Children's Home run by Olive Tree Residential Care Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2697535 1 Registered provider: Olive Tree Residential Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in July 2022. It provides care for up to three children who have been affected by adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours. The home is privately owned and forms part of a small social care organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2022.

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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: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2697535 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2697535 3

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inadequate

Five children have lived at the home since it registered. This inspection identified that the leadership and management, care planning and safeguarding arrangements at this home are inadequate. This has had a negative impact on the overall experiences and progress of two children who were admitted to the home and have since moved on. Leaders and managers have not taken sufficient action to identify and act on the learning from these shortfalls. As a result of this inspection, Ofsted has issued compliance notices under regulation 12 (the protection of children standard), regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard) and regulation 14 (the care planning standard). In the last six weeks, three other children have been admitted to the home.

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inadequate

Some children have received poorly planned care when moving into and out of the home. The registered manager fails to consider all the information provided by the local authority and does not fully assess the risk and impact of children moving into the home. Consequently, two children moved into the home despite the home being unable to meet their needs as specified by the placing authority. As a result, these children received poor care that had a detrimental impact on their well-being, progress and safety.

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inadequate

Following an increase in incidents, the registered manager moved a child into an unregistered home in the company. This decision was made without any consultation with the placing authority. Following the child’s move, the provider gave notice on the child as they could not meet his needs. On the day that the child was due to move on from this home and the provider, a new home had not been found by the placing authority. However, the registered manager made the decision to cancel the child’s taxi and not collect him from school. This meant that the child’s move from the home was unplanned and he was left unsupported. The child’s social worker informed the inspector that the child was left distraught at school and the experience had a detrimental impact on his emotional well-being.

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inadequate

Staff and leaders fail to ensure that children consistently engage with their education. Since the home registered, only one child has attended school. Poor planning has meant that four other children moving into the home have not had access to a formal school place relevant to their needs. For one child, there were considerable delays in finding an appropriate school, and they were not provided with an education placement during their time living in the home. As a result, the child was provided with no structure or routine, and significant incidents increased in the home at night. More recently, the home’s director and responsible individual have begun to make improvements. They are now working with placing authorities to ensure that the current children living in the home are provided with opportunities to learn. Inspection report for children’s home: 2697535 4 Despite the widespread shortfalls identified during this inspection, the three children

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inadequate

currently living in the home are settling in well. The children have lived in the home for a short time and staff are working hard to develop positive relationships with the children.

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

Staff and leaders fail to take swift and effective action in response to allegations of abuse made by children against staff. For example, a child made an allegation of physical abuse against a member of staff. This incident was not reported appropriately and promptly by staff. The registered manager also failed to take immediate action in response to the information he had received. This lack of action and failure to follow the home’s safeguarding policies hindered safeguarding agencies from carrying out their investigations and taking action to protect the child.

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

Leaders fail to ensure that children’s risk assessments reflect children’s known risks. They also have not used their learning from previous experiences to inform their understanding of current children’s risks. For example, leaders identified the possibility of a child harming their pet when they lived at the home. However, they have not assessed the risk of another child harming animals. This is despite there being a number of animals living in or around the home and incidents involving the child previously harming animals. There is also no risk assessment in place for one child to evidence how staff manage risks linked to child criminal exploitation. As a result, staff are unaware of the level of risk or how to mitigate these risks. This leaves children vulnerable.

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

Some children’s behaviours have escalated since coming to live at the home. This is because leaders and managers have failed to assess the interplay between children’s behaviours effectively or ensure that staff have received training to respond to children’s behaviours. As a result, staff have not responded consistently or confidently when incidents have occurred. This has led to an increase in incidents and to managers and staff feeling that they are unable to manage children’s behaviours. This is despite the behaviours not being uncommon from children who have had adverse childhood experiences. This poor response to children’s behaviour has meant that two children have had to move on from the home as staff could not meet their needs.

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

Staff use physical restraint as a last resort to manage significant incidents with children. Some records are well recorded by staff and provide a good overview of the incident. However, staff have routinely completed their own debriefs and the registered manager has not always ensured that staff are always spoken to. The registered manager does not review or evaluate the incidents well and comment on the effectiveness of the measures used by staff. This information is also not shared with staff or the children. This lack of evaluation means that children and staff do not learn from their experiences.

