Children's Home run by A and R Guardian Services Limited in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2645675 1 Registered provider: A&R Guardian Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home was registered with Ofsted in August 2021. It provides care for two children who may have emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager or acting manager in post.

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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 and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 9 February 2022

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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: 2645675 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2645675 3

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inadequate

The care provided to children is inadequate. This is because of serious shortfalls in safeguarding practices and the leadership and management of the home.

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inadequate

There were two children living in the home at the time of this inspection. Each child lives in a separate house, supported by staff. The children moved into the home in May 2022. One child moved in as an emergency admission. His transition happened quickly and was not well planned. Managers and leaders failed to ensure that important information was made available to staff to provide the required standard of care and support. Additionally, the respective local authorities did not provide the required documents to inform care planning for children. This does not ensure that staff have all the available information to provide children with suitable and safe care.

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inadequate

Staff carry out individual key-working sessions with children. The quality of these sessions varies. Conversations are not linked to children’s care plans or identified needs. Also, children are not encouraged to read or contribute to their care plans. This is a missed opportunity to include children in how they are cared for.

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inadequate

New children coming into the home are not matched with the existing children. As a result, the potential impact on children living together is not considered.

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inadequate

Managers have not ensured that staff maintain a register of visitors or children in the home. Both documents are required to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations and to give an understanding of who is in the home.

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inadequate

One child has no education placement. Managers and leaders have not escalated this with the relevant education professionals. Consequently, the child has missed out on significant learning. In contrast, the other child is attending a college and is making progress.

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inadequate

During the inspection, positive interactions between staff and a child were observed. The child reported that he likes living at the home and gets on well with staff. Children’s bedrooms have been personalised to their liking and tastes. The home environment is clean, comfortable and welcoming.

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

The supervision of children has been inadequate. There have been many incidents of children not being adequately supervised in line with their care plans. For example, one child was able to give another child a permanent tattoo after the manager purchased a tattoo gun for the child. Both children were required to have 2:1 staff supervision. Additionally, staff have failed to supervise children in line with their risk assessments. As a result, children have been harmed. In September 2022, Inspection report for children’s home: 2645675 4 one child was left at home, on his own, when staff left the home to respond to an incident.

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

The management of risk to children is inadequate. Risk assessments fail to provide staff with clarity on what actions they should take to keep children safe. Not all risk assessments are up to date or accurate. Children’s risk assessments fail to provide staff with guidance on preventative risk management. Additionally, staff have failed to follow children’s risk assessments. The risk assessments are inaccurate and direct staff to use interventions and strategies they have not been trained to use. This leaves staff without the guidance they need to manage and reduce risk.

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

Staff are slow to respond to challenging behaviours from children. As a result, children’s behaviours can quickly escalate. Children and staff are then placed at increased risk. For example, in August 2022, staff were threatened when a child used a cigarette lighter, and an aerosol can as a weapon. An earlier intervention from staff may have prevented this incident escalating. A failure to intervene compromised the safety of children and staff.

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

Staff struggle to manage behaviours that challenge from children and situations of increased risk. Staff do not put consequences in place following risky or undesirable behaviour. As a result, there is no deterrent and children continue, or escalate, their behaviours. Managers and leaders have not ensured that staff conduct key-working sessions with children following incidents. This means that children are not helped and supported to understand the impact of their behaviours on others and help them make safer choices.

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

Children smoke tobacco regularly. Managers and leaders have failed to provide staff with guidance on how to support the children to reduce or stop this behaviour. This is despite one child having a health condition which could be adversely affected by smoking. Staff do not challenge this behaviour and allow children to have unsupervised access to cigarettes and lighters.

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

One child has placed himself at increased risk by going missing from care for extended periods. Incident reports are unclear about the efforts of staff to keep in contact with the child to bring about his safe return. During the inspection, this child was missing. The child was located, and staff went to collect him. Staff did not return the child to the home, but instead allowed him to go off with friends. Consequently, he went missing again. Additionally, managers and leaders have not ensured that the children are offered a return home interview.

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

On occasion, staff have to intervene to manage children’s behaviours. Staff do not record these interventions appropriately and management oversight is lacking. As a result, the managers cannot be assured that interventions were appropriate, and important learning from incidents cannot be used to inform future care practice.

