Children's Home run by Anchor Care and Education Ltd in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2680971 1 Registered provider: Anchor Care and Education Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned home that is registered to care for up to four children who are currently unable to live with their families. This is the home’s first inspection since being registered in December 2022.

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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: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2680971 2

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improvement to be good

Staff have struggled to support children to manage their own behaviour. This has meant that a very young child has witnessed aggressive behaviour towards staff, serious disruption and racism. Furthermore, this child has been encouraged to join in, and make allegations against staff. One child has now moved on. The remaining children have become more settled. However, this is the youngest child’s first experience of residential care, and they witnessed the aggression in the home almost immediately after moving in. This raises concerns about potential long-term emotional and psychological harm.

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improvement to be good

The leadership team has carried out a ‘lessons learned’ exercise and has strengthened the assessment process for children moving into the home. The new process has not yet been tested but does appear to be an improvement.

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improvement to be good

Children and staff have not been adequately protected from risks associated with fire and smoke inhalation. Fire-escape routes and fire-fighting equipment have not been safe. Children and staff have not been provided with safe routes to escape a fire. This is slowly being rectified.

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improvement to be good

Children living at the home now present as happy and more settled. Despite significant early disruption in the home, the children have made substantial progress from their starting points. For example, one child now has an improved personal- hygiene routine. Another has just been awarded the bronze certificate for the company’s challenge award. He is rightly proud of himself and displays the certificate on his bedroom wall. All children complete a version of the award, which focuses on independent-living skills.

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improvement to be good

Children now have good relationships with each other. Staff have warm and nurturing relationships with children, and the children now respond positively to staff.

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improvement to be good

Children are not currently in school and are not receiving any form of formal education. The registered manager understands how important education is for children. She has been a strong advocate for children’s education. However, delays with the virtual school mean that children are missing their education. Nevertheless, staff support children well with learning at home and provide them with planned education throughout the day.

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improvement to be good

Children are healthy. Staff have a good understanding of how to meet their healthcare needs. Children are encouraged to eat healthily and to exercise. They participate in lots of activities, from going to a theme park and the seaside to playing in the park. Inspection report for children’s home: 2680971 3 Children’s views, wishes and feelings are important to staff. They support children’s views with, for example, the ‘You said, we did’ initiative.

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improvement to be good

Staff generally manage incidents well. They use therapeutic approaches to support children. However, there have been occasions of inconsistent practice or not following the strategies outlined in the child’s plans. For example, staff returned a gaming controller after it had been taken away because it was the planned time for the controller to be handed back. The controller was returned on several occasions because the children became angry and aggressive towards staff.

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improvement to be good

When incidents have occurred, a manager completes a discussion or debrief with staff and children involved in the incident. However, not all staff involved have been party to this discussion. These discussions are an important management monitoring tool, and they support the manager in decision-making and improving the service. They provide a useful opportunity for staff to reflect on the incident to gain a better understanding of the child and what happened. They also help staff to reflect on what worked well or what they could have done differently.

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improvement to be good

The manager reviews all incident records. However, she has not mentioned in her comments when records of the same incident have contradicted each other, and she has not responded to staff concerns.

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improvement to be good

The language used in one report is inappropriate and there also appears to be a veiled threat against a young child. This has not been identified by the registered manager and, therefore, no action has been taken to ascertain whether this is a recording issue or a safeguarding concern.

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improvement to be good

Several hazards were apparent within the home. Most were rectified immediately but others, such as some that relate to fire protection, have not been dealt with within the timescales given in the fire risk assessment. For example, some actions that the assessment states should be completed immediately have not yet been completed over two months later. This means that escape routes and fire-detecting equipment are not functioning as they should be. This could put children and staff at risk if a fire broke out in the home. However, all actions are planned for the near future.

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improvement to be good

Consequences children receive for unwanted behaviour are generally appropriate and children can ‘earn back’ what they have lost. For example, a child who threw stones at a car helped a member of staff to wash several cars. However, another, younger, child who threw a stone at a car was given a five-day car ban. He was told he had to behave well during that period. The child believed that he would not be able to see his mum if he did not behave. This was not true, but the child did not know that. The consequence given was not age-appropriate. The manager said that she has addressed this matter with the staff concerned, but there is no written evidence of this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2680971 4 Children do not go missing from this home. Children said that they feel safe in the home. There are lots of staff to keep the children entertained.

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good

The registered manager has not provided good oversight of incident records and she has not followed up a potential safeguarding concern. Concerns about staff practice are addressed but are not always recorded. Therefore, continued poor practice would be difficult to evidence.

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good

The leadership team is child-centred and wants the best for the children living in the home. The team has good plans to improve the home and has been very responsive to concerns raised within this inspection. Leaders have resolved any concerns that could be resolved immediately.

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good

Staff morale has been low, and staff have felt exhausted. However, since one child has left the home, staff have pulled together, and morale is much better. The manager has supported staff well through a difficult period.

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good

New staff have praised the new induction process. They said that they feel well- prepared for working with the children after the initial week-long training programme, which takes place away from the home. Staff have good training opportunities. Most staff are qualified or are undertaking the appropriate qualification. This means that staff have the skills and knowledge to be able to provide good care for the children in the home.

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good

Staff know the children well. They have a good understanding of how to support the children when they are struggling. They have a positive attitude towards the children.

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good

External professionals are mostly happy with the way their children are cared for. They said that communication is good and that children make good progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2680971 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 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

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))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring that staff reduce the impact of the behaviour of children on other children. 30 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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring that the home is well maintained and that areas that are meant to be locked, due to hazardous materials stored in the areas, are kept locked. 30 June 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— 30 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2680971 6 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to the manager providing a critical review of records and, when records indicate a concern, that the concern is explored. The manager should also ensure that consequences given to children are age-appropriate. Furthermore, discussions after incidents should take place with all the staff involved in the incident.

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring that deficits identified within a fire risk assessment are completed within the timescales set within the fire risk assessment to ensure that children and staff are able to safely escape from a fire. 30 June 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: 2680971 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Anchor Care and Education Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ensors Accountants Llp, Moseleys Farm Business Centre, Fornham All Saints, Bury St Edmunds IP28 6JY

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Inspector

Joanne Vyas, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2680971 8 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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