Children's Home run by North Yorkshire Council in North Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 1 SC034189 Registered provider: North Yorkshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to six children between the ages of 11 and 18 years who have social, emotional or mental health difficulties. The home can also care for a further two children in separate accommodation for up to 28 days.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a local authority under the ‘No Wrong Door’ model of care. Some children stay in the home for a short time; others are there for several months.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager voluntary cancelled her registration with Ofsted on 22 July 2022. A new manager has been appointed and is in day-to-day charge of the home. This manager has submitted her application to be registered with Ofsted. This application is under review.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/01/2022 Full Good 01/05/2019 Full Good 05/06/2018 Full Good 10/10/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 3

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inadequate

There are significant shortfalls in the safety and protection of children and the leadership and management of the home. These shortfalls place children at risk of serious harm. As a result of this inspection, Ofsted has issued a notice restricting accommodation and four compliance notices.

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inadequate

Children do not live in a safe and welcoming home. There is extensive damage and unsanitary conditions around the home, examples of which include cigarette and lighter burns on furniture and external doors, and food and drinks thrown around the walls and onto furniture. The kitchen cupboard doors have been damaged and the oven door has been pulled off. Managers have not directed staff to maintain the communal areas of the home and garden to an acceptable standard for children.

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inadequate

There is a culture in this home where staff assume that children are choosing to live in damaged and unkept rooms. This means that children are left with bedrooms where sections of the wallpaper have been pulled off. Children’s bedroom furniture is broken or absent. Window dressings do not provide children with privacy, or these have been damaged and not replaced, and the children’s en suite bathrooms are unsanitary. Managers and staff have failed to identify or respond to the unacceptable condition of children’s bedrooms.

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inadequate

When new children move into the home, staff can provide them with welcome packs should they arrive without basic items. Nevertheless, for a recent planned admission to the home, the child’s bedroom was not prepared and graffiti from previous children was still evident. Managers and staff did not consider how this may impact on the child.

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inadequate

One child writes emotive statements, such as ‘help me’ on their bedroom walls. They see these statements each day, as a continual reminder of difficult periods of their life. Staff and managers have not explored these statements, and any direction from the life coach to help the staff to better support the children has not filtered into the children’s care plans.

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inadequate

Staff do not provide children with clear and consistent boundaries. Children are permitted to have inappropriate objects to personalise their rooms, including inappropriate pictures and empty bottles of alcohol. One child has computer games with a certificate rating of 18 years, and this means that the content is unsuitable for children. These games are also played by other children in the home. This blurring of boundaries causes children to challenge carers’ expectations both in the home and as they move into their long-term placements.

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inadequate

Children’s movement around their home is still restricted. The kitchen door continues to be routinely locked at night, despite this being raised at the last Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 4 inspection. The lounge, laundry and downstairs toilet are also locked at different times of the day and night. The manager has failed to review or evidence the rationale for her decision-making to restrict areas of the home for children.

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inadequate

Children are enjoying their school holidays. Before the end of the summer term, the children were going to school. Each child’s education timetable is individualised to aid their commitment and support their achievements. Some children have also gained short-term employment at a local restaurant. This work experience further enhances their learning opportunities.

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inadequate

Specialist workers provide support to children who have difficulties with communication. Guidance is given to staff, so they have the knowledge to speak and communicate with children in an effective way. Some children do form positive and longstanding relationships with the staff. A selection of staff continue to be a source of support for children who have moved out of the home.

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

A child’s misuse of alcohol is impacting on their safety and welfare. Their case records describe this child as ‘intoxicated’ and presenting as a risk of injury to themselves. These risks include falling over and hitting their head, falling asleep in a shower tray which resulted in their head blocking the drainage of water, and being left unsupervised to cross a road whilst intoxicated. Staff have failed to effectively respond to this child’s alcohol misuse. On one occasion, this child was drinking alcohol in the home for a period of six hours. Records show that staff were singing with the child during this time, which could be seen as an act of encouragement.

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

The arrangements to keep children safe from alcohol misuse are unclear. When children are under the influence of alcohol and go to their bedrooms, staff do not monitor the children to ensure that they are safe. There is also no formulation of a care plan to outline the support children require from staff or specialist agencies about alcohol misuse.

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

Children are not consistently protected from the risk of harm. Risk assessments do not reflect children’s current issues and staff are not provided with clear guidance on how to reduce risk. For example, despite multi-agency oversight and strategy meetings, the manager has failed to respond to increased concerns about a child’s risk of sexual exploitation and self-harm. For this child, this means that they spend long periods in the community with no routine welfare checks from staff.

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

The police work with staff to understand and develop missing-from-home strategies aimed at keeping children safe. However, some staff are inconsistent in their approach and there are times when staff have stopped looking for a child once they were reported missing to the police. On one occasion, sleep-in staff returned to bed despite a child still being missing from the home. Children do not receive a message that staff worry about them and will act to keep them safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 5 Children do not live in a safe or hazard-free environment. Hazardous items were found in the home and garden. This risk is heightened as some children display self- injurious behaviours. Despite a child’s risk assessment providing guidance to staff to complete daily room checks, there were items in the child’s room that they could use to harm themselves. During the inspection, one child tried to set light to a sparkler

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

fountain birthday candle without challenge from staff. Fire setting is a known risk for this child and a significant concern.

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

Children’s bedrooms are searched by staff should this be deemed as necessary. However, staff do not record each time they have searched a child’s room. There is no transparency to this approach, as records are only completed if children’s belongings have been removed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not lead the staff team to ensure that it fulfils its roles and responsibilities. She does not ensure that children receive a high standard of care. This lack of leadership and poor management oversight of the home means that children make little progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children’s care plans and risk assessments lack both effective management oversight and relevant information. The information about the children’s needs and risks is not filtered into a comprehensive care plan with effective oversight of the manager. The manager is unaware of what key work, if any, staff carry out with the children. This means that she is unable to use this information to direct staff in the day-to-day care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home uses both electronic and paper filing systems to record information about children. There is no clear procedure to alert the manager when staff amend children’s case records or risk assessments. This impacts on the manager’s oversight and ability to provide practice guidance to staff. Poor management oversight of the children’s records means that there are inaccuracies, discrepancies and missing incident reports. The manager has not addressed these practice shortfalls with the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The children are regularly unsettled at night. The manager has failed to review staffing in the home alongside children’s individual and collective needs. There are occasions when staff are unable to retire to bed at eleven o’clock. The manager is inconsistent in her response to the staff’s welfare and she has no process in place to consider if, following a disturbed night, staff are able to continue with their shift the following day.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The focus of managers and staff in this home is to respect children’s wishes rather than respond to the presenting concerns about children’s bedrooms. The manager does not guide the staff to explore other strategies to help children to understand why their bedrooms need to be hazard free and how this links to self-worth and expectation for care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 6 The manager has failed to notify Ofsted of several serious incidents. Monthly reports from the independent person are not always sent to Ofsted promptly. Although the provider is addressing this shortfall with the independent person, this means that Ofsted does not have sufficient oversight of the standards of care provided to children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(vii)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the home is decorated and organised so that it provides a warm and homely environment. 25 September

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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 25 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 8 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

*The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(b) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)) 25 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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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; and 25 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 9 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)(a)(i)(v)(Vi)(b)(d))

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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 aspire 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)) 25 September

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Requirement Due date

*The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 25 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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; 25 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 10 an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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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)(a)(b)(e))

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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 there is a clear record when a child’s bedroom has been searched. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.20)

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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: SC034189 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North Yorkshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Northallerton DL7 8AD

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Inspectors

Jennifer Fenlon, Social Care Inspector Deb Duffy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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