Children's Home run by Virtue Therapeutic Care and Education (East Sussex) Limited in East Sussex

Inspection report for children’s home: 2675807 1 Registered provider: Virtue Therapeutic Care and Education (East Sussex) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately run and is registered to provide care for up to eight children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. Therapy is available to all children if required. There is a registered school on site. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision on this site. There are currently five children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since October 2022. The interim managers have not applied to be registered.

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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

Date of last inspection: 10 January 2023

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2675807 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2675807 3

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improvement to be good

The process of moving new children into the home lacks scrutiny. There is insufficient consideration as to whether the staff are able to meet the competing needs of the children as a group. The compatibility of new children living in home lacks scrutiny, which potentially undermines the ability of the staff to meet the needs of the children as a whole group. This is having a negative impact on some children’s ability to settle and thrive.

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improvement to be good

The staff make an effort to deliver personalised care and promote positive outcomes. However, the varied needs of the children, and their different interests, make relationship building difficult. As a result, some children do not have a positive experience of living at the home.

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improvement to be good

The children and staff who have lived or worked in the home for some time have established positive relationships. However, changes in staff and lack of continuity have negatively affected the ability for some children, and new staff, to build positive relationships.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote positive relationships between children and their families. The staff plan and supervise these visits well to ensure that the children enjoy their family time. However, information shared with staff and managers by the children, regarding concerns about peer relationships in the home, is not always discussed with parents. Consequently, parents do not have a full picture of their children’s experience of living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged and supported to attend education. The staff work closely with school staff to ensure that children who attend the school on site remain on school premises during their educational time. This helps the children understand the importance of educational routines.

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improvement to be good

Staff value the children’s interests such as going fishing. The staff support the children to develop independence skills. Staff encourage children to complete age- appropriate tasks such as shopping and seeking suitable local jobs. This helps the children feel empowered to confidently take the next steps towards adulthood.

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improvement to be good

The children have complex needs and some of these needs potentially pose a risk to others. Some staff members are targeted by some children. On occasion, this has resulted in these staff receiving injuries. Inspection report for children’s home: 2675807 4 Discussions are not held quickly with children and staff after every incident. Consequently, staff do not have the opportunity to reflect on incidents to understand if things could be avoided, or better managed, in the future. The children’s individual risk assessments are not reviewed regularly or updated after significant events. This potentially undermines staff’s ability to keep children and staff safe.

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improvement to be good

There is peer-on-peer bullying in the home. Reports of bullying behaviours have not been addressed effectively by staff. There is no strategic plan or approach in place to reduce this behaviour. Children’s risk assessments do not reflect the high levels of concern, or provide guidance for staff on how to manage this effectively. Consequently, children involved feel unsafe and are at risk of emotional and physical harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff rarely use physical intervention. They support the children to manage their emotions and feelings through de-escalation techniques. However, when incidents involving children engaging in violence occurs, these are not always clearly recorded. The circumstances leading to incidents, and actions taken to manage these, are not clearly detailed in the reports. The managers’ oversight of incidents is ineffective. The review fails to explore any emerging patterns and trends, or scrutinise staff’s practice. The lack of effective management oversight risks poor practice not being quickly identified and addressed.

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improvement to be good

Some areas of the home are clean and well decorated. However, some children’s bedrooms have broken door frames, and damage at the home has not been repaired quickly. The first floor shared space, therefore, does not feel homely. Some window restrictors are broken. As a result, the children have accessed the roof.

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improvement to be good

Children do not usually go missing. However, there are clear protocols for staff to follow when children do go missing. The staff follow the children and encourage them to return safely.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers adhere to safer recruitment processes. They ensure that all checks are completed during the recruitment of new staff.

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good

The home has been without a registered manager since October 2022. Two new acting managers have joined the organisation. The provider has not informed Ofsted of the current management arrangements and neither individual has applied for registration. Therefore it is not clear what the current management arrangements are and there is unclear management oversight of the home. As a result, records are not up to date and important information could not be located.

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good

Staff have not received good-quality regular supervision. When supervisions do occur, records are sometimes brief, or aspects of care are not addressed. Despite managers being aware of weaknesses in the home, there was a lack of clear and decisive action to address shortfalls. Inspection report for children’s home: 2675807 5 Managers do not have clear oversight in respect of the training staff have completed. This is particularly important as the managers and some staff are new. As a result, managers are unable to demonstrate that all staff have completed training in physical restraint, medication and preventing and managing bullying. This has the potential to undermine staff’s ability to meet the needs of the children.

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good

The new managers are building relationships with external professionals. However, the lack of consistent clear leadership in the home has undermined communication with children’s social workers. Some serious incidents have not been shared with the relevant external agencies, including children’s placing authorities. This undermines effective partnership working. It also undermines the ability of those with parental responsibility to understand the quality of care and support the child is receiving. Inspection report for children’s home: 2675807 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that the children’s placing authority is informed of incidents of harm, whether observed by staff or reported by children. 20 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a) (2)(a)(iii)(xiii)(b)) 20 October 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 staff— 20 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2675807 7 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

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;

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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)(a)(i)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children are not able to access unsafe spaces in the home.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, ensure that children’s risk assessments are updated after incidents and each significant event.

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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 requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all staff complete core training. 20 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2675807 8 If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, provide full details of the manager to Ofsted. Furthermore, ensure that the acting manager submits an application for registration. 20 October 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

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(ii)(iv)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 20 October 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a homely and domestic environment. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations; however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to Inspection report for children’s home: 2675807 9 maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2675807 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Virtue Therapeutic Care and Education (East Sussex) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Moran House Suites 7-8, 449-451 High Road, Willesden, London NW10 2JJ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Matthew Wakeling

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Inspector

Jane Balfe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2675807 11 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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