Children's home run by T-Junction Children’s Services

Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 1 Registered provider: T-Junction Children’s Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is one of three owned by a small provider. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who have social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home remains in breach of its conditions of registration, but an application has been made to vary these conditions so that they can provide care to children with learning disabilities. This application is currently being considered by Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted and is suitably qualified and experienced. They were present throughout this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

Children were seen and given the opportunity to share their views on the home.

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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 requires improvement to be 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

Date of last inspection: 25 October 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following the last full inspection compliance notices were served under Regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and Regulation 13 (the leadership and Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 2 management standard). These were judged to have been met at the monitoring visit dated 8 December 2022. This report has been published by Ofsted. Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/10/2022 Full Inadequate 15/06/2021 Full Good 23/10/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/04/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making good progress at this home. The adaptations made to care planning, the environment and the staff team have had a positive impact. The children have nurturing and trusting relationships with the adults in the home. Staff speak fondly about the children, and they are proud of the children’s achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with structure, routines and boundaries, which have helped them to become more settled. They said that they are happy living at this home. Professionals are pleased with the care and support the children are receiving. One professional commented that the child they are responsible for is like a ‘different child’ now.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children have suitable education in place, have good attendance and are making progress. The manager works well with schools in sharing information and attending meetings and is described as a ‘strong’ advocate for the children. One child is planning to go on a school residential trip. This is positive progress as this is the first time that this has been considered suitable for them. Another child now makes their way to and from school independently, and this is supporting them in developing age-appropriate, independence skills. However, not all relevant education plans are available in the home. This means that targets and actions relating to children’s education are not fully incorporated into care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to stay in touch with friends and family. The home facilitates visits and family time and, as a result, one child was able to celebrate the festive period with their family. This was very positive for the child, and opportunities for further family visits are being considered. Staff facilitate a number of communication methods to support children to stay in touch with their friends in a safe and managed way. As a result, children are learning safe ways of using mobile phones. This helps them to develop independence and develop their friendship groups.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to engage in activities and clubs in the home, school and community, which are relevant to their individual hobbies and interests. They are being helped to build social skills and learn about positive social interactions to support them in attending these clubs and maintaining positive relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met, and the staff are working with external professionals who provide additional support and guidance. The children are registered with local healthcare professionals and are supported to attend appointments. Staff provide weekly updates to external agencies, which supports their ongoing care planning. One child is making good progress with their dietary and health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child does not have an up-to-date care plan from their local authority, and the plan on file is significantly out of date. This means that the home’s plan may not reflect the child’s care needs and targets in line with their social care plan. Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 5 There have been some changes to the physical environment. The conservatory has been remodelled to provide a sensory space, and the children enjoy spending time in this area. A child’s bedroom has also been redecorated and is more suitable in meeting their needs.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments do not consider all known risk factors. Staff are not consistently following the strategies set out, and this limits the effectiveness of the risk assessment process. Some risks are not fully considered, and there is a narrow view of assessing and considering risk factors. Staff are not consistently documenting information and incidents related to risk management, which prevents effective evaluation and review.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour-management strategies are not always effective in preventing incidents or an escalation in behaviour. On one occasion, staff actions in trying to prevent children from playing together led to a significant escalation and resulted in the need for a physical intervention. An untrained staff member was involved in this restraint and was guided by another member of staff. During this incident, a child was left outside of the home unsupervised on their bicycle, contrary to their plan. This left the child at risk of harm. The manager’s evaluation and oversight did not reflect the areas of concern. This impairs the staff’s and manager’s capacity to learn from incidents and to prevent recurrence.

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improvement to be good

Evidentially, incidents have reduced. However, there is also evidence that not all relevant information is being documented within relevant plans and logs. This means that the narrative of reduced incidents may not be wholly factual due to ineffective recording. Some observed behaviours of concern are not being captured within daily records and reports, nor shared with the staff team. This prevents opportunities to support children to develop different strategies to manage their emotions. This is a shortfall in managing risk and in recording processes.

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improvement to be good

Despite children having difficult peer relationships and bullying being a known issue, children are not being supported to understand the impact of this through discussions and targeted work. Staff could do more to develop children’s understanding about the impact of this behaviour. They could work to help children develop the skills and strategies to reduce incidents involving unkind words and behaviour. Children have less positive relationships with each other than they do with the staff. There is work for staff to do in managing children’s interactions and in supporting them to share communal spaces in a way that avoids incidents.

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good

Leadership of the home has improved. However, there are still shortfalls in management oversight. Not all information about children is being documented, and Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 6 this prevents the effective use of evaluation and analysis to drive improvement. The manager has high expectations for the children, staff and the home’s development. However, some new systems are still in their infancy and are yet to become embedded.

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good

Several staff have left recently and the dynamics in the team have changed, which has led to improved morale. The manager is feeling better supported, and the team is working more cohesively, in line with expectations for their role. However, there is a lack of suitably qualified and experienced staff, and the management team is working shifts to support and mentor. Agency and casual staff are being used daily to cover shortfalls in the rota. The safe-recruitment checks for agency staff are not sufficient, and the manager took steps to address this during the inspection.

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good

Despite previous concerns around staff practice, regular supervision sessions are not being undertaken. This prevents staff from having the opportunity to reflect on their practice. It is also a time when managers and staff would set targets for their ongoing development. New staff are not having supervision in line with the home’s policy, and this is not supportive in mentoring staff in their new roles. No records of staff appraisals were available, although the manager indicated that these had been completed but not put on the online system.

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good

Staff have access to a range of training, including online and face to face. Additional training has been provided to meet a child’s specific communication and care needs. Some allocated training in safeguarding children with disabilities has not been completed by most of the staff. The home’s therapist provides fortnightly support to the team by looking at the specific needs of children and how staff can best support them.

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good

The manager works well with external professionals and has good relationships with schools and social workers. The manager is proactive in involving a multi-agency team when care planning for children. As a result, some aspects of children’s care have significantly improved, and information is being regularly shared to inform their ongoing plans. Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 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

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

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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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

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iv)(x)(xiii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to undertaking work with children to improve their social interactions, and for staff to receive support through documented supervision in managing their own feelings. 1 April 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. 1 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 8 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;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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)(i)(iv)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to risk assessment, following risk assessments and court orders that are already in place, and carrying out work with children to reduce the risks of them causing harm to each other.

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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

lead and manage the home 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;

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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

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; 1 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 9 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to staff receiving relevant training, and the manager making effective use of monitoring and review systems to drive improvement.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 1 April 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 signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 1 April 2023

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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: 1252023 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: T-Junction Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 27 The Pastures, Narborough, Leicester LE19 3DS

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Inspector

Sarah Orriss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 11 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. 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 . 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

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Inspector

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 .

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Inspector

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Inspector

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