Children's Home run by Active Ark Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 1 SC439956 Registered provider: Active Ark Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home. The provider states in their home’s statement of purpose that they provide care for one child with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a registered manager in post. He registered with Ofsted in January 2021.

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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 inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 21 December 2020 to carry out an assurance 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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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/04/2019 Full Good 25/09/2018 Full Outstanding 25/10/2017 Full Outstanding 16/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. The child had lived at the home for over two years and has developed a sense of belonging and permanence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and spacious. However, it is not maintained to a high standard throughout. Parts of the home are dated and in need of redecorating, as there was walls with wallpaper ripped off in places.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and well-being are promoted well by staff. Staff ensure that healthcare plans identify children’s individual needs. Statutory health assessments have been completed, and children are supported fully to attend required medical appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have individualised plans which identify risks to their safety and well-being and provide guidance for staff on how to manage these risks. However, some of the plans lack clarity and contain irrelevant information. This has resulted in children not having common, specific and measurable goals that they are aiming to achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Risk management plans and risk assessments are not sufficiently updated after incidents occur. This means that not all staff are fully aware of the actions that they are required to take to keep children safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is promoted well in the home. Staff encourage and support education in line with children’s plans. As a result, the child currently living at the home is making progress in education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to create memories with the staff and try new activities and hobbies. Achievements are celebrated and captured in memory books.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Communication with children’s birth families is an area for improvement. Staff need to ensure that they promote good-quality relationships with people who are important to children.

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

The child told inspectors they feel safe and are well cared for. Children are kept safe by the staff team when safeguarding issues arise. However, risk management plans do not provide enough detailed guidance to respond to risks. Despite being reviewed regularly, details and strategies are not updated when there has been an increase in incidents where children are at risk. This hinders the ability of the staff team to protect children effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 4 When there is a physical restraint involving children, the records lack detail and the manager’s evaluation is often poor, as it does not ensure that appropriate action is taken when an injury is alleged. This means that the manager is not evaluating all aspects of the restraint.

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

Safer recruitment practices for new staff working at the home are sufficiently robust. The registered manager has demonstrated that all appropriate checks have been completed before staff work at the home. This ensures that the integrity of all staff has been thoroughly checked in order to keep children safe.

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

Safeguarding practice when children are missing is effective. Clear procedures are followed by staff to ensure that children are safely returned to the home. Relevant authorities are notified without delay. Staff proactively search local areas and known places. Staff have a good understanding of why children go missing from home and use this information to inform the risk management plan.

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good

The current manager has been registered with Ofsted since January 2021. He is passionate about the role and has a good understanding of the needs of children. Staff say that they feel supported. The child spoke fondly of the manager, and inspectors observed warm interactions. The registered manager is due to leave the home very soon. The provider has been successful in recruiting a new manager.

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good

Staff receive supervision sessions, and team meetings are held regularly. However, records demonstrate that supervision discussions lack reflection on practice, learning from training and areas for improvement. Accurate records are not kept of supervision sessions, and objectives are not captured to support professional development or improve practice.

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good

There have been a number of changes in staff, and shifts are regularly covered by staff from other homes. This does not ensure that consistent staff are caring for children.

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good

There is a lack of management evaluation to identify whether staff need to change their practice in response to incidents. The manager does not consistently monitor or consider if care plans and risk management plans are clear and accurate. This means that improvements to practice are not always identified and the agreed strategies implemented.

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good

The independent person visiting the home has not consistently requested feedback from children or external stakeholders. Their reports are submitted late and lack evaluation of practice. The independent visitor does not provide clear actions to improve the quality of care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 5 The internal monitoring of the home requires improvement. Shortfalls are present in children’s records. The manager has not picked up on stigmatising language being used by staff in children’s records. Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 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, The 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the provider although lots of information is updatedit conflicts with other records and fails to identify risk clearly 28 April 2022

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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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— 28 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 7 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 to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b )(2)(a)(b)(g)(i)(ii)(h)

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the provider ensuring that staff receive supervision regularly and that it is appropriately recorded. 28 April 2022

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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

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and 28 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 8 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 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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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)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii) (b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that restraints are accurately documented and evaluated.

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The provider must ensure that the rota includes the full names of staff and the actual hours worked. 28 April 2022

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether— 28 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 9 children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (2)(a) (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the independent person is visiting the home at least once a month and that the independent person must consult with stakeholders, including children living in the home. There should be a clear opinion in the report about the safeguarding of children and whether their well-being is promoted.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child.(‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC439956 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Active Ark, Unit E, Baron Way, Kingmoor Business Park, Carlisle CA6 4SJ

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Inspectors

Michelle Edge, Social Care Inspector Manager Jessica Higginson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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