Children's Home, Residential special school run by Aurora Care and Education Opco Limited in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1229766 1 Registered provider: Aurora Care and Education Opco Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to 29 children with complex needs, including autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, profound learning difficulties and/or sensory and/or physical impairments. Most children attend the on-site school. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left on 27 February 2023. A new manager has been appointed and is in the process of applying for registration with Ofsted.

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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 good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1229766 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/06/2022 Full Good 17/11/2021 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/05/2021 Full Good 19/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1229766 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, there were 19 children living at the home. Children are supported with good-quality individualised care that improves their well-being and future opportunities. Children provided positive feedback about staff and said that they enjoy spending time with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build strong relationships with children and have a good understanding of their complex needs. Staff act as positive role models and treat children with dignity and high mutual regard. Parents identified the positive difference that staff’s support has made to children’s progress in their independence and behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaging well in their education and have high attendance. Staff support children’s education targets and maintain children’s learning experiences at the home. Managers have recently improved the working relationships between residential staff and school staff. This has strengthened the approach to children’s learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a wide range of meaningful experiences. These include trips to the beach, zoos and restaurants. A variety of sensory activities are available at the home, including access to an on-site hydrotherapy pool. Well-planned activities meet children’s individual preferences and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive support from a range of professionals, including nurses and occupational speech and language therapists. Feedback from social workers and parents highlights the success of this collaborative working and how it meets children’s complex needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is generally well appointed and equipped to meet children’s preferences. Managers have invested in new good-quality play equipment in the grounds, which is enjoyed by children. However, flooring in two of the flats is worn and needs replacing. While improvement works are planned, these issues detract from what is otherwise a well-decorated home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate children’s milestones and recognise children’s achievements. Pictorial memorabilia provide an important keepsake for children to reflect on their successes. However, the system in capturing the steps to help children become more independent needs improving. Further development is also needed for staff to support children with reduced levels of communication to better express their views about the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although managers’ general oversight of children’s plans is good, one child’s health action plan has not been reviewed within manager’s timescales. Another child’s plan around their mental health is not up to date to effectively guide staff. This means Inspection report for children’s home: 1229766 4 that strategies to promote better health outcomes for these children may not be fully understood or followed by staff.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Parents have trust and confidence that the staff advocate for their children’s best interests, safety and well-being. Staff provide consistent routines that help children to feel secure. This is an important factor for children who rely on consistent routines and clear expectations to help them to feel safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The implementation of good-quality risk assessments actively ensures that children are safer. Staff are not risk-averse and use dynamic risk assessments to ensure that children take balanced risks. Staff respond to the children’s progress by reducing levels of supervision when it is safe to do so. For example, one child has moved to less staffing for increased periods of time during the day. This is an important milestone for the child’s development.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff successfully use proactive behaviour management strategies to reduce situations that can increase children’s anxiety. Staff have a good awareness of potential triggers and combine this with effective de-escalation approaches to minimise difficult incidents. No physical interventions have been necessary since the last inspection.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Managers maintain appropriate safer recruitment processes for staff. Agency staff checks have recently improved and ensure that these staff have had appropriate suitability checks before working at the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are well trained in understanding effective safeguarding practice. They are clear about their roles and responsibilities to safeguard the children, and have good knowledge of the children’s additional vulnerabilities.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Some of the investigations into safeguarding concerns are not thorough enough. One investigation into an allegation of harm lacked professional curiosity and depth. Staff’s statements were not checked, and other records were missing. This contravenes the home’s policy to ensure that safeguarding investigations are fair and comprehensive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager left in February 2023. A new experienced and qualified manager has been appointed and is in the process of registering with Ofsted. The new manager is part of the senior leadership team. The managers oversee the support for children across five individual flats. Managers are child focused and determined to provide good-quality outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recent staff recruitment initiatives have been successful. This has led to less reliance on agency staff. Agreed staffing ratios with children’s placing authorities are adhered to. Children are beginning to benefit from increased continuity of care. Inspection report for children’s home: 1229766 5 Staff receive a wide range of training that equips them with the skills and understanding to meet the children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel well supported by managers. Most staff receive supervision in line with the home’s policy. However, supervisions for agency staff who work regular shifts are not frequent enough. As a result, these agency staff do not have suitable time to reflect on their practice and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managerial monitoring systems are generally effective. However, there are gaps in recording important body chart records for one child. This has not led to increased risk of harm for the child, but has the potential to do so if left unchecked.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s internal quality of care review contains areas of good evaluation and reflection. However, this fails to consider consultations with children and staff. Furthermore, objectives identified for continuous improvement are not always specific or measurable. These reviews could be further developed in order to make a stronger contribution to the wider system of quality assurance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Processes for notifying Ofsted are in place. Most notifications are completed when required. However, one allegation about a member of staff was not notified. This reduces Ofsted’s capacity to ensure that appropriate safeguarding arrangements are place. Inspection report for children’s home: 1229766 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, the 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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that records of investigations are comprehensive and include all the required details. 7 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met.

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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

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 10 (1)(a) (2)(a)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure health action plans are up to date. 7 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 7 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1229766 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is decorated to a consistently high standard throughout the accommodation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that managerial monitoring systems identify and action gaps in staff’s recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that children’s progress in independence and expressing their views is systematically monitored. (‘Guide to the Children s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should ensure that agency staff receive supervision at appropriate intervals. (‘Guide to the Children s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The registered person should ensure that the quality of care review meets all the

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Recommendations

aspects stipulated in Regulation 45. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

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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: 1229766 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aurora Care and Education Opco Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 13, Twigworth Court Business Centre, Tewkesbury Road, Gloucester, Gloucestershire GL2 9PG

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Inspectors

Mark Anderton, Social Care Inspector Russel Breyer, His Majesty’s Inspector, Social Care Leanne Lyon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1229766 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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