Children's home run by Progress Care and Education Limited in Hammersmith and Fulham

Inspection report for children's home: SC044224 1 SC044224 Registered provider: Progress Care and Education 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. It is registered to provide care for up to four children with learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection, there were four children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager at this home since March 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 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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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC044224 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/11/2017 Full Good 29/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC044224 3

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inadequate

Managers have not always properly considered children’s needs, or whether potential new children would match well with those already living in the home before offering them a place. As a result, children have had some poor experiences because of the behaviour of others towards them.

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inadequate

Children’s care is not consistently well planned. Information in children’s internal care plans is sometimes vague and lacking in detail. This creates a risk that children will not receive safe or effective care that meets their individual needs.

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inadequate

Staff do not have a clear understanding of children’s health needs or the impact of specific health conditions. Arrangements for children to access specialist healthcare are not consistently effective. This means that children do not always have the specialist input they require to stay healthy.

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inadequate

Children are all attending school on a regular basis. Regular communication between home and school staff helps to ensure that children’s educational progress is supported.

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inadequate

Children and staff were observed interacting positively and evidently share good relationships. Children are supported to have family time and maintain important relationships.

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

There are shortfalls in risk management which mean that children are not consistently protected from harm.

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

Children’s individual risk management plans contain conflicting information and, in some cases, fail to provide clear guidance. This means that staff are not clear about how to support children safely. For example, staff did not have clear guidance about how to manage identified risks of one child ingesting inedible items.

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

Children are not benefiting from consistent or effective behaviour support. Staff do not have sufficient knowledge or understanding of some children’s behaviours. Staff recognise themselves that they need clearer guidance to enable them to respond to children’s behaviours confidently and consistently.

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

On some occasions, staff have used physical intervention or restrained children for reasons other than to prevent injury or serious damage to property. For example, one child was physically prevented from leaving his bedroom recently, but records of this incident did not demonstrate that this restraint was necessary or proportionate. Inspection report for children's home: SC044224 4 Inspectors identified concerns in relation to some methods of restraint used in the home. These methods are not always in line with children’s individual support plans or agreed behaviour management techniques. Using methods of restraint that are not agreed, or in line with staff training, means that children are at risk of physical and emotional harm.

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

Children’s accommodation is of a good standard and no health or environmental safety concerns were identified. However, shortfalls were noted in records of environmental safety checks. Such checks must be completed within appropriate timeframes to reduce the risk of harm to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since March 2021. A new manager was appointed in December 2021 and has started to implement some positive changes. However, there are a number of continued shortfalls which place children at risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

On some occasions, there have been insufficient staff to meet children’s needs safely. Furthermore, the continuity of children’s care has been significantly affected by a high use of agency staff and high numbers of staff absences. For example, in one week in March 2022, 15 different agency members worked at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are shortfalls in staff training. Staff are not always trained in areas relevant to children’s needs, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This means that staff do not understand how these conditions affect children or their behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are significant shortfalls in monitoring standards of safety and quality. In addition, the monitoring of incidents is not consistently effective. In some cases, managers have failed to identify poor practice. This means that poor practice is allowed to continue and opportunities to learn and improve are lost. Inspection report for children's home: SC044224 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being.

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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;

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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) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(c)) 8 May 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; 8 May 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC044224 6 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(b)(d))

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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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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)(a)(c)(d)(e)(h)) 8 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 8 May 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC044224 7 that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. The registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 8 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

*Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing—

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Requirement Due date

injury to any person (including the child);

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Requirement Due date

serious damage to the property of any person (including the child); or

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Requirement Due date

a child who is accommodated in a secure children’s home from absconding from the home.

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)) 8 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff should be 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)  The registered person should ensure that they work in partnership with relevant people as appropriate to ensure that each child is provided with support Inspection report for children's home: SC044224 8 (appropriate to their age and understanding) to communicate their views, wishes and feelings and participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. This may include the use of and support to use

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Recommendations

communication aids, equipment and/or any necessary language support. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)

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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: SC044224 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Progress Care and Education Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Forge, Church Street West, Woking, Surrey GU21 6HT

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Inspectors

Marie Cordingley, Social Care Inspector Emma Thornton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC044224 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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