Children's Home run by MacIntyre Care in Hertfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 1 Registered provider: MacIntyre Care Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home, which is run by a private organisation, provides care for up to five children aged 11 to 18 with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since September 2022.

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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: 2510323 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/04/2022 Full Good 18/05/2021 Full Outstanding 04/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 14/08/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, four children have moved into the home and four children have moved on. At the time of the inspection, four children were living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children were observed to be happy, playful and relaxed with the staff. Staff have meaningful relationships with children, and they show children genuine care and interest. Children feel secure, valued and loved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress with education. They all have specialist education placements. The staff maintain close communication with schools. There is a school-to-home communication book. Staff and school regularly review children’s educational targets. This partnership approach helps to provide consistent care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have complex health needs. Some children have their health closely overseen by health professionals and this includes detailed healthcare plans to help guide staff. Staff have appropriate training. They understand the importance of providing high-quality care to meet children’s health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a range of activities, including day trips to local festivals, theme parks and theatre productions. One child said, ‘Staff take me to the library often, because it is my favourite activity.’ Parents are welcomed to participate in activities in and out of the home. Children thoroughly enjoy these fun and enriching experiences and can enjoy them with family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to work towards simple and achievable independence targets. Staff encourage children to make choices about their care. One child who struggled to have her hair brushed and washed, now allows staff to help her with daily haircare. This is good progress for the child. Children achieve important targets, to increase their independence and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves in and out of the home are planned and managed sensitively. Staff ensure that children who move out of the home are well prepared before they move on. After one child had moved out, the manager and staff provided further outreach support. This helps children to experience positive endings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious, with different communal rooms for children to relax in. There is a sensory room and art room. Children’s photos and artwork are displayed around the home. Children’s bedrooms are personalised. The children have access to an outdoor gym and trampoline in the garden. When inspectors arrived at the home, the entrance gate, leading directly to a residential road, was wide open. This gate had been broken the day before. The manager did not initially have a date for when this was to be repaired but escalated the concern during the inspection. In addition, Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 4 the home is not clean throughout. These shortfalls have the potential to compromise safety and detract from the homeliness of the environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff and registered manager have raised concerns about fire doors in the building. However, this had not led to the long-standing issues being addressed. The manager had taken action to mitigate the risks, including increased use of night staff. When the issues were highlighted during the inspection, an independent fire maintenance company visited the home to review the safety of the doors.

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

Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding. They understand the additional vulnerability of disabled children. They are aware of signs that could indicate safeguarding concerns.

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

Staff know the whistle-blowing procedures. They know how to raise and escalate concerns if needed.

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

Staff provide children with support attuned to their needs. They ensure that children receive appropriate support after incidents. The support staff provide children is aided by detailed behaviour plans which identify triggers and strategies for de- escalation.

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

Staff manage medication well. Leaders and managers learn from medication errors. Following an error, procedural changes were made to reduce the likelihood of reoccurrence.

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

Staff have a clear understanding of each child’s personal care needs. Risk assessments are detailed and individualised for each child. However, written guidance for staff, including agency staff, does not cover personal care. On one occasion, this absence of guidance contributed to a child who requires personal care receiving an inconsistent response from staff.

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

Restraint is rarely used. However, although managers monitor records, the records are poor. Important information, such as date, time, type and duration of restraints is missing. This does not enable clear oversight for the manager to influence practice, monitor appropriateness or identify trends.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is knowledgeable and experienced. He is working towards an appropriate qualification. The manager is an excellent role model to staff. The staff are motivated to deliver good-quality care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive good, regular supervision and good-quality training. This includes training with an in-house positive behaviour support lead. Staff said that the training and supervision help them to understand and meet children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 5 Two social workers and two parents said they were impressed with the care children receive. One social worker said, ‘Staff use creative ways to manage a child’s anxiety. Staff really know him and understand him. He has made excellent progress.’ The manager and staff have good relationships with external professionals and parents, ensuring joined-up working and helping to achieve good outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff help children to understand how to make complaints, through social stories. This has contributed to children being able to raise some low-level complaints. These are managed well. The manager writes to the children to acknowledge the complaint and inform them of the steps that have been taken. This helps children feel listened to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An independent person reviews the home each month and writes a report that is sent to Ofsted. The reports are of good quality and include feedback from children, parents and professionals. The independent person makes appropriate recommendations, which help the managers to make improvements to the quality of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has submitted their internal monitoring review to Ofsted as required. The report is generally of good quality and includes feedback from children and parents. However, the report does not include feedback from staff or professionals, and feedback that has been received has not been evaluated. This limits the effectiveness of the review process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met four of the five requirements that were raised at the last inspection. These relate to the manager registering with Ofsted, the quality of managers’ investigations, staff supervisions and the fire risk assessment and training. One requirement has been restated, in respect of the home’s environment. Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 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

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(1) 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

In particular, ensure that the fire doors in the home are safe and effective and all recommendations made in the home’s fire risk assessment are implemented within timescale. 31 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 31 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 28 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 7 ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all areas inside and outside the home including the external gates, are maintained to a good standard, and that the house provides a homely environment for children.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last full inspection and is restated.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there are clear plans in place for staff to understand and meet the personal care needs of the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.12)  The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact that the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. The report should include feedback from staff and professionals and all feedback should be evaluated. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, 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: 2510323 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: MacIntyre Care, Seebeck House, 1 Seebeck Place, Milton Keynes MK5 8FR

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Inspectors

Amy Miles, Social Care Inspector Leah Stannard, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 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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