Children's Home run by Care Perspectives Ltd in Walsall

Assurance inspection report for children's home: 1263977 1 Registered provider: Care Perspectives Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides specialist care for up to eight children with mental health difficulties and/or associated complex needs. The home was registered in December 2017. There were seven children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in July 2022.

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Inspection date: 18 July 2022

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 18 July 2022

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspectors evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 1263977 2

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Findings from the inspection

We identified the following serious concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection:

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Findings from the inspection

 Staff do not supervise children in line with their plans of care.  Children’s risk assessments fail to provide clarity on the supervision levels in place for children.  Staff are unclear about measures in place to manage risks to children.  Management oversight and monitoring of the home are inconsistent.  Not all staff have completed relevant training to meet the needs of children.

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The care of children

During this inspection, the inspectors identified serious concerns relating to the safety of children at the home. The monitoring and oversight of the home have failed to identify shortfalls that have had an impact on children’s safety and experiences. In response, Ofsted has issued a compliance notice under regulation 12, protection of children. The requirements and recommendation made at the full inspection were not reviewed at this assurance inspection and are therefore restated.

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The care of children

Staff have missed opportunities to support children in important areas. Key-work sessions carried out by staff with children fail to support children in important areas, are often ad hoc and lack forward planning. For example, it was not clear how staff had explored a recent incident with children and what the wishes and feelings of children were. This has a negative impact on the effectiveness of the support in place for children. The manager has recognised these shortfalls and has raised this with the staff team. However, this has not yet resulted in improvements in staff practice.

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The care of children

There were seven children living at the home at the time of the inspection. One child has left since the last inspection and two children have moved in. Children have been supported to move into the home in a planned way. Children have begun to make progress, although this is in its early stages. For example, children are now in education and involved in a number of activities outside of the home.

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The care of children

Children enjoy positive experiences with staff. One child was going on holiday on the day of the inspection. They told inspectors that they were really looking forward to this and were staying somewhere they had not been before.

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The safety of children

Staff fail to adhere to the supervision levels in place for children. Inspectors identified a number of occasions when children were not supervised as per the Assurance inspection report for children's home: 1263977 3 expectations detailed in their risk assessment or plans of care. Following a serious allegation made by a child about another child, inspectors found that records completed by staff did not evidence that children had been supervised as required. This practice compromises the safety of children.

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The safety of children

Children’s risk assessments do not provide consistent guidance for staff. Managers have failed to ensure that the observation levels are clear. This leads to staff being unclear on how they should supervise children. This practice leaves children vulnerable and at potential risk of harm.

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The safety of children

Safeguarding arrangements in the home are not always effective. Risk assessments are not consistently updated. Staff are not aware of the measures in place to reduce risks. For example, there were inconsistent views among staff on how concerns relating to the use of mobile phones should be managed. These concerns impact on how risks relating to children are managed.

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The safety of children

Staff did not take appropriate action to assure themselves a child was safe when in the community. On this occasion, staff failed to demonstrate professional curiosity and did not communicate effectively with one another. The registered manager has responded to these concerns and put an action plan in place to improve practice.

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The safety of children

During the inspection, it was observed that an office door was left open. This room contained confidential information in a cabinet which had not been locked. This compromises the safety of confidential records.

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The safety of children

Staff respond to concerns regarding self-harm. Where room searches form part of a child’s risk assessment, these take place when required. This ensures that children are kept safe when they self-harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Managers have failed to recognise concerns with staff practice relating to a serious incident. When managers reviewed records relating to the alleged incident, they failed to identify concerns regarding staff’s supervision of children. In addition, managers’ lack of diligence resulted in limited follow-up action in response to these concerns. As a result, managers failed to take action to improve the safety of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff have not completed all relevant training to meet the needs of children. There are gaps in key areas such as self-harm and managing allegations. This leaves staff without essential knowledge to safely care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The manager has acted on concerns raised regarding the safety of a child which were identified during the last inspection. In response, an investigation was completed and lessons learned were identified. An action plan has been created and is in progress. However, the manager did not notify the regulator of the outcome of the investigation. This hinders oversight by the regulator. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 1263977 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 29/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Assurance inspection report for children's home: 1263977 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

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

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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 (b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that when the needs of children are not met by other agencies that they escalate their concerns effectively.

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Requirement Due date

The requirement was issued at the previous inspection and is restated. 11 August 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; 11 August 2022 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 1263977 6 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(vi)(vii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when there are concerns about the safety and welfare of children that child protection policies are adhered to and that effective action is taken. The manager must ensure that staff have the necessary skills to consider risks to children and take appropriate action in response. When a child is not at the home, thorough risk assessments that consider the locations where they are staying or visiting should be in place.

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Requirement Due date

The requirement was issued at the previous inspection and is restated.

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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

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. (Regulation (12) (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they complete a written review into any incidents. This review should identify shortfalls in practice and lessons learned. The registered person must ensure that they act upon any shortfalls identified to improve practice.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that risk assessments provide clear guidance on how staff should supervise children and that staff supervise children in line with their risk assessments and plans of care.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was issued at the previous inspection and is restated. 14 August 2022 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 1263977 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 promotes their welfare.

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

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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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 and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff have the experience and skills to make decisions that consider the needs of the children, taking into account all known and predictable risks. The manager should ensure that feedback provided to children on their experiences is given in a child-centred way and is clear on any findings.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that monitoring systems are effective and that shortfalls are recognised and responded to effectively.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 11 August 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;

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c)) 11 August2022 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 1263977 8 In particular, the registered person should ensure that children receive care and support as directed in their care plans to meet their individual needs.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was issued at the previous inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation (37)(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that all case records are up to date and are clear and objective.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was issued at the previous inspection and is restated. 11 August 2022

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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)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff involved in physical interventions are spoken to about the intervention. The manager should also ensure that records evidence reflective challenge to staff practice with the aim of learning and developing the staff’s approach. In addition, the manager or an authorised person should confirm they have spoken to the child within five days and make their views clear in children’s records.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was issued at the previous inspection and is restated. 11 August 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 11 August 2022 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 1263977 9 there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation (40) (4)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that information relating to a serious incident is provided to the regulator.

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that supervision is child-centred. Supervision should enable staff to reflect and act upon how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15) Assurance inspection report for children's home: 1263977 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care Perspectives Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 36 Frederick Street, Loughborough LE11 3BJ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rodrigo Ferreira

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Inspectors

Melanie Griffin, Social Care Inspector Debbie Holder, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children's home: 1263977 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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Inspectors

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