Children's Home, Residential special school run by MacIntyre Care in Buckinghamshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC043994 1 SC043994 Registered provider: MacIntyre Care Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is part of an independent school for children who have an autism spectrum condition and/or severe learning disabilities. The home provides care for up to 16 children across four houses.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 21 December 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

A monitoring visit was carried out on 14 December 2021. Ofsted imposed a variation on 3 December 2021 to reduce the number of children who can live at the home from 20 to 16.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC043994 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/06/2021 Full Good 21/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/07/2019 Full Inadequate 09/10/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC043994 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in this home. Staff know the children well. Committed staff are confident in using a range of communication methods to engage children in daily routines and improving basic skills such as making their beds and cooking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend education and are making good progress. A multiagency approach to care planning enhances the care provided. The quality of relationships means that children benefit from responsive health and education services that meet their needs, enabling tailored support that reduces children’s anxieties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained. Staff have supported children to personalise their bedrooms with chosen themes and colours. Children were very excited to show inspectors their bedrooms and photographs. Children enjoy spending time with staff in the home. Family time is well promoted and facilitated by attentive staff. As a result, children remain involved and enjoy regular activities with friends and families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have their say, but the use of communication methods is inconsistent. For example, staff use a generic tool to gain children’s views in key- work sessions, but this is not adjusted when working with the more able children. Children may not always feel heard, and this may limit actions taken to further improve the quality of care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who move on from the home are supported to do so by compassionate, proactive staff. One child wrote their own views and wishes in their care plan. As a result, their transition was supported, well managed and successful.

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

Behaviour management is a strength of this home. Good recording by staff has enabled learning to be shared across the whole team. As a result, there is a noticeable reduction in incidents with specific children. This creates a quieter and calmer environment for all children.

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

Children enjoy a wide range of activities. Assessments completed by staff in relation to the management of risk are thorough and understood by the staff that accompany children on trips and to see family.

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

Children live in an environment that meets their needs. Staff and managers have a good oversight of health and safety matters, including fire risks. While day staff have completed fire evacuation training during their induction, recently appointed night staff have not yet completed this and other fire prevention training. The manager addressed some aspects of this during the inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC043994 4 Staff know how to keep children safe. However, safeguarding measures are not implemented consistently. For example, the focus in one incident was primarily on the effect on the member of staff and not the experience and outcome for the child.

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

Immediate action was taken when a member of agency staff was found to be sleeping during their night shift. Staff are now aware of the expectations within their role. As a result, children should no longer be exposed to risk during the night. As a result of management actions, staff now feel confident to raise poor practice.

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good

The newly appointed senior manager has quickly identified some of the challenges faced by the management and leadership team. Plans to address shortfalls are in place, for example a review of the recording systems and the development of the therapy team.

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good

The monitoring systems and quality assurance tools used are not effective. Recording systems are repetitive and unmanageable. This hinders the registered manager’s ability to have regular and clear oversight of practice. As a result, the focus for improvement drifts and shortfalls have not been identified.

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good

In the absence of the responsible individual, senior managers have ensured that they are accessible. Staff say that they are supported by the managers and leaders who are visible in the home. As a result, staff receive consistent management oversight.

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good

Senior team members are not able to fully support their staff team and make informed decisions. Some team leaders have been appointed without the necessary knowledge or leadership experience. Senior managers have not explored any gaps during the recent recruitment round. In addition, supervision sessions do not evidence how staff are supported with professional development and the training necessary to fulfil their role. The induction for new staff does not equip them with the necessary basic knowledge to support their practice. For example, some staff did not know the legal status of children and how this affected decision-making.

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good

The home’s statement of purpose needs updating. This is an opportunity for the registered manager to review the skills and knowledge of the whole staff team.

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good

a Inspection report children’s home: SC043994 5

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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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (a)(b) (2)(h)) 30 November

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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 November

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must— ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable inter- vals, that persons working at the home and, so far as rea- sonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d)) 30 November Inspection report children’s home: SC043994 6 In particular, all staff should complete a fire evacuation drill with children.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff receive supervision that guides them to understand what they would need to do if they found other staff misusing or abusing their position to the detriment of the safety of a child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.14)  The registered person should lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s Statement of Purpose. They should also play a key role in shaping the ethos of the home through developing a culture of high aspiration for children which is demonstrated through the care, resources and opportunities offered to the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should the ensure that key-work sessions are prioritised and are specific to children’s experiences and their communication needs. (‘Guide

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Recommendations

to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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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 children’s home: SC043994 7

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 602 South Seventh Street, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK9 2JA

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Inspectors

Jill Sephton-Wright, Social Care Inspector Maire Atherton, Her Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC043994 8 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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