Children's Home run by Momentum Residential Care Home Ltd in Essex

Inspection report for children’s home: 2621215 1 Registered provider: Momentum Residential Care Home Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private provider. It can provide care for up to four children who experience emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has not had a registered manager since March 2023. An application to register a new manger was received by Ofsted in July 2023.

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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following a full inspection in May 2023, Ofsted served compliance notices in relation to serious shortfalls identified in leadership and management and help and protection. Ofsted also served notice restricting accommodation. On 15 June 2023, Ofsted conducted a monitoring visit. The monitoring visit found that the provider had not met steps set out in the compliance notices. Further compliance notices relating to leadership and management and help and protection were served on 21 June 2023. Inspection report for children’s home: 2621215 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/05/2023 Full Inadequate 12/07/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/04/2022 Full Inadequate 20/01/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2621215 3

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improvement to be good

The provider has complied with the notice restricting accommodation, and no children have moved into the home. One child was living at the home during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

The provider has taken steps to make improvements in the help and protection and leadership and management of the service. Consequently, the provider has met the steps set out in the compliance notices. These improvements are from a low base and are in their infancy. It is too soon to assess whether they are embedded. In addition, the improvements have not been strong enough to prevent some further shortfalls in practice.

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improvement to be good

The child has developed good relationships with most staff and said that living at the home is ‘OK’. The inspector observed the child seek staff out for help and support. Staff responded with warmth and empathy. Staff and managers were seen sharing laughs and humour with the child.

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improvement to be good

The home has been redecorated. It feels bright and homely. The child’s bedroom reflects their interests and personality. The child is building a model road scene in their room and has their own drawings on the wall. They also have a fish tank and a snail tank in their room.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child to take part in meaningful activities. Staff supported them to visit a seaside town close to their previous placement after the child requested this. Staff have also redecorated the chill-out room and provided the child with a board and pens so he can draw.

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improvement to be good

The child’s end-of-year education report shows significant social and academic progress. Staff have supported the child to attend a transition day at a school that he is due to join at the start of the new academic year. This is a significant achievement as they have not attended a school provision for several years.

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improvement to be good

The child’s mother described the staff and the manager as ‘fantastic’. She particularly commented on the child’s educational and social progress and the support the family receives from staff, which enables them to spend time together.

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improvement to be good

The social work team manager said staff have provided significant support and structure to enable the child to attend school. She also feels the support during the times he spends with his family has helped relationships improve. Inspection report for children’s home: 2621215 4

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have overseen several improvements in practice. However, some shortfalls remain. Staff do not always follow children’s plans and assessments or respond appropriately to the child. On one occasion, a member of staff suggested to the child that they would have a consequence imposed if they did not take their medication. On another occasion, a member of staff did not follow the child’s behaviour management plan. Managers had identified these issues, which did not have serious consequences on the child. However, these shortfalls demonstrate the need for improvement.

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improvement to be good

Following a minor incident, staff received a workshop on managing ligature risks. However, staff spoken to during the inspection were uncertain about how to manage these concerns. In addition, staff could not easily access the ligature cutters from the locked medication cabinet as they could not locate the keys in a timely manner.

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improvement to be good

The child’s plans and risk assessments are comprehensive and include actions staff need to take to keep the child safe. New and emerging risks are identified and assessments completed. For example, the risk of the child using a bike to go missing from the home has been addressed and appropriate safety plans are in place.

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improvement to be good

Appropriate action is taken when the child goes missing from home. Staff understand the protocol and follow it. This includes reporting incidents to the police and the placing authority. Staff carry bags while on shift that contain a phone and keys to the home, so they can react quickly to incidents.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child to understand risks. The child’s wishes and feelings are sought in debriefs following incidents, including restraints and missing-from-home episodes. Staff also complete one-to-one work with the child to address known risks. This allows the child to explore risks and how to keep themselves safe.

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improvement to be good

The child has made one allegation of harm against a member of staff since the last inspection. The allegation was appropriately reported to the local area designated officer and the placing authority. Staff followed advice, and appropriate action was taken to safeguard the child.

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good

Leaders and managers have overseen improvements since the last inspection. As a result, there are no longer widespread, serious concerns about the home. These improvements need to be embedded and sustained to ensure that managers have a consistently good oversight of the service and that the quality of care continues to improve.

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good

The responsible individual has visited the home weekly since the last inspection. These visits have included quality assurance audits and training workshops for staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2621215 5 However, the assurance plan provided to Ofsted following the previous inspection and associated compliance notices has not been fully implemented. This includes the responsible individual not providing the manager with fortnightly supervision sessions.

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good

The interim manager provides staff with feedback and debriefs following incidents. Incident reports are sent to the responsible individual, who reviews these as part of the audit process. However, these reviews have not been recorded, limiting the opportunity for leaders and managers to identify patterns or trends.

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good

Managers generally understand the challenges of running the home and what needs to improve. However, leaders and managers had not received the independent visitor’s report from the month of June, so were unaware of the findings. The report had not been requested from the independent visitor until the day of the inspection, despite the visit taking place over a month ago. This lack of action has the potential to limit the knowledge that leaders and managers have about the service and compromise the actions they need to take.

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good

Leaders and managers know the child well and understand their risks and vulnerabilities. They are ambitious for the child and proud of their achievements in education and the plan for the child to attend school full time. Inspection report for children’s home: 2621215 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

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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)) 3 September 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that skills in safeguarding are gained, refreshed and understood. In particular, ensure that staff have understood the ligature training received and are able to access ligature cutters promptly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12)  The registered person should ensure that they actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under Regulation 44) to ensure continuous improvement. In particular, they should ensure that reports under Regulation 44 are received promptly, allowing for timely and informed action to be taken to address identified shortfalls, and that internal quality assurance and review are captured on case records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that supervision of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, ensure that the manager receives supervision as identified as necessary in the assurance plan. (‘Guide to Inspection report for children’s home: 2621215 7 the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 2621215 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Momentum Residential Care Home Ltd

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Inspector

Tom McGhee, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2621215 9 inspects 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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