Children's Home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Barnsley

Inspection report for children’s home: SC363630 1 SC363630 Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private company. The home provides care for up to three children whose life experiences mean that they may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 9 December 2022. He is covering the temporary absence of the substantive registered manager of the home.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

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.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC363630 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/06/2021 Full Good 27/08/2019 Full Outstanding 20/02/2019 Full Outstanding 23/05/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC363630 3

p.2

improvement to be good

Children have a varied experience of living at this home. One child’s experience fell significantly short. Their needs were not well understood, and staff struggled to give them the care they needed to feel secure. This led to significant distress for the child. Consequently, the child experienced an unnecessary and unplanned move.

p.3

improvement to be good

Independence planning for children lacks innovation and creativity. The current plan is repetitive and uninspiring and includes things such as children doing the ‘food shop’, ‘going to the gym’ and ‘cooking own meals’. Children are not being inspired to develop the skills they need to live independently.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children’s wishes and feelings are not always considered when decisions are made that affect them. When one child moved out, the children were prevented from saying goodbye in a meaningful way. This resulted in children feeling sad and confused.

p.3

improvement to be good

The home environment provides ample space for children to play and relax. However, there is a lack of attention to detail given to how the home is presented. For example, internal doors leading to rooms that staff use have peepholes, COVID- 19 health and safety signage about social distancing is on display and children’s photos do not fit in the displayed frames. This does not provide the children with a family-style environment.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children are involved in weekly discussions with staff. These discussions offer children an opportunity to share their views and wishes. However, a recent decision was made by staff to implement a menu planner without consulting children first. This is not good practice, as it removes some of the children’s influence in the home.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff support children to read and understand their plans. However, the language used to describe children in their plans is not child-friendly. In addition, records do not capture a sense of their childhood. This is not helpful to children should they want to read their case records now or in the future.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments do not offer clear guidance for staff to follow. The assessments cover broad and subjective topics and are not specific about the child’s known risks. This makes it difficult for staff to immediately grasp what the actual assessed risk is. This does not help to better protect children from harm.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children are not consistently supported by staff to take healthy and measured risks in line with their age and understanding. For example, some of children’s recorded Inspection report for children’s home: SC363630 4 risks are unsubstantiated, or not relevant. This approach has led to staff providing care which is risk-averse.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children’s behaviour support plans are vague and ambiguous and lack personalisation. This means that these plans do not offer clear guidance to staff. This has the potential to lead to inconsistent responses from staff to children.

p.4

improvement to be good

The home’s allegations procedure has not been followed on one occasion. A member of staff involved in the incident wrote the risk assessment to determine whether they should remain in the home pending an investigation. This does not provide impartiality and could lead to unsafe decision-making.

p.4

improvement to be good

Staff use consequences to manage children’s behaviour. However, some of these consequences are not proportionate or relevant. For example, one child was prevented from participating in their weekend activity. The rationale for this decision was punitive in approach. These strategies do not help children to learn and reflect.

p.4

good

The manager has been in post since November 2022. He is suitably experienced and qualified for the role. However, there are some weaknesses in the effectiveness of leadership and management that require improvement. Ineffective oversight means that shortfalls are not quickly identified or acted upon. This has the potential to compromise the care and safety of the children.

p.4

good

The inspectors found that staff are keen to get things right. Staff shared concerns and frustration about the amount of recording and the complexity of the home’s recording systems. Children’s written records are complicated, vulnerable to misinterpretation and often contradict one another. This makes it confusing for staff and this impacting staff morale.

p.4

good

Some management oversight is present, for example in incident reports and records of room searches. However, there is little or no evaluation. At times, the manager is not clear about what he expects from staff. This means that staff are not supported to reflect, learn or understand what is expected of them.

p.4

good

One child living at the home is not a looked after child. Their parent told the inspectors that they are dissatisfied with the approach to care their child has received. Evidence gathered at this inspection highlights that there has been a lack of engagement and communication from staff with the parent. Consequently, the child has not received a coordinated approach to their care.

p.4

good

There is no endeavour from the manager to initiate learning from incidents, such as when children are physically held by staff. Concerns raised by professionals that the staff were anxious around caring for one child and that their responses only served to escalate situations were not taken on board by the manager. This means that the Inspection report for children’s home: SC363630 5 child continued to receive the same responses from staff. Consequently, the child’s emotional well-being was not promoted.

p.4

good

The manager has completed a of quality care review. This does offer some evaluation and analysis of what needs to improve. However, this report has not been shared with Ofsted. This means that the regulator cannot fully assess and monitor the manager’s oversight of the service.

p.5

good

Serious incidents are not reported to Ofsted consistently in line with the Children’s Homes Regulations 2015. As a result, those with an interest in children’s safety and welfare are not appropriately informed in a timely manner. This undermines the ability of the regulator to carry out its monitoring function effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: SC363630 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)(vi)) 1 June 2023

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

help each child to understand how to keep safe; 1 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC363630 7 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.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that children’s risk assessments evaluate the known risks for the children, having in place the strategies needed to reduce the risk of harm to the children and that staff know and follow these.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered manager must ensure that the home’s safeguarding procedures are followed and that staff who have allegations made about them do not take on a decision- making role.

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

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))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff support children to take measured risks in line with their plans for independence. 1 June 2023

p.7

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

promotes their welfare. 1 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC363630 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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;

p.8

Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

p.8

Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received.

p.8

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

p.8

Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that children receive care that takes into account advice and guidance given by the local authority and more specialist services.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.8

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

p.8

Requirement Due date

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

p.8

Requirement Due date

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

p.8

Requirement Due date

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

p.8

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.

p.8

Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii)(f)) 1 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC363630 9 In particular, the manager must ensure that:

p.8

Requirement Due date

 children are at the centre of plans made about them  children’s needs and the views of the local authority are taken into account when planning transitions out of the home  language used in children’s records is helpful and does not stigmatise or label children.

p.9

Requirement Due date

This regulation applies to a child who is not looked after by a local authority.

p.9

Requirement Due date

If the child is placed in a children’s home by a voluntary organisation, the registered person must co-operate with the voluntary organisation in agreeing and signing the child’s placement plan prepared under regulations 4 and 5 of the Arrangements for Placement of Children by Voluntary Organisations and Others (England) Regulations 2011 (“the 2011 Regulations”). (Regulation 18 (1) (2)) 1 June 2023

p.9

Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that children are consulted with routinely about what meals they would like to eat. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.8)  The registered manager should ensure that the home environment reflects that of a family home. In particular, the doors should be domestic doors without peepholes. Also, that health and safety signage around the home is kept to a minimum. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered manager should ensure that when staff impose consequences on children for unwanted behaviours, these are relevant and restorative in nature. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered manager should ensure that safeguarding notifications are notified

p.9

Recommendations

to the regulator with 24 hours and that notifications contain sufficient detail. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.3)  The registered manager should ensure that the review of the quality of care report is sent to Ofsted on completion. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.3) Inspection report for children’s home: SC363630 10

p.9

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: SC363630 11

p.10

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Limited

p.11

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Forge, Church Street West, Woking, Surrey GU21 6HT

p.11

Children’s home details

Registered managers: Rian Mansaram, Dale Mawson

p.11

Inspectors

Rachel Walker, Social Care Inspector Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC363630 12 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.

p.11

Inspectors

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 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.12

Inspectors

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

p.12

Inspectors

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

p.12