Children's Home run by BTTLR Limited in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2556338 1 Registered provider: BTTLR Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for one child who may be experiencing emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since July 2021.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit was caried out in March 2022 at which concerns were identified in relation to the leadership and management of the home and safeguarding. Subsequently, two compliance notices were issued. These have been restated at this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2556338 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2556338 3

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improvement to be good

The child currently living at the home continues to experience changes in staffing, which affects the consistency of care she receives. She has not been supported to cope with these changes. She says that new staff ‘just turn up’ and she is not told they are coming. This leads to instability for the child because she is unclear who will be caring for her. For example, one member of staff left their employment, telling the child that they were going on holiday. The child does not always get a chance to say goodbye.

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improvement to be good

The child is starting to get to know some staff. She is forming some positive attachments and says that she likes the staff and describes them as ‘sound’.

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improvement to be good

Arrangements for the child to access and engage in education have not worked out well. However, leaders of the home have responded well to the barriers to the child’s education. The acting manager has challenged involved professionals to find the best possible plan for the child. She is working hard to get the child back into education in a manner that gives the child the best possible chance of success.

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improvement to be good

Staff and managers have failed to ensure the child’s bedroom is maintained to an appropriate level of cleanliness. The room was found to be unhygienic and poorly maintained. The child has not been provided with a nurturing, positive home environment. Staff and managers have not developed effective strategies to support the child to maintain the appropriate standards of cleanliness and hygiene.

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improvement to be good

The physical environment looks tired in some areas. For example, there are several small holes in the fabric of the settee. The banister to the staircase is marked and stained. The flooring in the kitchen is torn in places and needs repairing. Some painting is required to get the home to a better standard.

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improvement to be good

The child’s needs and decisions about her care are not always prioritised. For example, the child and her social worker are frustrated that a television has not been placed in her room, as agreed through her care planning arrangements.

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improvement to be good

The child’s risk assessment states that window restrictors in her bedroom are very important for her safety. These restrictors had been broken for at least seven days leading up to the inspection. Staff had not taken the required action to repair these. Leaders have now acted to put this right.

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improvement to be good

There is evidence that the child has been smoking in her room. There are scorch marks on the curtains, which are not fire retardant. The risk of fire in the bedroom is Inspection report for children’s home: 2556338 4 high and has not been assessed. Managers have taken some action and now have plans in place to make her bedroom safer.

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improvement to be good

Involved professionals, such as the police and the child’s social worker, say that the child is becoming safer in many areas. In particular, she has not gone missing for several months. This indicates significant progress. There have been no complaints, allegations or physical interventions since the monitoring visit. The child has started to engage in some discussions about her own safety. This is a positive step forward.

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improvement to be good

Staff are all now trained in the home’s preferred method of restraining children, should they need to do this to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

New staff undergo the required pre-employment checks before they work at the home. This reduces the risk of unsuitable people working at the home. The same attention to detail is not given to staff who are recruited through an employment agency. For example, one agency worker has insufficient history of references. Also, a further two staff from an agency have not had an interview to check their suitability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The current management arrangements are not working well. Robust leadership is not yet being provided. One manager reported that they are not able to be honest with others in the management team. This prevents them working as an effective management team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The acting manager and other staff members have not received a professional supervision meeting since the last monitoring visit. They have not had an opportunity to share their concerns or talk about shortfalls in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The current acting manager has decided not to apply to become registered. She is one of three managers since July 2021 who have not wanted to remain in post. The acting manager is also managing another home in the organisation. Managers are spreading themselves thinly and unable to undertake effective monitoring. Managers and leaders have not identified some important and concerning issues, such as staff not following the child’s risk assessment and not taking enough action to reduce the risk of fire in the home. This places the child at increased risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The child’s placing local authority has not always been kept informed when things have gone wrong. For example, the child’s social worker was unaware that the home had been subject to a monitoring visit and that serious shortfalls were found in relation to leadership and child protection. The current culture within the management team is not open and transparent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The child still experiences changes in the staff team. There is constant change in staffing as more staff are recruited to fill gaps in the rota. Leaders understand that the home is in a transitional phase. Leaders are wanting to develop the home with the existing staff, with the aim of improving the quality of care to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2556338 5 Many of the staff lack the required experience. None hold the required qualification for residential childcare staff. Out of the seven staff, only three have previous experience of working in a children’s home. The team is still developing and is not yet stable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders have started to take some action in relation to the compliance notices set at the last monitoring visit. Much of the action is at the planning stage because of the short timeframe. Ofsted have restated the compliance notices because weaknesses remain. Inspection report for children’s home: 2556338 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

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

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;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the homes child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to staff not following the child’s risk assessment and about hazards identified in the child’s bedroom. 12 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2556338 7 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 to 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

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 feedback and 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. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(a)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(f))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to insufficient staffing and not providing continuity of care to the child. This is also in relation to leaders not picking up shortfalls in relation to the child’s safety. 12 June 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; 12 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2556338 8 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

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

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b)) 21 April 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. This is in relation to making sure that staff can discuss the previous safeguarding concerns. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that good employment practice is followed. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. This is in relation to the recruitment of staff from an agency who are on temporary contracts. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care through observation and engagement with: each child; the home’s staff; each

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Recommendations

child’s family/carers where appropriate; and professionals involved in the care or protection of each child, including their social worker, independent reviewing officer, teachers, clinicians and other health professionals, etc. This is in relation to being open and transparent with the child’s social worker about the quality of care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23) Inspection report for children’s home: 2556338 9

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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: 2556338 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4 Shirley Road, Old Stone Factory, Rushden, Northamptonshire NN10 6BY

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Inspector

Caroline Brailsford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2556338 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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