Children's Home run by Bess Solutions Limited in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children's home: 2652672 1 Registered provider: Bess Solutions Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. The home provides care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties or autism spectrum disorder.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by an experienced manager who is registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2652672 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2652672 3

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improvement to be good

At the time of this inspection, there were two children living at the home. Children have had variable experiences at this home. They are not yet receiving good care.

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improvement to be good

Following their move to the home, one child initially had improved school attendance. However, this deteriorated last term and staff interventions have not been effective in improving this situation. Consequently, the child is not making progress in education. This is impacting on his overall progress in the home. As a result of significantly reduced educational attendance, he has developed poor daily routines. He is not eating meals regularly, spends a lot of time in his room and his sleep routines have been affected. This has the potential to negatively impact on his emotional well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff have undertaken individual work with the child to try and explore the reasons for this change in behaviour regarding school attendance. This has not been effective.

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improvement to be good

Staff are undertaking individual work with children. But records do not show that the work is purposeful or making any difference to changing the children’s behaviour. This requires improvement.

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improvement to be good

A child made a complaint to the manager, who subsequently investigated and upheld the complaint. However, the response letter to the child was not child- friendly and did not demonstrate that the child’s views were valued.

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improvement to be good

Staff do consult children about arrangements for their daily care. For example, changes to care plans and their choices and preferences are explored. Children have contributed to plans for the home, for example, the decor and activities. This means children feel that their voices are heard. The staff have supported children to maintain relationships with family and friends. One child sees a friend once a week and has weekly visits with family. This means that important relationships for children are supported and maintained.

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improvement to be good

One child has built some positive relationships with staff and is comfortable in their company. This child has improved physical health because of the encouragement and support from staff to attend health appointments and screening.

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improvement to be good

One child has recently moved to the home. This transition was well planned, with staff visiting the child before the move. The manager obtained information from a range of sources to support the transition. Information was shared from a previous placement that indicated the importance of clear behavioural boundaries from the start of the placement. However, agreements and behavioural boundaries were not implemented robustly from the start and the plans in relation to the child’s time in Inspection report for children's home: 2652672 4 the community were not adhered to. As a result, there have been episodes of the child going missing and the child has not settled or built trusted relationships with staff.

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improvement to be good

One child who had a planned admission to the home had a history of going missing from care and there were concerns over the risk of exploitation. Advice was given by external professionals as to how to communicate effectively with the child. This advice was not used to inform the child’s relevant safety plans. Staff did not consistently implement behavioural boundaries with the child. They were unclear about how time spent away from the home would be managed. Consequently, the child went missing from care, placing them at increased risk.

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improvement to be good

The child has had periods of being missing from care since moving to the home. The child has not had time to build trusted relationships with staff. Staff have followed missing-from-care procedures and liaised with police and the relevant local authority. During the periods of being missing, the child has travelled some distance from the home and been involved in misusing substances. This has meant the child is very vulnerable.

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improvement to be good

Managers made the decision for the child to move in despite having information that this had the potential to negatively impact on the other child living in the home. Additionally, insufficient consideration was given to whether staff had the skills, experience and confidence to work with this child. A multi-agency strategy meeting has taken place and managers are working closely with the local authority to consider next steps to ensure children’s safety.

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improvement to be good

One child has become safer and his risks have reduced. He has a detailed behaviour management plan and risk assessment that includes advice for staff on how to best support and promote positive behaviour. However, he remains vulnerable to influences from older children. The staff closely monitor this situation.

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improvement to be good

The home environment has improved. There are systems in place to ensure health and safety requirements are met, maintained and monitored to a satisfactory standard.

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improvement to be good

Staff and managers have undertaken the relevant safeguarding training and they understand their responsibility to report any concerns about staff practice and to follow safeguarding procedures. The manager ensures adherence to safer recruitment procedures to ensure that all adults working with vulnerable children are safe to do so. Inspection report for children's home: 2652672 5

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good

Leadership and management of the home are not yet good. Managers carried out an assessment before deciding to admit a child. They had information from a range of sources about the child’s risks and needs. Managers were over-optimistic about the ability of the staff to work with this child and to prevent them from going missing from care. They did not give sufficient weight to the potential impact on the other child in the home. Managers did not ensure there were robust agreements, strategies and contingency plans in place from the start to ensure the child’s safety.

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good

A range of records were reviewed and some poor recording by staff was identified. Additionally, there was a poor choice of language in some records. Leaders and the manager have not fully assured themselves through their oversight of records that individual work with children is purposeful and is effecting change.

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good

The independent visitor reports are thorough but there have been several different visitors. This does not help to build relationships with staff or children or to gain an understanding of care practice in the home. The responsible individual has escalated this with the commissioned service.

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good

The management team is committed and very established in the home. There have been changes to staffing arrangements but these have not impacted on children, as children have also moved. Social workers and external partner agencies are generally positive about information-sharing by managers and staff and about the experiences of children.

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good

Staff and the manager receive regular professional supervision. There is oversight of staff performance, and some staff have not passed their probationary period as further development has been identified by the manager. The manager also recognises staff strengths and, overall, supports staff development. This demonstrates the manager is aspirational for the service. Since the last inspection, there has been specific training to support staff to meet the needs of the children living in the home. However, staff require training to improve skills in motivating children and influencing their decisions and choices. Inspection report for children's home: 2652672 6

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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 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

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to ensuring an effective induction and robust safeguarding plans from the start for children moving to the home. 13 June 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

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

help each child to understand how to keep safe; 13 June 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2652672 7 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to ensuring staff have the skills and knowledge to support children to keep safe.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to helping children to attend their education provision, supporting that attendance and helping children make educational progress. 13 June 2023

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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. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that is helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children's home: 2652672 8

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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: 2652672 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bess Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jason Darbyshire

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Inspector

Cathey Moriarty, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2652672 10 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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