Children's Home run by Nottingham City Council in Nottingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC034969 1 SC034969 Registered provider: Nottingham City Council Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a local authority. It is registered to provide short-term care for up to four children who may have emotional, social and behavioural difficulties. Children are referred on an emergency basis and stay for up to 12 weeks.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by an experienced and 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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Inspection date: 28 February 2022

Date of last inspection: 23 November 2021

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Inspection date: 28 February 2022

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 28 February 2022

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC034969 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.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At this interim inspection, Ofsted judged that it has declined in effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Some children say that they feel unsafe living in the home. This is because of the behaviour of other children. One child described bullying behaviours by other children, for example having items thrown at them and oil poured outside their bedroom door. The child also reported verbal abuse from other children. Staff attempt to prevent these behaviours, but their efforts are often ineffective.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

One child has demonstrated some very challenging behaviour. This has included throwing items and causing harm to staff. This remains a worrying situation because both children and staff could be injured.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children have used dangerous items to cause harm and damage to the home. Some children are at risk of self-harm. This risk has increased because of the damage to the home. Children potentially have access to items they could use to harm themselves. The staff have been threatened. The staff remain vigilant but struggle, at times, to manage escalating situations.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There is an increased risk of fire because children have access to materials that could be used as forms of ignition. One child has threatened to start a fire in the home on more than one occasion. Another child has set off fire extinguishers. A different child has started a fire. The home has a range of fire precautions to prevent fire and staff are adequately trained in this area and remain vigilant. However, the manager and staff are not yet making sufficient efforts to make sure that children do not have items that could be dangerous.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff are not regularly checking that all children’s bedrooms are hygienic, clean and free of hazards. Although staff make efforts to check rooms, they withdraw when children make threats towards them or when children’s behaviour escalates.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager failed to record a serious incident involving a child. This failure to record the incident prevents external professionals and Ofsted from being confident that it was managed to an acceptable standard. Children have not been supervised effectively by staff to protect them from harm. For example, there have been occasions when children have gone into each other’s bedrooms and prevented staff access.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There is a pattern of bullying in the home. Incidents are not being adequately recorded or reflected on by the manager and staff. For example, there are only two brief recordings of bullying, which is inaccurate. There has been an insufficient Inspection report for children’s home: SC034969 3 response by the manager and staff when children have made serious threats to harm each other. This has also been the case when concerns emerge that children may be involved in incidents away from the home. Recording lacks the required detail and evaluation by the manager.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children are not being listened to. One child said that he has complained to staff ‘at least 10 times’ about how he was being bullied. There are no records of a child having made a complaint or raising concerns. Children have also raised concerns about the staff’s care practice. These concerns have not been acted on. The manager is not adequately recording, reviewing or acting on children’s concerns and complaints.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has not adequately reviewed safeguarding arrangements. Without this, the manager is unable to establish any increased risk for children. The manager is not reporting safeguarding matters to Ofsted. This is concerning, because it prevents Ofsted from reviewing incidents to ensure that children are being kept safe.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

One child is not making enough progress. They attend education infrequently and there is little structure to their daytime routine. This increases the likelihood of difficult behaviour developing and prevents them from making progress. However, the other children are engaged in education. They are making progress and they have developed a positive relationship with each other.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff morale has improved. However, the improvement in morale is being overshadowed by their struggle to manage children’s behaviour and keep all the children safe.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The responsible individual has assured Ofsted that significant changes will be made to improve standards of care and safety for children. She has a plan to stabilise the home and to tackle the areas of concern identified at this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034969 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/10/2019 Full Good 24/04/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC034969 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 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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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. 11 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC034969 6 Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the manager and staff preventing bullying by children, preventing children having access to dangerous items and ensuring that the environment is safe.

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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

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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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.

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Requirement Due date

Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring oversight and review of all incidents, and supporting and helping staff to take effective action to prevent harm to children. The manager should ensure that all incidents are adequately recorded and receive rigorous evaluation. 11 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC034969 7 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child is instigated; or

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to the manager notifying Ofsted, in a timely manner, of any significant incident in the home. 11 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: SC034969 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nottingham City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham NG2 3NG

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Inspector

Andi Lilley-Tams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC034969 9 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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