occasion, staff did not seek consent from the relevant person for a child to receive medical treatment. This resulted in a child receiving treatment that was not required. Managers took appropriate action in response to the incident.

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improvement to be good

Five children lived at the home at the time of the inspection. Despite shortfalls identified during the inspection, children have some positive experiences and make some good progress.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from carefully planned moves into and on from the home. Since the last inspection, four children have left as they have reached adulthood. One child moved to a different home, within the organisation, which was better suited to meet their needs. Staff continue to offer support to children who move from the home, during their settling period. This good practice promotes future placement stability.

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improvement to be good

Four children attend school daily. One child, who recently moved into the home, is having visits to his new school to become familiar with the environment and school routines before he starts full time. Children’s education plans provide staff with guidance on how to support children to achieve their targets, particularly in relation to developing their independence. For example, one child helps staff to cook meals and now requires less support with personal routines, such as getting dressed and maintaining oral hygiene.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to keep in touch with people who are important them and they enjoy spending quality time with their families. One parent told the inspector that their child is always happy to see staff when they collect him from visits, which they find reassuring.

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improvement to be good

Children receive help from staff to practise their religion. One child’s parents provide child-friendly religious stories that staff read to their child. This practice promotes this child’s identity and connection to their family. Inspection report children's home: SC426719 4 During the COVID-19 pandemic, community activities accessed by children were cancelled. Since government restrictions have eased, the manager and staff have encouraged children to return to activities they enjoy. During the inspection, one child was very excited about attending his ski lesson. Activities accessed by children help their social, emotional and physical development.

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improvement to be good

There has been one missing-from-home incident. This involved a child leaving the home without the knowledge of staff. Once staff became aware that the child was missing, they took swift action to locate and return the child. They worked well with the police and members of the community. The incident was investigated thoroughly, and new measures implemented to reduce the likelihood of it happening again. However, this lapse in supervision left a child vulnerable to the risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Some aspects of safer recruitment practice are good, but this is not consistently so. In one staff member’s record, managers have not been identified conflicting information within the application and gaps in the person’s employment history are not explained.

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improvement to be good

Staff use physical intervention to stop children from harming themselves or others, or to prevent serious damage to property. Descriptions of the techniques used by staff are not always clear in physical incident records. On one occasion, a child was restrained by two staff who are not trained, which is not good or safe practice.

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improvement to be good

There has been one allegation and three complaints made. All concerns reported are taken seriously; information is shared with relevant people and investigations are held. This process promotes a learning culture. For example, the manager requested permissions for a walking harness to be used to support one child who has limited road safety awareness. This was following a review of the procedures in place.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff know children well and identify when children are distressed. Children’s plans name risks and provide staff with guidance on managing these effectively. This helps staff to manage behaviours well.

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good

Since the last inspection, two managers and several staff members have left. There has been an increase in support from senior managers, who visit the home regularly. Despite efforts to use consistent agency staff, there is a high level of agency staff working in the home who do not have training specific to the needs of children. As a result, some children are cared for by staff who are unfamiliar to them and their needs. In addition, poor staffing has meant that managers are involved in day-to- day practice which affects their capacity to focus on monitoring and oversight. Inspection report children's home: SC426719 5 During the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions in place at different times, there has been a reduction in face-to-face training for staff. Alternative online courses are accessible to staff. Although staff have completed a range of training, not all staff have completed training in autism. Therefore, some do not have all the skills and

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good

knowledge they require to meet some children’s specific needs.

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good

Incidents are reviewed by the home’s manager and senior managers and this process causes delays in reports being sent to children’s social workers. This means that social workers do not have timely access to important information to act on if needed.

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good

Managers do not always ensure that staff receive regular supervision. When supervision sessions are held, they help staff to reflect on their practice, review children’s behaviour management plans and identify training needs. Staff report that managers are accessible and approachable, and as a result, staff feel supported.

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good

The manager has some understanding of the home’s strengths and challenges; she completes monthly audits on the quality of care provided. Staff sufficiency is identified as an area to develop. The organisation has been proactive in reviewing staff benefits and recruitment processes to improve this area and work is ongoing. Inspection report children's home: SC426719 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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs. (Regulation 5(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the manager shares incident reports with children’s local authorities without delay. 25 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s homes overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the home is maintained to a good standard throughout. 25 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met; 25 January 2022 Inspection report children's home: SC426719 7 children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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 each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff support children to attend required health appointments and ensure that consent for treatment has been obtained from a person who holds parental responsibility for the child.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children receive care from trained and consistent staff. 25 January 2022

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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

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which 25 January 2022 Inspection report children's home: SC426719 8 the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff employed to work at the home, either internally or via an agency, are safely recruited.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration. (Regulation 35 (1)(b) (3)(a)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that the description of restraint techniques is sufficiently detailed to provide a clear explanation to the reader of the record. 25 January 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (Guide to the children’s homes regulations including quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report children's home: SC426719 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: SC426719 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: CareTech Community Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5th Floor Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Helen Malanaphy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC426719 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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