Children's home run by Absolute Children’s Care Limited

Inspection report children's home: 2525807 1 Registered provider: Absolute Children’s Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is a privately owned children’s home that provides care for up to four children who need support with their social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has extensive experience in similar roles and has worked as the registered manager for this home since it’s opening in 2019.

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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 22 March 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 inadequate

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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: 18 February 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: 2525807 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/02/2020 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2525807 3

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improvement to be good

Since the previous inspection, two children have moved out of the home, and three children have moved in. One child has moved out as the managers did not match this child appropriately. The manager does not feel they can continue to meet the needs of some of the children currently in the home. This is due to poor matching. This results in children not having stability and has negatively impacted on their emotional well-being.

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improvement to be good

The main living areas in the home are presented well, and there is lots of space for children to relax. However, professionals have shared concerns about the living conditions of one child’s bedroom, and the inspector observed another child’s bedroom to be in poor condition with significant damage. There have been concerns relating to children’s risk-taking behaviours and staff have not spent time with children to help keep them safe.

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improvement to be good

Managers ensure that there is a consistent staff team working at the home. This enables the children to maintain relationships with the people who care for them. For one child, this has helped them feel they can return when they have been missing from home.

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improvement to be good

Staff try hard to secure educational placements for all children. However, when children’s plans change, the manager does not continue to advocate for them. During gaps in formal education, children have been offered home learning with a specialist tutor or online tutoring. Staff have lacked the necessary skills to motivate children to engage with this work. This has meant that children have disengaged with education and have not made progress with their learning.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always support children to make healthier choices. One child has specific health needs. The manager has sought advice from specialist services, but the staff team have not supported the child to eat healthily and to understand their own health needs. Currently, the child’s health needs are not being met.

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improvement to be good

Staff regularly speak with children about what activities they would like to do and spend time talking to children about how they are feeling. Children choose to go swimming, bowling, to crazy golf and to get their nails done, and some children have been for weekends away with staff. However, the manager does not offer opportunities for children to make choices and give feedback about other areas of their care. Children also do not know how to make a complaint or have easy access to resources to do this. This can lower children’s self-esteem and has made children feel that they are not always listened to. Inspection report children's home: 2525807 4

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improvement to be good

Staff keep children safe. Staff respond appropriately when children go missing from home, and they search the local area. They work collaboratively with others, including the police and social workers, to help find children as quickly as possible. However, the staff team have missed opportunities to gather information on known people in children’s networks to check if they may know where children are. The manager has failed to follow their own protocol regarding promptly reporting a child to police as being missing from home. These are missed opportunities for staff to find children more quickly.

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improvement to be good

Managers do not ensure that they consider all information about children to manage risks suitably. Staff do not have good enough strategies to manage risk. Risk management systems are not up to date. Records of incidents are unclear on what actions staff have taken to keep children safe. For example, this means that when children have become distressed, it is unclear whether items that are unsafe have been removed by staff to prevent injury. Therefore, staff may not respond to arising situations appropriately.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond promptly when children may pose a risk of harm to one another. One incident occurred between children, and staff intervened quickly and ensured the children were offered reassurance and medical attention. However, the manager has not put any effective guidance in place for staff to reduce the likelihood of children harming one another in future. This means that staff are not properly prepared to support children when their behaviour becomes challenging.

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improvement to be good

When children make allegations of harm, these are taken seriously. Where staff practice has fallen short of expected standards, the manager has been quick to address this and share information with the relevant professionals. Consequently, children are safeguarded effectively.

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improvement to be good

Children are cared for in a nurturing way by staff. Staff avoid punitive approaches to their care, which has resulted in few physical restraints since the previous inspection. When these take place, they are used as a last resort. However, records are not always clear regarding what has happened. This prevents managers and staff from understanding and improving the care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager is suitably qualified and has vast experience in children’s residential care. However, this inspection identified significant shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not ensure that staff have the sufficient skills required to meet children’s needs before they move in. When children’s care has quickly become too complex for him to manage, the manager has not escalated this with other Inspection report children's home: 2525807 5 professionals. Neither has he put his own plans in place so that children are offered more suitable care. This has prevented children from making progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

When children have become distressed or there are worries about exploitation, the manager has communicated with other professionals and engaged in meetings to share information about increasing risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring and review systems are not effective. The manager has failed to identify that some children’s bedrooms are in a poor condition and take action. Furthermore, ineffective monitoring means shortfalls have been missed in the quality of the home’s location risk assessment and staff recording of incidents. Additionally, there are gaps in safe recruitment and staff qualifications and training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager’s quality-of-care review does not show how the care offered by staff is improving children’s outcomes. Children are not offered opportunities to participate in the development of the home’s care. This has been previously raised by Ofsted in the last monitoring visit. The manager’s plans for improving and ensuring good care for children in the home remain unclear. This compromises the quality of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager does not ensure that staff are sufficiently trained to meet the needs of the children in the home. Staff have not had training in mental health, exploitation, drug misuse, or regarding children’s specific health needs. This has resulted in staff’s attempts to support children lacking in any expertise. This means that children are not receiving care which meets their needs and enables them to make progress in important areas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

When appointing new staff, the registered manager has not consistently followed safe recruitment practice. For example, no references have been gained to explore the reasons why a member of staff left their previous employment when they worked with children or vulnerable adults. This has the potential to leave children being cared for by individuals who are not safe to work with them. Inspection report children's home: 2525807 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

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. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that they pursue return home interviews for children with the local authority.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered manager engaging other professionals when care plans need to change for children. , 30 March 2022

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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

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person supporting children as much as possible to engage in education if they are not attending a provision. 30 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: 2525807 7 Additionally, this relates to the registered person engaging with educational support agencies to support children’s attendance.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 10 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that staff understand and have plans in place to meet children’s health needs.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to the registered person ensuring that children are supported in the home to eat a healthy diet. 30 March 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern 30 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: 2525807 8 about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iv)(vi)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person having plans in place to manage risk effectively in the home. They must also ensure that children are supported effectively to know how to keep themselves and that children’s bedrooms are free of items which could cause injury.

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received;

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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)(c)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that staff have the skills to meet the needs of the children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that children have opportunities to share their views about their care and this feedback is used to improve practice in the home. 30 March 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. 30 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: 2525807 9 The registered person may only—

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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 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.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained;

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that references are gained for staff members when they have previously worked with children, including reasons for leaving any past roles. The registered person must also ensure that staff gain their Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) within two years.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline 30 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: 2525807 10 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;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv)(vii)(viii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that all information is recorded as required in relation to restraints with children as per the regulation.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are able to take up issues or make a complaint with support and without any fear that this will result in any adverse consequences. In particular, the registered manager should ensure that children have free access to make written complaints and that children are given the contact details of other professionals should they wish to raise a complaint about their care. (Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)  The registered person should ensure that they have a system in place which allows them to monitor the matter set out in regulation 45 at least once every six months. The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of the children living there and the impact the care is having on outcome and improvements for the

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Recommendations

children. In particular, the registered manager should ensure they obtain feedback and the opinions of children about the home and the quality of care they receive. (Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)  The registered person should ensure that the independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. In particular, the registered manager should ensure that the independent person assesses all the relevant information about the home and the quality of care they receive. (Guide Inspection report children's home: 2525807 11 to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)  The registered person should ensure that, they review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The

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Recommendations

review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64 paragraph 15.1)

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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: 2525807 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Absolute Children’s Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 142 West Malvern Road, Malvern, Worcestershire WR14 4NJ

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Inspector

Fiona Roche, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2525807 13 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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