Children's Home, Residential special school run by MacIntyre Care in Buckinghamshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC043994 1 SC043994 Registered provider: MacIntyre Care Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is part of an independent school for children with autism and learning disabilities. The home provides care for up to 20 children across four houses. At the time of the inspection, 15 children were living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this school.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 21 December 2019.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC043994 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/08/2022 Full Good 09/06/2021 Full Good 21/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/07/2019 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: SC043994 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from highly individualised care provided by nurturing staff. This approach successfully helps the children to make progress and have improved outcomes. One child who moved into the home with limited personal care skills has made considerable progress towards independence in this area.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children lead busy lives. Staff provide children with a varied after-school programme and activities at the weekend. Children take part in activities they enjoy, in the community and in the home and school grounds, such as sensory play, arts and crafts and cooking.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children all attend the school on site. Staff work closely with school staff to help the children go to and from school. There are regular meetings between staff and the school to ensure consistency in staff practice and to promote educational progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met. An experienced and knowledgeable nurse oversees children’s healthcare plans and staff training. The nurse works with the staff, healthcare professionals and therapists to provide holistic care to children with complex health needs. There are clear plans for managing children’s specific health needs, such as epilepsy.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children spend quality time with their families. They can be with their families in private rooms in the home as well as meeting them out in the community. Families are provided with weekly updates about their children. One family member said the staff are very supportive, communication is good and their child has made progress since living in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff plan children’s moves into the home effectively. They get to know the children before they move in by spending quality time with them, video-calling them and sending pictures and videos of the home to reduce the stress of moving home. This approach has been effective and children settle in well.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use children’s preferred communication aids to gain their views and involve them in day-to-day decisions in the home. Staff help children to express their views on meal planning, activities and the decor of the home, including their bedrooms.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the children to celebrate national cultural events. However, staff do not do all they can to promote children’s individual ethnicities and cultural backgrounds, to develop the child’s identity. This is a missed opportunity to recognise and promote children’s diverse backgrounds and ethnicities on an individual basis. Inspection report for children's home: SC043994 4

p.3

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

Staff understand the children’s vulnerabilities and risks. Staff update plans and amend practice to reduce harm following any accidents or incidents. For example, staff changed cleaning schedules and gave one child slipper socks to reduce the risks of them slipping and falling. This proactive approach is effective and reduces risks to children.

p.4

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

Staff have a clear and consistent approach to supporting the children when they become upset or unsettled. They follow detailed plans created with the organisation’s therapy team that reflect the home’s ethos and provide staff with the guidance to care for the children. Staff use physical interventions infrequently. When they do, they record these well and there is good management oversight.

p.4

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

The manager has good oversight of safeguarding concerns. They promote an open and transparent approach to safeguarding and work closely with social workers, parents and the local authority designated officer (LADO). The manager’s recording of action taken following a safeguarding concern is sometimes incomplete and does not reflect the actions that have been taken. Additionally, on one occasion, the manager did not follow advice provided by the LADO. There was no impact on children from these shortfalls.

p.4

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

Since the last inspection, there has been a period of increased concerns about staff practice. Managers identified this and carried out a review of the concerns and took appropriate action. This included reorganising the staff structure, managers working evening shifts and carrying out spot checks. This has been effective in improving staff practice.

p.4

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

Managers complete all required checks on new staff. They have audited the recruitment practice of the company that supplies agency staff, to ensure the checks they carry out are of a good standard. This has been effective in ensuring that suitable staff are caring for the children.

p.4

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

Risk assessments are detailed and of good quality. These risk assessments are available to staff and are kept with the children to ensure staff can access them in an emergency. Staff can clearly explain risks for children. However, they do not always record that they have read the most up-to-date assessments for children, in line with the home’s procedures.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced and suitably qualified manager, who is well supported by two home managers who oversee the day-to-day running of the homes. There is an interim responsible individual in post to oversee an organisational restructure.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring systems are effective. Since the last full inspection, in August 2022, leaders have commissioned expert help to improve the systems they had in place. These are continuing to be developed and embedded in practice. Managers are Inspection report for children's home: SC043994 5 aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and have a development plan to continue to improve the quality of care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, staffing levels have improved. Managers have addressed concerns about staffing levels through recruitment and the reorganisation of staff teams. Staff say they are happy and the managers are approachable. The teams work well together to care for the children.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff follow a comprehensive induction programme. This is monitored by leaders and feedback is provided to the staff on their performance, to improve practice and ensure that staff are competent in their role.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers work effectively with professionals. Social care professionals report high levels of communication. Staff contribute effectively to the children’s care plans and reviews.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers carry out supervisions regularly, in line with the home’s policy. Supervisions cover key areas such as safeguarding, the children’s needs and staff well-being. However, the quality of the recording of supervisions is variable and discussion points and actions are not always clear.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well trained in the home’s required mandatory training. Not all staff are trained in the specific needs of the children, such as autism. However, staff know the children well and understand the children’s needs, reducing the impact of this.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has completed their quality of care review but they have not submitted this to Ofsted. Inspection report for children's home: SC043994 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

p.6

Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (4)(a)) 29 December

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the content and/or outcomes of supervisions are clearly recorded. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff have the relevant knowledge to care for children with autism. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.12)  The registered person should ensure that staff help children to understand who they are and where they come from. Staff should help children explore their family’s culture and backgrounds. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14)  The registered person should ensure that advice on safeguarding matters from the LADO is followed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.18)

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the outcome of investigations following serious events and communications with external agencies are clearly recorded. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.14)  The registered person should ensure staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Also, that all staff have read the plans to reduce the risks for children. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report for children's home: SC043994 7

p.6

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: SC043994 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspectors

Mark Dawkins, Social Care Inspector Lisa O’Donovan, Social Care Inspector Harby Bashir, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC043994 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.

p.8

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9