Children's Home run by Bethel Children’s Care Ltd in Luton

Inspection report for children’s home: 2639632 1 Registered provider: Bethel Children’s Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in May 2022. A new manager has been appointed and is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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

Date of last inspection: 7 December 2021

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2639632 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2639632 3

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improvement to be good

At the time of inspection, two children were living at the home. Information to help staff understand children’s risk and how this may affect other children is not consistently available. This means that it is not clear whether staff can safely meet the needs of children living together. Despite this, the children have common interests and refer to each other as friends.

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improvement to be good

Children live in a modern two-bedroomed house. There are a number of poorly kept areas. The garden has stinging nettles growing in areas used by children. A door to an outhouse is broken, exposing damaged furniture. Doors and walls in the home require repainting and the carpets are heavily stained. This does not provide a homely or well-kept environment for children.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are tailored to each child. However, these fail to include vapes, which both children use. The vapes have not been risk-assessed. Therefore, staff may not understand the associated risk or how to support children to understand the health risks.

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improvement to be good

Staff spoken to during the inspection demonstrated a good knowledge of the children. They balance the complexities of keeping children safe with respecting the children’s right to privacy.

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improvement to be good

Staff spend time with children and provide activities that the children enjoy. These include pampering sessions, clothes shopping and days out. One child has attended a local community Pride event. Children are encouraged to help plan activities and one child has planned a trip to Thorpe Park for her birthday. Children have access to arts and crafts and have created an equality and diversity display in the dining room. Staff help children to build their confidence and understand differences through positive experiences.

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improvement to be good

Children are helped to spend time with people who are important to them. Families are invited to spend time at the house for activities and meals together. Staff take children to spend time with friends. This helps the children to feel valued and maintain a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Children are provided with copies of the complaints process and know how to complain. One child complained about a member of staff. The responsible individual met with the child to listen to her concerns. The complaint process was followed, and the child’s concerns were resolved. This demonstrates that complaints are taken seriously.

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improvement to be good

Children attend house meetings and spend time with staff on an individual basis. These opportunities help children to talk about any worries or concerns they have. Inspection report for children’s home: 2639632 4 Staff are creative in helping children to engage. Staff use role play and art to help children express themselves or talk about past trauma.

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improvement to be good

One child is in full-time education and their attendance is good. The other child moved into the home recently and the manager is working with their social worker to source an education placement for them.

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improvement to be good

Staff are trained in the safe and ethical use of restraint as a last resort. Restraints are not recorded effectively. Information relating to the type and length of the intervention is lacking. Children are not asked whether they have received any injuries during the restraint. The manager does not provide staff and children with debriefs within the agreed timeframe. Therefore, it is unclear whether children have been supported in line with their agreed behaviour strategies. Furthermore, staff and children are not provided with the opportunity to talk about their experience and consider alternative methods.

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improvement to be good

Staff use praise to help children understand when they have made positive choices. Consequences are used when children make choices that have a negative impact. However, staff do not consistently record or report these consequences to the manager. This means the manager is unable to measure the proportionality and effectiveness of the consequences used.

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improvement to be good

When children intentionally harm themselves, staff talk to them about their feelings and past trauma. They provide first-aid treatment and seek medical advice. However, when one child told staff that they planned to harm themselves and had the resources in their bedroom, the staff did not act to prevent this from happening. Consequently, the child was placed at further risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

When children leave the home without permission, staff take immediate action and follow agreed procedures. Staff look for children in areas familiar to the child. They inform other professionals about children’s vulnerabilities. When children return, they are welcomed and offered a return home meeting. This helps the staff to understand why children leave.

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good

The new manager is experienced and qualified. She is applying to register with Ofsted and is supported by the experienced responsible individual.

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good

The manager’s monitoring of the home is not effective. This lack of oversight does not improve the quality of care. The responsible individual was unable to provide all of the required information during the inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2639632 5 A recent medication error has not been investigated by the manager. This lack of scrutiny means that safeguards have not been put in place to reduce the risk of further medication errors. Staff do not consistently sign medication administration records in line with the home’s policy. Therefore, additional safeguards and checks are not effective.

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good

Since the last inspection, improvements have been made to the recruitment process. New staff benefit from a detailed induction. This ensures that staff are prepared for their roles. However, new staff do not receive regular supervision in line with the home’s policy. This means they are not provided with the opportunity to reflect on their work and managers are unable to monitor their progress or provide support.

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good

The manager has not completed a review of the quality of care provided to children. This does not have a direct impact on the children, but the review would enable the manager to identify areas for improvement. Failure to complete and submit a review also means Ofsted has been unable to monitor the effectiveness of the service.

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good

The manager has not kept the home’s statement of purpose under review or submitted this to Ofsted. This means placing authorities and parents are unable to consider whether the needs of children placed can be met at the home.

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good

The staff team is small and consistent. When agency staff are employed, the manager ensures that the same agency staff are used. This helps children build trusting relationships with staff who are familiar to them.

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good

Staff are trained to meet the needs of the children. All staff undertake a suitable training programme which gives them the skills to support children. Staff are either working towards or have obtained the level 3 qualification.

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good

The manager has met both requirements and the recommendation raised at the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2639632 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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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

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 10 (1)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, assess the risk of vapes and ensure that children are aware of the health risks. 30 September

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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. 23 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2639632 7 (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, record all self-harm incidents in detail, including the measures to reduce further risks to children.

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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 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)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, remove the stinging nettles from the garden, replace the door to the outdoor storage area and remove the damaged furniture, and ensure that the house is maintained and decorated to a good standard. 23 September

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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 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

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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that information about children is easily accessible, and that records are detailed and evidence actions taken to promote the welfare of children. 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— 23 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2639632 8 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

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that matching assessments for children who live together are completed and kept under review.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that excess medication is stored securely, medication errors are investigated, and staff administer and record medication in line with the medication policy. 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— 23 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2639632 9 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff receiving supervision in line with the organisation’s policy.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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. (Regulation 35 (1)(b) (3)(a)(iii)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the recording and evaluation of physical interventions and consequences, including the manager’s oversight and evaluation. 23 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months. 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2639632 10 In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager completing the quality of care review report and submitting this to Ofsted.

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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) Inspection report for children’s home: 2639632 11 Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2639632 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bethel Children’s Care Limited

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Inspector

Mandy Start, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2639632 13 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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