Children's home run by CareTech Community Services Limited in Hertsmere

Inspection report for children’s home: SC426719 1 SC426719 Registered provider: CareTech Community Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a large private company. It provides care for up to six children who have physical and/or learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered by Ofsted in May 2021 and holds a level 5 qualification in health and social care for residential childcare.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC426719 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/10/2019 Full Outstanding 19/02/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC426719 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children and one young person live in the home. No children have moved in or out of the home since the last full inspection. Children and young people benefit from consistent routines. Staff support all children and young people to attend school daily. As a result, children and young people’s attendance is good.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children and young people to register with local health services. Managers advocate on behalf of children and young people well. On one occasion, the manager insisted that a child’s GP met with the child face to face as opposed to a virtual consultation. This helped to ensure that the child’s health need was fully understood and they received the treatment they needed.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people have positive relationships with staff who care for them. When children and young people receive support from staff who they know well, they communicate their needs and seek support when needed. Managers and staff who work in the home regularly speak about children with a high regard.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff use children’s and young people’s preferred communication methods such as Makaton and picture exchange communication system. This enables children to communicate their wants and needs and to understand what is important to children and young people.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children’s and young people’s independence. For example, some children take their worn clothing to the laundry. This practice helps children to gain practical skills and increases their confidence.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ask children about what activities they would like to do. They use this information to arrange activities for children that they enjoy when at home or when out in the community.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Information written about children is not always recorded clearly by staff. For example, staff incorrectly recorded one child’s difficulties in sleeping as a sleep disorder. On another occasion, information contained in an incident record did not provide sufficient detail to allow the reader to fully understand what happened and how the situation was managed.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been some improvements made to the decor of the home. The manager has requested new flooring throughout the home and a new kitchen. This work was agreed by senior managers as a priority and work was scheduled in during the inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC426719 4

p.3

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

Managers ensure that children and young people are well supervised. As a result, there have been no incidents of bullying, exploitation or missing from home. Managers work well with professionals to keep supervision levels under review in accordance with children’s needs. For example, the manager is working with a child’s social worker to plan to reduce the number of staff who support the child when they are in the community.

p.4

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

Managers ensure that children’s and young people’s plans identify possible risks, known triggers and outline actions to be taken to reduce risks. This means that staff work consistently well in responding to risks. This helps to keep children and young people safe.

p.4

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

When there are concerns about a child’s or young person’s safety, managers take prompt action. Information is shared with relevant professionals and family members. Outcomes of investigations are shared and any learning identified is used to develop practice.

p.4

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

Staff manage children’s and young people’s behaviours well through positive communication, clear and simple instruction and consistent approaches. This helps children and young people to understand what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable behaviours. They know what is expected of them and this helps them to manage their behaviour and regulate their emotions.

p.4

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

Children and young people have access to electronic devices which can access the internet. Parental controls are in place and children are supervised appropriately. This reduces the risk of children experiencing online abuse.

p.4

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

Safer recruitment systems are largely good for staff who are employed by the provider and those sourced from an external agency. There has been one new person employed to work in the home. The recruitment record showed a gap in employment. The manager had explored this, but had not recorded this on the employee’s file. This was addressed during the inspection. Overall, sound recruitment practice reduces the potential of children being cared for by unsuitable individuals.

p.4

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

Managers and staff do not always pay good attention to health and safety matters. For example, fire doors are propped open when the rooms are not in use. In the event of a fire, this would not help to reduce the spread of a fire. On another occasion, staff did not follow the trampoline risk assessment because they allowed more than one person on the equipment at the same time.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas which she wants to develop. She speaks warmly of the children and has a good Inspection report for children’s home: SC426719 5 understanding of their needs. The manager works well with parents and professionals to ensure that children’s and young people’s needs are met.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale has improved. Managers ensure that staff receive supervision on a regular basis. This provides staff with the opportunity to reflect on their practice and discuss the quality of care children receive.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager reviews staff performance on an annual basis. During these reviews, the manager helps staff to identify areas of work they excel in and puts plans in place to support their development. This helps to improve staff practice and contributes to maintaining good standards of care for children.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff complete training to support them to meet the needs of the children who they care for. When staff training expires due to long-term absences, she ensures that staff are booked on the next available course. However, the manager does not review if gaps in training have any impact on staff carrying out their role until they have completed the training. This has the potential for staff to continue to complete tasks without having up-to-date skills.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Agency staff support children on a regular basis. The managers commissions staff in advance to reduce the number of different staff supporting children. That said, there are occasions when children receive care from staff they are not familiar with, which has some impact on the continuity of care that they receive. Inspection report for children’s home: SC426719 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home complies with relevant health and safety legislations. In particular, the registered manager and staff should ensure that all fire doors are used correctly to prevent the spread of fire in an emergency. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that all staff are adequately trained in the principles of restraint and any restraint techniques appropriate to the needs of the children the home is set up to care for. In particular, the registered manager should assess the suitability of individuals who do not have current training in restraint techniques. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.56)  The registered person should ensure that the use of agency staff is carefully monitored and reviewed to ensure children receive continuity of care. In

p.6

Recommendations

particular, the registered manager should ensure that children receive care from people who they know well. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.16)  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. In particular, the registered manager should ensure that children’s records are sufficiently detailed to provide a clear explanation to the reader of the record. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

p.6

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: SC426719 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: CareTech Community Services Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: CareTech Community Services Limited, 5th Floor Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1AG

p.7

Inspector

Helen Malanaphy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC426719 8 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8