Children's home run by Active Ark Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 1 Registered provider: Active Ark Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is one of a number of homes owned and operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to two children.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager’s post is currently vacant. A manager has been appointed and is in the process of applying to register with Ofsted.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home. They both spoke with the inspector about their experiences.

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 requires improvement to be 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: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/08/2021 Full Good 01/07/2019 Full Good 28/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 09/05/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and say that they like living in the home. They are supported to make significant progress in all areas of their lives. This progress is underpinned by the positive relationships that they are helped to develop with staff, who care about them. One child told the inspector that ‘it is all I have ever wanted from a home’.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel listened to and know how to complain. They are helped to regulate their emotions and express their views constructively. Their views contribute to their day-to-day care and their voice is reflected throughout their plans.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s achievements are celebrated. Staff help children to pursue their interests, engage in activities and attend social events. This helps children to safely widen their social networks and also increases their confidence and self-esteem.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff nurture and encourage children’s aspirations. Children who have had gaps in education have been supported to attend school, sit exams, secure college placements and seek employment.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of helping children to safely maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Children are supported to rebuild and repair relationships with family members. This enables children to benefit from these relationships into adulthood. One family member said, ‘I really can’t believe the change in [name of child], it has been amazing. They have helped us to have a relationship. I have got her back and it is all down to how she has been treated by the staff.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Efforts have been made to make the home a welcoming environment for children. Children’s bedrooms are personalised. However, some areas would benefit from being redecorated, and some areas are in need of repair. The practice of staff locking the kitchen at night and the routine use of motion sensors, along with the presence of locks on internal communal doors, limits children’s movement around the home and is not reflected in children’s plans. This is something the manager is taking action to address.

p.3

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

Children say that they feel safe living in the home. They are helped to develop their understanding of safe relationships and are supported to make safer choices.

p.3

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

Children’s risks and vulnerabilities are well understood. Staff are vigilant to the risks children may be exposed to in the home, the community and online. However, risk and behaviour management plans are not robust. It was identified during the inspection that some plans contained incorrect information and had not been reviewed or updated to reflect children’s current risks. Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 4 Children living in the home experience a significant reduction in incidents of going missing from home or engaging in self-injurious behaviours. When incidents do occur, staff know how to respond and are proactive in working with relevant agencies to keep children safe.

p.3

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

Children are supported to move in to the home in a planned way. However, records do not reflect how the team has considered the needs of children moving in to the home alongside the needs of children who are already there. This increases children’s vulnerabilities and reduces opportunities to identify how children’s individual and group needs can be met.

p.4

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

Allegations are managed in line with safeguarding procedures. However, limited oversight from managers and discrepancies in information shared with the team has meant that opportunities to improve practice in the home have been missed.

p.4

good

The registered manager’s post is currently vacant. A new manager has recently been appointed. She is in the process of submitting her application for registration. Delays in providing her with access to the organisation’s systems meant she had not been able to access relevant internal monitoring information prior to the inspection. Changes to the home’s external monitoring processes means that reports are now submitted to Ofsted in line with regulation.

p.4

good

An unconventional operational model operates across the organisation and staff are empowered to choose their own shift patterns. Managers are proactive in reducing any vulnerabilities that may arise from this model. Access to staff from across the organisation means that children are always cared for by staff who know them and the home well.

p.4

good

The team is stable. Staff are committed to promoting positive outcomes for children. However, the team lacks diversity, and opportunities to enable children to maintain relationships with people of a different gender have been missed.

p.4

good

During the inspection, a number of recording shortfalls were identified. These shortfalls limit the manager’s ability to review practice in the home and to identify potential learning opportunities.

p.4

good

The home’s location assessment has recently been reviewed, but does not identify potential neighbourhood risks or strategies for staff to follow to minimise those risks.

p.4

good

Staff have access to a range of training opportunities to meet children’s individual and group needs. They also benefit from regular team meetings. The responsible individual is taking action to ensure team meeting minutes are confidentially stored on the organisation’s electronic system. Supervisions have not taken place in line with the organisation’s policy. This limits opportunities for learning and development Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 5 The requirements made at the last inspection have been met. Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 6

p.4

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(i)(ii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that external doors and the Velux window are in a state of good repair and that decoration in the home is maintained to a high standard throughout. 14 October 2022

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 14 October 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 7 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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that the manager has sufficient oversight of incidents to ensure that any learning is implemented in the home. In addition, ensure that records are confidential and maintained to a high standard with oversight from the manager.

p.7

Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any areas of the home’s premises—

p.7

Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

p.7

Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom when balanced against the needs to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person reviewing the practice relating to locking the kitchen door at night, the presence of locks on internal communal doors, and the use of internal sensors. 14 October 2022

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— 14 October 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 8 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that supervision takes place in line with the organisation’s supervision policy and focuses on the needs and progress of children.

p.8

Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

p.8

Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)) 14 October 2022

p.8

Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Specifically, in relation to ensuring that risk management plans are regularly updated and reviewed by all staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  Whenever possible, staff in day-to-day contact with children should include staff from the different gender groups. Where the home’s statement of purpose makes

p.8

Recommendations

it explicit that the home uses staff of one sex only, clear guidance will need to be in place and followed as to how children are enabled to maintain relationships with people of a different gender. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 54, paragraph 10.22)  The registered person should ensure that when they review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home, they include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 9

p.8

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 children’s home: 1263126 10

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Active Ark, Unit E, Baron Way, Kingmoor Business Park, Carlisle CA6 4SJ

p.10

Inspector

Caroline Bertram, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 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.

p.10

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.11

Inspector

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

p.11

Inspector

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

p.11