Children's Home run by Broadlands Hall Limited in Suffolk

Inspection report for children’s home: SC060936 1 SC060936 Registered provider: Broadlands Hall Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care and education for up to eight children with moderate to severe learning difficulties and/or autism spectrum disorder.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a Department for Education-registered school in the grounds of the home. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since 21 January 2022.

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Inspection date: 8 February 2022

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 8 February 2022

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC060936 2

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judged that it has sustained effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There were three children living at the home at the time of the inspection. Two children have moved on since the last inspection. The decision for children to move on was made by the manager in consultation with other professionals to ensure the children’s safety.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager left the home a couple of weeks before the inspection, in January 2022. The responsible individual is providing a high level of management support at the home. Progress towards meeting the requirements raised at the last inspection has been slow. Actions have been taken more recently to address identified shortfalls. The responsible individual has established a clear improvement plan, informed by audits on the condition of the property and overview of staff working practices. However, four of the previous seven requirements are not met and have been restated.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff morale is high. Staff feel that the responsible individual is a reliable leader who is a supportive role model.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

New members of staff bring energy and practical skills that they share with the children. Staff complete the organisation’s mandatory training and know how to escalate safeguarding concerns. The manager ensures that additional training is provided to meet children’s individual needs and to refresh staff’s knowledge.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Two staff have not achieved a suitable level 3 diploma within the required time frame. The responsible individual has put in place support to help staff achieve this qualification.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All children are attending education. Children are supported to access volunteering and work experience opportunities in areas such as gardening, retail and caring for animals. Staff support children to learn skills that they will need when they live more independently. However, the planning for this is not clear enough and children’s progress is not measurable. This makes it difficult for staff to deliver the most effective support.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff encourage children to share their views. The manager responds to any complaints or grumbles formally. This ensures that children are aware of the outcome of their complaint.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager works well with other professionals to share information and agree strategies for responding to behaviours that challenge staff. Staff have achieved a Inspection report for children’s home: SC060936 3 large reduction in incidents of restraint for one child. However, de-escalation strategies are not yet effective for all children. Sometimes, staff’s responses to children’s behaviour escalates children’s emotions. These incidents are not consistently reviewed or challenged by the manager.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children receive regular rewards and praise for positive and kind behaviour. When sanctions are given, they mostly consist of children being denied access to their technology. This often does not relate to the behaviour and does not provide children with an understandable consequence for their actions. Sanctions records are not regularly reviewed by a manager. The responsible individual has recently introduced a new system which incentivises children to engage positively with staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Safer recruitment checks are in place. However, the manager does not consistently verify why applicants have left previous roles working with children or vulnerable adults. This fails to ensure that all steps have been taken to explore an applicant’s suitability for the role.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Communal areas of the home need repair and redecoration to provide children with a homely environment. The responsible individual recently completed an audit of the premises and has some work scheduled. Not all children’s bedrooms are personalised, despite one child asking for specific colours. Also, the curtain rail in this child’s bedroom was broken. Consequently, they could not close their curtains for privacy or to achieve darkness. The manager was unaware of this, so a repair had not been arranged. This was scheduled during the inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The independent person visits the home monthly as required. However, they do not regularly consult with others as part of their visits. This limits the overall effectiveness of this quality assurance measure. The independent person’s reports are not submitted to Ofsted promptly. This reduces Ofsted’s oversight of the operation of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC060936 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/09/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/06/2019 Full Inadequate 07/03/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC060936 5

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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 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 home’s 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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff have clear guidance for developing children’s independence skills in a planned way.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 8 April 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 home’s 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— 1 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC060936 6 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

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that communal areas are maintained and decorated to provide children with a pleasant home, and respond to children’s requests to personalise their bedrooms.

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that records are reviewed by a manager for accuracy and oversight of staff practice. 7 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.

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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, ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to verify why a prospective staff member’s employment with children or vulnerable adults ended.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 7 March 2022

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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 7 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC060936 7 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 1 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 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the independent visitor consults with relevant people to inform the visitor’s understanding of the quality of care, and that the reports are submitted to Ofsted without delay.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 1 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC060936 8

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Recommendation

 The registered provider should ensure that staff have the skills to respond to each child’s individual behaviour. When necessary, staff should manage conflict, maintain constructive dialogues and react appropriately if challenged by a child in their care. In particular, staff should follow children’s plans to de-escalate incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.14)

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Information about this inspection

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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: SC060936 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Broadlands Hall Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Greenwood House, Greenwood Court, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP32 7GY

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Inspectors

Paula Edwards, Social Care Inspector Russel Breyer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC060936 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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