Children's home run by Jasmine Gardens Private Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2711543 1 Registered provider: Jasmine Gardens Private Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection since being registered with Ofsted in April 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 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: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2711543 2

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improvement to be good

Children are not currently attending school and do not have daily routines. Staff do not engage children in educational activities or in developing essential life skills. As a result, children’s learning and development are being hampered. Children have opposite views about how well staff support their wishes and feelings. One child said, ‘Staff listen to me and help me when I ask.’ Another child said, ‘I feel like the support isn’t there.’ Staff are not yet creative in exploring different ways to engage children who find it difficult to establish positive relationships. The manager does not yet have a system in place to enable staff to measure children’s progress effectively. Children are not supported to understand their journey so far in a way that is child- friendly and specific to their individual needs. Personalised plans have not been created for children and there is reliance on local authority documents.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children with their health needs, including their emotional well-being. When children do not want to attend health appointments, staff support them to understand the importance of accessing professional support and advice. An external professional said, ‘Before [name of child] moved in, staff explored the thoughts of other professionals, to support the child the best they can. Their understanding of the needs of the child was paramount.’ Children live in a warm and homely environment and bedrooms are personalised to reflect the children’s interests. Photographs of the children are displayed around the home, which adds to the homely feel. Children are supported by staff to access a variety of activities to enjoy.

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improvement to be good

When a child goes missing, staff do not consistently follow the plan in place or the home’s missing-from-care policy. Reports of when children have gone missing are either partly completed or not completed at all. This results in staff having a limited understanding of what happened. Children’s individual risk assessments are not sufficiently detailed or up to date. This means that staff are less able to de-escalate situations effectively. This leaves children at an increased risk of not receiving the support they need at times of crisis. Incidents when children struggle with their emotions are inconsistently recorded. When staff need to physically intervene to keep a child safe, there is no clear record of what intervention was used, how or why. When the manager reviews the incident Inspection report for children’s home: 2711543 3 report, she highlights where staff need to provide more detail. Despite this review,

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improvement to be good

the information can still be missing. Consequences given to children by staff are disproportionate. For example, a child was told that if they did not return home from free time at the agreed time and did not engage in education, they would not be able to go on a planned trip and their free time the following day would be reduced. Opportunities to help children learn and develop are missed as a result. Children know how to make a complaint. When children make a complaint or allegation, investigations are thorough and completed in a timely manner by managers. The manager responds to children, which helps them feel listened to. Children are supported by staff prior to moving into the home. This includes visits to the home to meet the staff. The manager considers known risks for children and how to ensure that the needs of children already living in the home are not impacted.

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good

The manager has oversight of the care provided to children. However, this oversight lacks critical reflection. There are missed opportunities to learn from practice and improve the care provided to children. Staff have not accessed or been provided with training to ensure that they have the skills needed to support the needs of the children. For example, not all staff have completed safeguarding training and there is no evidence that staff have been provided with training relating to child criminal exploitation. Team meetings are not held regularly. Staff supervision is also not regular and does not include discussions around keeping children safe or personal welfare. One member of staff has had only one formal supervision in a five-month period, and the manager has had only two formal supervisions over a six-month period. Consequently, members of staff are not having opportunities to receive professional

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good

guidance to develop their care practice. Serious incidents are not always shared with the regulator. This prevents a thorough evaluation from being carried out and restricts Ofsted’s ability to evaluate how well children are safeguarded in the home. The manager and deputy manager are committed to providing good care to children. The manager is aware of areas for development in the team and has plans to progress these, although they are not yet embedded. An external professional said, ‘Their [the manager and deputy manager] approach of care is really refreshing, honest and fair.’ One member of staff said, ‘The managers have gone over and above to make sure that [name of home] is a happy and caring home for the young people.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2711543 4

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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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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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help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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 effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that risk assessments are detailed and regularly updated to reflect 13 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2711543 5 newly identified risks. It also relates to ensuring that staff work in line with the home’s missing-from-care policy.

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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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helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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

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ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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

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research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff are appropriately supported to improve and develop their practice and the care provided to children. It also relates to senior management support being provided to the 13 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2711543 6 registered person. Furthermore, there should be clear reflection and management oversight of the home to ensure that staff have the opportunity to learn from practice.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that, when children are not attending any form of education, staff facilitate alternative forms of education, including activities that will support children to learn. 13 December 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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the name of the child; 13 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2711543 7 details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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

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a description of the measure and its duration;

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details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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

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a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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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has spoken to the user about the measure;

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has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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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)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that, when guides or holds have been used with children, they are recorded in detail in the incident report and as a physical intervention.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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are kept up to date; and 13 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2711543 8 are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that clear and detailed records are made and kept up to date.

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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 any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to two incidents that the registered manager agrees should have been sent as a notification. 13 December 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that consequences used for children’s negative behaviour are proportionate and provide an opportunity for children to learn and develop skills to help manage their behaviour more effectively. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that children’s wishes are always considered. Where they are not in children’s best interests, children should be supported to understand why. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 22, paragraph 4.9)

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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: 2711543 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Jasmine Gardens Private Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 81 Jasmine Gardens, Hatfield AL10 0BN

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Inspectors

Kathryn Hurley, Social Care Inspector Angela Duffus-Palmer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2711543 10 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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