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

The recruitment of new staff is unsafe. Staff have commenced in post prior to the completion of the relevant checks. As a result, Ofsted cannot be assured that staff are safe to work with children. There has been some conflict and disharmony in the staff team. As a result, staff do not always work effectively with one another. Inspection report for children’s home: 2645675 5 Staff have not maintained accurate records of medicines dispensed to children. As these errors have not been identified or reviewed by managers and leaders, it is unclear if these are dispensing or recording errors. This has the potential to put children at risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are serious concerns about the poor standards of care practice. There are ineffective approaches to risk management being implemented by managers and staff. There is poor attention to child protection procedures, and the leaders’ and managers’ oversight and monitoring of the home is poor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The management arrangements have been through a turbulent period. The registered manager went on sick leave in June 2022. On 28 July 2022, the manager was suspended and then resigned their post on 31 August 2022. The deputy manager also left.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The current staff team is relatively new and inexperienced. A newly appointed team leader is in day-to-day charge, with the support of the responsible individual. The director of the organisation was under the impression that the responsible individual was spending up to four days a week in the home. However, this was not the experience of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have not received regular supervision. Staff do not have job descriptions or contracts of employment. There are poor induction processes for new staff, and there are no probation processes for those staff requiring extra support. Managers and leaders have failed to ensure that staff receive the necessary training to meet the needs of the children. As a result, staff have a poor understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They lack the essential skills to work with the children they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual’s oversight of the home has been poor. He has failed to identify and address concerns with the registered manager. There is a lack of robust monitoring and oversight. This means that basic checks, such as reviews of medication, health and safety checks, and the recording and reporting of incidents, are not always taking place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager’s review of the quality of care was poor. The manager failed to consult with children and professionals to get feedback that would inform the review process. In addition, there was no action plan to drive forward improvements. Leaders and managers have not ensured that care is delivered in line with the home’s statement of purpose, which has not been kept up to date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers and leaders have failed to respond to safeguarding incidents or report them to the correct external agencies. Managers and leaders have failed to inform Ofsted, as the regulator, of all notifiable events. Failure to share information hinders Inspection report for children’s home: 2645675 6 the regulator’s ability to monitor the quality of care being provided and the safety of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

In response to the concerns identified, Ofsted has issued compliance notices under Regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and Regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard). Inspection report for children’s home: 2645675 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

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

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs. (Regulation 5 (a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that, when the needs of children are not met by others, they effectively escalate their concerns. 14 November

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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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 and develop skills to promote the child’s well- being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to the efforts to help children reduce or stop smoking. 14 November

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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— 14 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2645675 8 that staff—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

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

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all children have detailed up-to-date risk assessment in place that staff follow. The registered person must ensure that effective action is taken when there are concerns about the safety or welfare of children.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that the day-to-day care is managed in a way that does not present additional risks to children.

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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 14 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2645675 9 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all children receive care as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that monitoring systems are in place and that they are effective, and that shortfalls are recognised and effectively responded to.

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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;

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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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the home’s statement of purpose it up to date and that this is shared with Ofsted within the required timeframes. 14 November

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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)) 14 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2645675 10 In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is accurate recording of medication. Any medication errors must be investigated.

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Requirement Due date

satisfy the requirements in paragraph (5)(a) to (c); and

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (7)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the register provider must assure themselves that the responsible individual has been safely recruited.

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This also relates to ensuring that the individual is of integrity and good character and able to perform the role effectively. 14 November

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The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2 (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all staff are safely recruited, and full checks are made in accordance with Schedule 2. 14 November

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation; and 14 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2645675 11 provide each employee with a job description outlining the employee’s responsibilities.

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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. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)(b)(c) (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all staff have a thorough induction and probation process in place. Staff must have a job description and must receive regular supervision.

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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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details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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

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a description of the measure and its duration;

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details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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

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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; 14 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2645675 12 has signed the record to confirm it is accurate.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all physical interventions are recorded and subject to the required checks.

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Requirement Due date

Staff must record all sanctions issued to children and review their effectiveness. Staff should use sanctions as a way of promoting positive behaviour.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must have a children’s register in place. The registered person must maintain an accurate and up-to-date visitor’s book. 14 November

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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

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 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)(b)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must notify Ofsted without delay of any incident they are required to. The registered provider must ensure that all relevant information is shared in this notification. 14 November

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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. 14 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2645675 13 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;

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that, when completing the review of the quality of care, they consult with all relevant individuals and identify an action plan in order to improve the quality of care.

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns home from a period of missing that an independent return home interview takes place within the required timeframes. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30).  The registered person should ensure that children are in full-time education while they are of compulsory school age. Where a child in not in full-time education, staff should support children with home learning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.18).  The registered person should support and encourage children to view and contribute to their records in a way that reflects they views. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.9).

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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: 2645675 14

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: A&R Guardian Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Eastgate House Office 3 First Floor, 19-23 Humberstone Road, Leicester, Leicestershire LE5 3GJ

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Inspector

Debbie Holder, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2645675 15 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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