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

Since the home registered, there have been two incidents where a child has gone missing from the home. On both occasions, staff followed the child’s plans effectively Inspection report for children’s home: 2697535 5 and took action to return the child to the home. Furthermore, staff gathered intelligence which was shared with the police. This intelligence was used by professionals to put in place measures to safeguard the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders’ decision-making in relation to care planning for children is inadequate. For example, one child moved into the home whose primary need was identified by the placing authority as ‘learning disability’. The home is not registered to provide care for children who have disabilities. Furthermore, the placing authority requested that staff complete therapeutic parenting training to meet the child’s needs. However, this did not take place and significant incidents increased as staff were unable to de- escalate incidents. Poor planning and assessment by the registered manager resulted in the child not being safeguarded effectively and has had a negative impact on their experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management oversight and monitoring of the home are inadequate. Leaders have failed to identify several shortfalls, including hazards in the home’s environment and gaps in children’s risk assessments. Furthermore, the registered manager is not effective at monitoring, reviewing or ensuring that staff learn from significant incidents with children. These poor practices mean that leaders and managers do not have a good understanding of the quality of care children receive or where improvements need to be made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager fails to respond effectively when children raise complaints. A complaint was made by a child to staff. This complaint related to the practice and conduct of staff. Despite this being the only complaint made, the registered manager failed to record the complaint or take any action to respond to the child. Failure to respond to children’s views leaves them without a voice and vulnerable to harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager does not always work effectively with partner agencies to improve the quality of care received by children. For example, following an increase in incidents with children, the registered manager did not escalate these concerns to the local authority or advocate for a review of their care. Also, the registered manager does not consistently challenge professionals and represent children’s wishes and feelings about the care they receive. For example, the manager did not escalate concerns or make a complaint when a child was not happy about the decisions made by their placing authority about their future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff and leaders do not have the skills or knowledge to manage children’s behaviours. This is because leaders do not ensure that staff complete training which is tailored to meet children’s needs. For example, staff have not completed training in therapeutic parenting or in caring for children who display harmful sexualised behaviour, which was specifically requested by professionals to meet the needs of the children. As a result, staff are not provided with the knowledge they need to safeguard children and promote their welfare. Inspection report for children’s home: 2697535 6 Staff do not receive regular supervision in line with the home’s policy. For example, the policy states that staff in their probation should receive supervision every two weeks. However, at the time of the inspection, two staff members in their probation had not received supervision for six weeks. Team meetings do not happen regularly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been only one meeting since the home opened and this was not used to inform practice. Inductions of new staff focus on mandatory training, and staff told the inspector that they felt the quality of their inductions had been impacted by the quick admission of children into the home. Consequently, inexperienced staff do not receive good support or guidance to support them to consistently meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

An up-to-date copy of the home’s statement of purpose has not been submitted to Ofsted. In addition, it does not contain sufficient detail in relation to the therapeutic support available to children. This does not ensure that accurate information is available to children, their families or other professionals. This limits their awareness of the support they should expect.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Senior managers in the organisation have recently become more involved in the day- to-day running of the home. During the inspection, the director also confirmed that he was in the process of appointing a new manager and responsible individual. Some action has been taken to safeguard children. However, it is too early to determine the impact of this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2697535 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

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders should consult and develop positive working relationships with placing authorities in order to make decisions in the best interests of children. In addition, leaders should raise and escalate concerns if they feel that the placing authority is not working with them to meet children’s needs. 30 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; 30 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2697535 8 understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii)(x))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders should ensure that they work effectively with placing authorities to assess and understand children’s educational needs and find suitable provision to meet these needs.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that children’s risk assessments reflect known risks and provide effective strategies for staff to follow to keep children safe. This also refers to the staff’s and leaders’ understanding and implementation of the home’s child protection procedures and the action to take when a child is harmed by an adult in a position of trust. 6 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2697535 9 *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

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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that the home’s child protection and safeguarding policies are followed in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to staffing arrangements in the home and ensuring that the home has suitably trained and skilled staff to work with children and protect them from harm. 6 January 2023

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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)) 6 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2697535 10 This relates to the manager’s oversight and monitoring of children’s risk assessments and significant incidents in the home. It further relates to the manager’s oversight of the quality of care children receive in the home. Managers must also have clear monitoring and review systems in place to improve practice and understand children’s progress.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the 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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they only admit children to the home in line with the home’s registration and statement of purpose. In addition, leaders and managers should ensure that they carry out suitable assessments to determine whether the home can meet children’s needs. Leaders should ensure that they work effectively with placing authorities to support children to leave the home in a manner which does not impact on children’s emotional well-being. 6 January 2023

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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

The registered person must— 30 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2697535 11 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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders must review and submit an up-to-date copy of the home’s statement of purpose to Ofsted within 28 days of the revision. Furthermore, it should include details of the supervision provided for any professionals involved in delivering therapy in the home.

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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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the responsible individual’s oversight and monitoring of the home and ensuring that the home’s child protection policies are followed. In addition, the responsible individual should ensure that systems are in place to support the registered manager in reviewing significant incidents with children at the home. 30 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, all staff must receive regular supervision in line with the home’s policy to support their development in the home. 30 January 2023

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. 30 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2697535 12 The registered person must ensure that—

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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

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

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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. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders should ensure that all incidents requiring physical restraint with children are reviewed and evaluated effectively. The registered manager should ensure that they review the effectiveness of the measure used and that staff are routinely spoken to following all incidents.

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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 staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2697535 13

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Olive Tree Residential Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Chantry View, Moat Lane, Newborough, Burton-on- Trent DE13 8SS

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Inspector

Dean Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2697535 14 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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