Children's Home run by Partners in Care Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children’s home: SC035049 1 SC035049 Registered provider: Partners in Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private organisation and is registered to provide care to three children of either gender.

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Information about this children’s home

An acting manager is currently overseeing this home and is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 17 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring 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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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 widespread failures that mean the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 22 October 2019

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC035049 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/10/2019 Full Good 30/10/2018 Full Good 27/09/2017 Full Good 30/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC035049 3

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inadequate

Significant changes in staffing and leadership in the home have had a detrimental impact on the quality of care provided to children. As a result, children are not having positive experiences. Furthermore, one child’s progress has significantly declined.

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inadequate

One child has been out of education for a long period of time without plans or sufficient action taken to ensure this child is educated. At the time of the inspection, another child was also not receiving formal education. This has a detrimental impact on children’s prospects, such as their ability to move on to higher education or gain employment.

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inadequate

There were concerns in relation to one child’s deteriorating eyesight. Staff have supported the child to attend specialist appointments in respect of this. However, other significant health needs are not being met. There are concerns in relation to this child’s sleep routines, personal and dental hygiene, and physical, emotional, and mental health. The child is not engaging and has not received the necessary health assessments and treatments required.

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inadequate

Reward systems in place to support children to attend education or health appointments are ineffective, out of date and do not reflect the needs, views or wishes of children. Rewards recorded do not appropriately encourage children to progress or effectively reinforce the positive steps children have taken.

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inadequate

Children are reluctant to engage in activities outside of the home, however, they have participated in some positive activities. For example, children have been to a theme park and have been bowling and ice skating. During their time living in the home, one child has also learned to swim. This is beneficial for children’s physical and emotional well-being.

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inadequate

Care plans in place to support children’s needs demonstrate a lack of engagement and progress for children. Plans do not identify all children’s needs, or the action to be taken to help and support children with these. Furthermore, children and staff are unaware of the plans for children’s futures. This prevents those caring for children working towards agreed targets and actions outlined by statutory plans which support children to progress and achieve.

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

Children have displayed violent behaviour towards one another on several occasions. This has resulted in physical injuries and damage to property. Children have also been subject to name calling and say that they feel ‘picked on’. These incidents have not been recognised or documented as incidents of bullying. A lack of recognition of Inspection report for children’s home: SC035049 4 serious safeguarding matters means that children have been subject to harm and that effective action has not been taken to reduce this.

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

One child’s bedroom poses a risk to his health and safety because of hoarding-type behaviours. Furthermore, the room is not maintained or decorated to the standard that children deserve. This also has the potential to negatively impact this child’s physical, emotional, and mental health. Furthermore, there are no agreed strategies or interventions recorded within children’s plans which demonstrate how the child will be supported with this.

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

One child is noted to be at risk from an individual who is thought to be associated with firearms and drugs. This individual is also noted to be of significant risk to staff. Despite this, there is no evidence to suggest staff made continued attempts to try and locate or contact this child during a recent missing-from-home incident. Staff were not fully aware of what was expected of them in respect of looking for missing children or returning them to the home and they had not received missing-from- home training. This puts children at increased risk of harm.

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

Children’s risk assessments do not correctly identify risk levels and staff have not adhered to the behaviour management strategies included in children’s plans. For example, one child is noted as at low/medium risk of violence and aggression. This child has recently been arrested for an incident in the home relating to violent and aggressive behaviours. Failure to correctly identify risk reduces children’s safety and staff’s ability to manage these incidents.

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

Staff working in the home have made efforts to protect children from harm during incidents. They have also carried out direct work following incidents of children going missing from home and anger and aggression displayed by children. However, a lack of clear direction and robust procedures have hindered their ability to safeguard children effectively during all incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The inspector found that changes to the staffing structures and rotas have resulted in several staff members leaving the organisation. Because of this, there has been a significant loss of key relationships for children in the home. Such changes also led to a lack of managerial oversight. This does not provide children with good continuity of care and has had a detrimental impact on children’s progress and experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Incidents in which children have been violent towards one another have not been reviewed or addressed effectively. The manager has failed to recognise the impact on children, and the severity of these incidents. Subsequently, incidents of bullying have continued and children have been subject to physical and emotional harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children’s progress is not well monitored. Since the previous monitoring visit, there has been a significant decline in children’s progress, particularly in relation to one Inspection report for children’s home: SC035049 5 child’s education and health. The manager has failed to take appropriate action to address these concerns and to escalate these concerns effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Internal and external monitoring and review have not supported improvements in the quality of care provided to children. The independent person’s reports have not all been received by Ofsted. Others have not been submitted within the appropriate timescale. This prevents the regulator from undertaking the necessary monitoring and review required by regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home does not currently have a registered manager. An acting manager took over leadership of the home in September 2021. Staff believe the manager is providing children with increased consistency and continuity. They feel supported by the new manager and are receiving regular supervision. Staff and managers are keen to make improvements to the home and the care being delivered. Senior leaders have made assurances that the new manager will receive increased support and guidance to return the quality of care to the standard seen at previous inspections. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035049 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5(1)(a)(b)(c)) 14 March 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. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)) 14 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; 14 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC035049 7 understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii) (vii)(viii)(x))

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs; and

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well- being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)) 14 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC035049 8 The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(xi)(xii)(xiii)) 14 March 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;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; 14 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC035049 9 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;

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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)(iv)(v)(vi)(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 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

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)(e)(f)(h)) 14 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to— 14 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC035049 10 HMCI. (Regulation 44 (1) (7)(a))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: SC035049 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Partners in Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Calls, Leeds LS2 7JU

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Inspector

Natalie Bennett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC035049 12 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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