Children's home run by Northumberland County Council

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1155757 1 Registered provider: Northumberland County Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated and managed by a local authority to provide care for up to three children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2015.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector spoke to the three children who live in the home.

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This monitoring visit

The monitoring visit was carried out in response to potential safeguarding concerns identified within the regulation 40 and regulation 44 notifications. The information included within these notifications indicated that there may be insufficient staffing arrangements effecting the care and safety of the children.

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This monitoring visit

During the monitoring visit, significant breaches in the regulations were found.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders have failed to ensure that all staff working in the home have the necessary skills and training to meet the children’s needs. This includes a high number of staff who have not received the provider’s mandatory training, such as safeguarding training and the provider’s identified method of physical intervention training. There are times when staff are on shift without any relevant training. This has resulted in children not being supported in line with their relevant plans, which has resulted in the police being called to manage the children’s behaviour.

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This monitoring visit

Senior leaders have not fully considered all of the care needs for all of the children when they have agreed to a child being placed in the home. The decision makers did not give sufficient consideration to how the registered manager and the staff could meet all of the children’s needs safely. This has had a detrimental effect on the child who moved Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1155757 2 into the home and on those children who were already living in the home and deemed to be settled and progressing well prior to this decision.

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This monitoring visit

The manager does not apply safer recruitment checks to agency staff and non- permanent staff. The manager does not consistently check the applicants’ employment history, or if their employment references are relevant, suitable or have been verified. In addition, she is unaware if the agency staff have been subject to any disciplinary investigations or actions, or if there are any safeguarding or practice concerns. This practice has the potential to expose the children to the risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

Children are not helped to build positive and trusting relationships with the staff. Staffing shortages mean that a high level of agency staff are used . These unfamiliar staff do not provide a consistent level of care to the children, and the children are prevented from building positive relationships based on mutual trust and respect.

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This monitoring visit

Staff struggle to implement consistent boundaries and to manage the children’s behaviours effectively. This has left some children feeling scared and worried. Furthermore, some children isolate themselves in their own spaces. One child said, ‘I never know who is going to be here, I must have had eight different staff this week who I’ve never met before, I just stay in my bedroom’.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have not been able to meet the children’s behavioural needs as set out within their individual plans, and the staff have failed to de-escalate a recent incident. This resulted in the police be called to manage the child’s behaviour. This practice increases the risk of children being criminalised.

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This monitoring visit

Children’s privacy is not respected. Closed-circuit television devices and bedroom door alarms are used to monitor the movement of the children. There is no rationale for this practice, nor is it reviewed. This practice is not reflected in the children’s risk assessments, and the necessary consent has not been obtained from the children’s placing local authority to acknowledge their agreement to this practice.

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager has failed to submit all of the relevant information regarding a safeguarding incident to Ofsted within the required timescale. This oversight prevents Ofsted from reviewing and monitoring the safeguarding arrangements for children to ensure that the correct action is taken to safeguard the children.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have failed to send the independent person’s report to Ofsted in a timely way. Additionally, the local authority designated officer (LADO) was not promptly informed of an allegation made about a staff member. These failings prevent safeguarding agencies from having oversight of the home, and taking prompt action, when children may be at risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

Following this monitoring visit and the shortfalls identified, a decision was made to issue an urgent notice to reduce the numbers of children living at the home. Additionally, compliance notices were issued under regulation 12: The protection of children standard, regulation 13: The Leadership and management standard, regulation 14: The Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1155757 3 care planning standard and regulation 32: Fitness of workers. Requirements were also raised under regulation 11: The positive relationships standard, regulation 24: Monitoring and Surveillance, regulation 40: Notification of a serious event and regulation 44: The independent person: visits and reports.

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This monitoring visit

The previously issued requirements under regulation 35 and 36, and elements of regulation 40 were not fully reviewed during the visit. For this reason, they are reissued. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1155757 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/06/2022 Full Good 25/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/09/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/05/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1155757 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(x)(xi)) 29 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; 29 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1155757 6 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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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)(c)(d)(e)(h))) 29 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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 29 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1155757 7 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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

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Requirement Due date

so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 29 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; 29 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1155757 8 the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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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)(b)(3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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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.

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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) 3(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 29 January 2023

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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))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that the children’s looked after review documents and personal education plan meeting documents are obtained and kept up to date. 29 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 29 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1155757 9 a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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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

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)(5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. 29 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1155757 10 The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to HMCI. (Regulation 44 (1)(4)(a)(b)(7)(a))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1155757 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Northumberland County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland NE61 2EF

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Inspector

Claire Webster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1155757 12 regulates and inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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