Children's Home run by Ivory Cottage Limited in Worcestershire

Inspection report children’s home: 2633744 1 Registered provider: Ivory Cottage Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company. It provides care for up to three children who may have experienced childhood instability resulting in trauma and associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is appropriately experienced and qualified.

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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: 15 February 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2633744 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/11/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2633744 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there has been a period where no children were living in the home. This was due to the home not having sufficient staff to care for children. Staff have been recruited and there is currently one child living in the home.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager planned well for the child to move in to the home. She considered the child’s holistic needs alongside the staff’s skills and experience. To ensure that they were able to meet the child needs, specialist support from an external agency was put in place to help the child.

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improvement to be good

The physical environment of the home requires improvement. The home has been damaged by the child during incidents where their behaviour has been heightened. Staff have been unable to prevent the child from breaking windows and causing damage to the walls. In addition, aspects of the living areas, including the child’s bedroom, were bare and lacked personalisation. This does not provide the child with a pleasant and welcoming space to spend time.

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improvement to be good

The child’s placement plan does not support staff to understand how to meet her needs. This is because the plan does not contain up-to-date information or reflect the progress that she has made. Furthermore, the child’s placement plan has not been updated, despite there being significant changes to their care plan. This hinders staff’s ability to provide the child with the best possible care.

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improvement to be good

The child, who is not in education, is engaging with tutoring sessions as an interim arrangement. The staff also provide the child with extra educational activities, such as trips to the local museums and parks. The registered manager is advocating on behalf of the child to get a more-suitable educational provision.

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improvement to be good

The child’s health is promoted. There are clear health plans in place and the child is registered with local health services. The child’s health appointments are up to date and the staff encourage the child to lead a healthy lifestyle.

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improvement to be good

The child enjoys a range of different activities. This includes going swimming and attending army cadets. More recently, the child was part of a remembrance parade. The child enjoyed telling the inspectors about the parade. As well as building positive memories of living in the home, these activities help the child to develop their social skills.

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improvement to be good

The staff demonstrate a knowledge of the child’s risk as well as the protective strategies in place to manage these concerns. However, the quality of the risk Inspection report for children’s home: 2633744 4 assessments and behavioural support plans are variable and, at times, information is missing or not up to date. This does not support staff in keeping the child safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always manage behaviour effectively. They do not implement the home’s model of care alongside the child’s behaviour management plans. This means that staff are not able to calm the child when they are anxious or upset. In some instances, the action of the staff has resulted in the child’s behaviours escalating and the child being placed in unsafe situations and the staff resorting to calling the police for assistance. On one occasion, the outcome for the child was that they were arrested and held at the police station overnight.

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improvement to be good

Physical interventions are used as a last resort. However, the interventions are not always recorded, and those that are do not include all the information required. This means that the manager cannot evaluate the use of physical interventions effectively. This is a missed opportunity to learn from incidents and identify any further actions required to help and protect children.

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improvement to be good

There is a multi-agency response to missing-from-home incidents and the staff work effectively with other professionals, such as the police, to ensure that the child returns home safely. Return-home interviews are arranged and undertaken with the child. This provides staff with the guidance to support the child in reducing their episodes of going missing from home.

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good

There is a suitably qualified and experienced manager in post. She was registered in October 2022. She is supported by an equally experienced responsible individual and operational manager.

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good

The registered manager has a developing understanding of the home’s areas for improvement and strength. The manager is taking steps to improve the home. However, two requirements issued at the last inspection have not been met and are restated.

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good

Staff say that they feel supported. Staff receive supervision. However, sometimes, the frequency of this is not in line with the supervision policy at the home. This is a missed opportunity to review staff practice.

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good

An independent visitor is required to carry out external monitoring of the home every month. However, the independent visitor has not visited the home within the correct time frame. In addition, the reports produced do not always identify actions necessary to improve the service provided for the child. Also, they fail to offer adequate challenge to the registered manager or drive improvement in the home.

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good

Ensuring that the child has received consistent care has been a challenge due to some staff vacancies. Permanent staff have worked additional hours. However, the registered manager has had to use agency staff, especially during the night. This Inspection report for children’s home: 2633744 5 means that children do not always receive care from experienced staff who know them well.

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good

The staff have completed a varied training programme that is designed to support staff to meet the individual needs of the children. Most staff hold a level 3 qualification, and those who do not are working towards it. This equips staff with the level of knowledge and skills that they need for the role.

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good

The registered manager and the staff team have developed strong relationships with all relevant professionals, including social workers and court guardians. As a result, there is good communication between them, which promotes children’s welfare. Inspection report for children’s home: 2633744 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 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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii)))

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Requirement Due date

The specifically relates to the home being appropriately decorated, maintained and clean. 2 January 2023

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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; 2 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2633744 7 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff keeping risk assessments and behaviour management plans up to date to reflect all known risks.

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuing that the home has sufficient staff. 2 January 2023

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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;

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child's relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children having up-to-date plans that are reflective of their needs. 2 January 2022

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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

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; 2 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2633744 8 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

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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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

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

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

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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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; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv) (v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) Inspection report for children’s home: 2633744 9 This particularly refers to recording all incidents of restraint in line with regulation.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 2 January 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2633744 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ivory Cottage Ltd, Skytax, 37th Floor, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AA

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Inspectors

Lydia Isaac, Social Care Inspector Stacie Sharpe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2633744 11 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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