Children's Home run by Clervaux Garden School in Stockton-on-Tees

Inspection report children’s home: 2592891 1 Registered provider: Clervaux Garden School Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a charitable trust and is part of a specialist school. It is registered as a children’s home and can provide care for up to four children between 38 and 52 weeks of the year. The children are placed by various local authorities from across the United Kingdom. The children may have a range of complex needs and they all have an education, health and care plan (EHCP).

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in September 2020. The registered manager went on maternity leave in September 2021 and during this time she voluntarily cancelled her registration with Ofsted. Since this time, interim management arrangements have been temporary and have not resulted a successful application for a registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

Since September 2021, there has been no registered manager in day-to-day charge of the home.

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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 inadequate

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good Inspection report for children’s home: 2592891 2 Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2592891 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2592891 4

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improvement to be good

Children are relaxed in the company of staff. Children form positive relationships with staff and like to spend time with them. Recruitment has been a challenge in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The provider is responding to this by looking at new ways to recruit staff and slowly bringing stability to the home for children.

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improvement to be good

Children’s moves into the home have been disjointed, with one child unexpectantly arriving at the home prior to planned visits. At that time, the staff did not have the necessary knowledge or skills to care for this child. Staff were not confident to respond to the child’s emotional responses and behaviours. Staff practice has since been developed and their understanding of the children’s needs has improved.

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improvement to be good

Some children will leave the home soon as they transition to an adult provision. The plans to support these transitions are not finalised, and this means that children are unaware of their next steps. Children need time to understand their plans. The significance of the children’s futures is routinely discussed with commissioners to help placing authorities to make informed decisions.

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improvement to be good

Children go to school each day and their individualised timetables mean that they enjoy their lessons. They are proud that they have achieved qualifications, and this is supporting children to explore their future education, training or employment options.

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improvement to be good

Children like to spend time with the staff doing activities that they enjoy. Although the children are of a similar age, their cognitive ability varies greatly. One child enjoys time out in the community with their friends. The other child’s friendships are limited, but they enjoy playing with a wide selection of toys with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand children’s complex health needs and individual diagnoses. In addition, they support the children to focus on the benefits of nutrition, and this is fundamental to the day-to-day preparation of meals. Although staff respond to children’s presenting health needs, some children are making unwise lifestyle decisions, includes smoking and not wearing prescribed glasses. This impacts on their long-term health.

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improvement to be good

The children live in a well-presented and resourced home. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms and their craft work is on display around the home. One child has spent quality time with staff decorating their room to achieve their vision for this space. However, since this staff member has left her role, the decoration is incomplete and this impacts on the quality and presentation of this child’s bedroom. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592891 5

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improvement to be good

Children are vulnerable when out in the community. Staff are directed to contact children during their time with friends to check on their well-being. On occasion, children have gone missing from the home and these incidents have been reported to the police. Despite children’s vulnerabilities, staff do not take immediate and continued action to look for children. Children’s missing-from-home protocols do not direct staff to search for children. There is no monitoring from managers to ensure that necessary action is being taken by staff to mitigate risk.

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improvement to be good

Medication procedures aid the safer administration and auditing of medication. This is a significant development as it makes it easier for the manager to identify and track any discrepancies. Procedural changes and additional training of staff have not prevented medication errors, and controlled medication has not been administered in line with the provider’s medication policies. Children have also been refusing their medication. This is not clear in their risk assessment and there is no directive for staff.

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improvement to be good

Children with epilepsy may require staff to administer rescue medication. Although rescue medication is prescribed to meet the emergency health needs of children, not all staff are trained to administer this prescription. Children are spending longs periods of time out of the home with friends or with untrained staff with no access to rescue medication. There is no recorded emergency epilepsy guidance. This shortfall is a significant issue that creates a delay in children receiving necessary treatment.

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improvement to be good

The children are not consistently cared for by staff with a first-aid qualification. At least one person on duty at the home needs to have a suitable first-aid qualification. The provider reports that this is being addressed as a matter of urgency, but at the inspection, the provider was not delivering care in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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improvement to be good

There is inconsistent monitoring from managers of the children’s incident reports. This has limited the managers’ ability to reflect on the emerging concerns for children. A significant incident where a child has been physically harmed in the community has not been notified to Ofsted. The location risk assessment does not address some of the emerging risk within the local area and the impact that this has on the children’s safety and well-being.

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improvement to be good

Children have been physically restrained for long periods of time in restrictive holds. The development of de-escalation techniques has equipped the staff to recognise and respond with confidence to children’s presenting behaviours and risks. This has reduced staff’s use of physical restraint on children. Senior leaders were monitoring the complex behaviours of children, but inconsistent monitoring from managers of physical restraints fails to ensure that necessary and proportionate action is always being taken by staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592891 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has not been a registered manager in day-to-day charge of this home since September 2021. Interim management arrangements have not led to a successful application for a manager to be registered with Ofsted. The provider has not taken due diligence to ensure that appointed managers have the necessary experience to become registered with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has internal and external monitoring systems in place to improve the quality of the care that children receive. The manager’s six-monthly review of the quality of care provided to children does not include the necessary level of consultation to inform any evaluation of the home. The manager has not created a plan for the home to enable further development. External monitoring reports do provide the manager with recommended areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been an extensive turnaround of staff, with nine staff leaving since the last inspection. The recruitment of staff has been a challenge and the provider has needed to review their approaches to recruitment to attract applicants to the role. Currently, only one staff member has the necessary qualification, and this limits staff knowledge and understanding of their care role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff feel supported by the manager but are concerned about the future leadership of the home, as the current interim manager is leaving. Staff say that they work well as a team. However, staff do not receive regular formal supervision or annual appraisals. This limits the manager’s oversight of staff practice and development of roles and responsibilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Feedback from families has been mixed. Parents report that that they are impressed by staff’s care for their child, while others raise concerns about limited communication and focus on the pertinent needs of children. When children phone their families, they use the home’s mobile. This is not appropriate because this phone stores staff members phone details and work-related messages. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592891 7

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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 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. (Regulation 10 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)) 16 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

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)) 16 September

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 16 September

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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

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. 16 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2592891 8 (Regulation 16 (1) (5))

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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. (Regulation 23 (1)) 16 September

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Requirement Due date

at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first-aid qualification. (Regulation 31 (2)(a)) 16 September

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. (Regulation 32 (2)(a) (3)(b)) 16 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 16 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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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)(e)) 16 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.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review, the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating— 16 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2592891 9 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

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)(c) (5))

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Requirement Due date

Any person who carries on or manages an establishment or agency of any description without being registered under this Part in respect of it (as an establishment or, as the case may be, agency of that description) shall be guilty of an offence. (Section 11 (1) Care Standards Act 2000) 16 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s bedrooms are decorated to a good standard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.21)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff should continually and actively assess the risks and must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. This links to the auditing of sharp knives in the home in response to children’s presenting risks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children have access to a phone that is appropriate and safe for the child to make telephone calls in private. This phone should not store staff members’ phone details or messages. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.17)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the review of the location risk assessments should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location, including areas where children frequent and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report for children’s home: 2592891 10

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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: 2592891 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Clervaux Garden School

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Millbottom, Nailsworth, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL6 0LA

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Inspector

Jennifer Fenlon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2592891 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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