Children's Home run by ARGF Limited in North Northamptonshire

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2639538 1 Registered provider: ARGF LIMITED

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in January 2022. The registered manager position has been vacant since June 2022. There is an acting manager in place.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspection: 25 October 2022

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

p.1

Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

p.1

Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2639538 2

p.1

Findings from the inspection

We identified the following serious and/or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection:

p.2

The care of children

This inspection has been carried out following a complaint being made about the home, and the quality of care provided to children. A full inspection was undertaken on 25 October 2022.

p.2

The care of children

The quality of children’s experiences at the home has been affected by poor safeguarding practice and by the lack of continuity and consistency of care staff.

p.2

The care of children

One child has poor daily routines. He has poor sleep patterns, poor eating habits and he does not engage with the education arrangements in place for him. This means that he is not making progress. This child’s behaviours have impacted on the experiences of the other child living at the home, who has witnessed verbal abuse and threats of harm to staff.

p.2

The care of children

The home environment is not nurturing or comfortable. Damage to the home was evident during the inspection.

p.2

The care of children

Another child does not have good enough education arrangements in place. He receives education online, rather than in an education setting. The education plans for this child are not sufficient to support him to make progress.

p.2

The care of children

The quality of children’s records is poor. Staff use language in recording that is not professional and minimises risks. Direct work with children is not purposeful, in terms of helping children to find strategies to manage strong emotions safely, or in helping children to make safe, appropriate choices.

p.2

The care of children

Staff have promoted and supported children to maintain family relationships. One child has benefited from developing positive relationships with staff.

p.2

The safety of children

Safeguarding and behaviour management practice by staff are inadequate. There is a lack of management oversight of staff practice.

p.2

The safety of children

Staff struggle to meet the children’s needs. This is due to there being insufficient staff, and many staff not being qualified. Many staff are new to residential childcare and they do not have the necessary skills and experience to meet children’s complex needs. The training provided to staff has not been sufficient, particularly regarding developing effective behaviour management strategies, and working with children who have experienced trauma. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2639538 3 Admission arrangements are not effective. One child was admitted to the home without all the information about his needs being known. The child presented dangerous, high-risk behaviours, placing another child at risk of harm.

p.2

The safety of children

Staff are not consistently applying the no-smoking policy for children, or applying safeguarding policies in respect of the use of digital technology, such as mobile phones. One child had a games console with games that were not age-appropriate. This was overlooked when the child came to live at the home.

p.3

The safety of children

Children have been exposed to a hazardous home environment. The inspector found significant damage to the home. This includes significant damage to the staircase banister, dating from 2 November 2022. This presents a risk to children’s health and safety, as the banister is badly damaged. There is no reference to managing this risk in children’s risk and behaviour management plans.

p.3

The safety of children

Staff have struggled to manage children’s behaviour, and prevent incidents in the home. There have been incidents of a child setting fires by using deodorant sprays and a cigarette lighter. On one occasion, staff failed to prevent a child from accessing car keys and attempting to drive the home’s car. The failure to anticipate and prevent incidents places children and staff at risk.

p.3

The safety of children

On several occasions, staff have been concerned that cannabis was being used in the home. On one occasion, they found evidence of the use of cannabis in a child’s bedroom. There was no evidence that staff shared this information with the police. Similarly, concerns about a child possibly hiding a home-made knife in the garden were not shared with the police. Managers are not ensuring that staff follow child- protection procedures and safeguarding guidance.

p.3

The safety of children

The use of de-escalation techniques and physical intervention is inadequate. Staff fail to intervene at the correct time, fail to predict risk of harm, and fail to reduce the risk of harm.

p.3

The safety of children

Management oversight has been inadequate. Records are not consistently reviewed, and managers fail to provide strategies to prevent and/or respond effectively to safeguarding incidents.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have not promoted children’s safety and welfare. They do not understand their responsibilities in ensuring that the home environment is safe and that maintenance and repairs are timely to ensure that children live in a safe environment.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

There has not been sufficient professional curiosity by managers or staff in response to a child’s behaviours. For example, they do not know how a child has sourced cannabis, given that the child was being monitored by staff while in the home and Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2639538 4 out of the home. They do not know why a child had keys to window restrictors or whether these keys were removed.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff require training to enable them to safeguard children effectively, and to meet children’s specific needs. Staff require training in behaviour management and trauma-informed practice, and in effective recording and reporting.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

There are insufficient staff and very few of these staff are qualified. Permanent staff are supplemented by relief staff and agency staff. This means that there is little continuity of staffing for children. This impacts on staff being able to build positive relationships with children. Regular changes of staff also have an impact on the consistency of care and the responses to children’s needs and behaviours.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have served notice to the placing local authority in respect of one of the children, and this child has now left the home. There is a lack of understanding of the impact that recent incidents have had on children and staff. There is no evidence of managers and staff reflecting on, or learning from, incidents and making changes to reduce risk of harm. Leaders and managers have admitted children to the home who are poorly matched, and whose needs the staff team cannot meet. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2639538 5

p.4

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2639538 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

* The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(d)) 13 December

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

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)) 13 December Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2639538 7 This specifically refers to ensuring that records of incidents are clear and detailed and demonstrate management oversight, reflection and learning.

p.6

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

p.7

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; and

p.7

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)(c)(d)(f)(h)) 13 December

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— 6 January 2023 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2639538 8 meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

p.7

Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

p.8

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; and

p.8

Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(ix))

p.8

Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

p.8

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 (3)(a)(b)) 13 December

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.8

Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

p.8

Requirement Due date

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

p.8

Requirement Due date

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

p.8

Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to supervision of staff taking place in line with the home’s policy of once a month. 13 December

p.8

Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

p.8

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, where children placed in the home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff work closely Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2639538 9 with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping, and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party

p.8

Recommendations

information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2639538 10

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: ARGF Limited, Grosvenor House, Office 1, 5th Floor, George Street, Corby, Northamptonshire NN17 1QB

p.10

Inspector

Cathey Moriarty, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2639538 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.

p.10

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.11

Inspector

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.11

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.11

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.11