Children's home run by Potensial Limited

Inspection report children's home: SC489820 1 SC489820 Registered provider: Potensial Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home is operated by an independent national company. The home provides care for up to four children who have learning disabilities. There are currently two children living in the home.

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Information about this children's home

The registered manager post has been vacant since May 2023. A manager has been appointed and has made an application to register with Ofsted.

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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: 6 September 2022

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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 children's home: SC489820 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/09/2022 Full Good 04/08/2021 Full Good 15/01/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 25/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: SC489820 3

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improvement to be good

Children have experienced significant change and disruption in the home over the last six months. One child in particular has struggled with the departure of the former manager and their key worker. Other staff also left, meaning the children experienced lots of change, working with staff who did not always know them well. Leaders have worked hard to improve stability and consistency. A team of permanent staff now support children. Children enjoy positive relationships with staff, who are responsive and attentive to their needs. Children’s care plans are succinct and inform staff about how to care for them. However, information about children’s medical conditions lacks detail. It does not fully explain what they mean for children and their support needs.

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improvement to be good

The two children currently living in the home have made good progress. One child has increased their time at school, and they are now able to attend full time. Staff have worked with the child to support them to feel comfortable on school transport, increasing their independence. The other child has made significant progress with their communication skills. They now use more words and so can express their wishes and feelings more clearly to others. One young person has left the home, successfully moving to their adult home. Managers are in the process of reviewing targets for children. For one child there are clear, specific targets for staff to support the child to achieve. Targets for the other child are less specific and do not outline how staff can support the child to achieve them. The managers review of targets is not yet carried out consistently in enough detail. This means the steady progress

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to enjoy varied and fun experiences. Children enjoy taking the bus to explore nearby towns, and they visit the beach and parks locally. One child enjoyed their trip to the pantomime so much they have started to rehearse for their own show. Staff support one child to attend a local youth club and have found a performing arts group for the other child to join.

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improvement to be good

As a result of incidents, many decorative items in the home have been removed. Similarly, there is no metal cutlery in the kitchen, with children and staff currently using plastic utensils. While this change was made to meet the safety considerations for one child, it has been over four months since the change was made. This impacts on the homely feeling and the experiences for other children in the home. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their own interests and are bright, colourful spaces. However, the bathroom for one child has a damaged door frame that has not yet been fixed.

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improvement to be good

Inspection report children's home: SC489820 4 Children enjoy safe and supportive relationships with staff. When possible, children receive support from preferred staff. This helps their feelings of stability and security. Staff support children to better understand themselves and the world they live in. Staff revisit key topics such as stranger danger and road safety to ensure meaningful learning takes place. The manager reports safeguarding concerns to the relevant professionals.

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improvement to be good

Restraint is used with one child. Some interventions are necessary to ensure immediate safety. However, on at least two occasions restraint has been used to move the child from one place to another without records indicating that sufficient risk was present. Staff have used door holds with the child to prevent them leaving their room. Managers do not review incidents with enough scrutiny to identify shortfalls in staff practice, or when they may lack an understanding of the child’s needs. On occasion, staff responses have not been sensitive to the child or their understanding. Concerns raised by the child about harm caused during incidents are not always followed up swiftly. Language used by staff when writing about incidents has lacked clarity and at times appears to be blaming of the child. The manager identified these concerns prior to the inspection and has started to address them with staff. Work has been undertaken with the child’s psychologist to help support

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improvement to be good

staff to better understand the child’s experiences.

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improvement to be good

Managers do not always speak with staff promptly after incidents of restraint. This has resulted in missed opportunities to review practice and make changes. The child has conversations with staff after incidents, which helps to repair relationships. However, the child does not then have the opportunity to speak with someone more removed from the incident. They are not asked about the use of restraint, or if injuries have occurred.

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improvement to be good

Managers review behaviour support plans in response to incidents that occur. Plans recently updated show staff how to support children. For one child there is a multi- agency collaborative plan. This provides the child with consistency at home and school.

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improvement to be good

Staff have imposed consequences for children in response to incidents in the home. However, these are not recorded as such. This means there is no management oversight or review of the appropriateness or effectiveness of the consequence. The manager has identified this and continues to work with the staff team to support them to understand what is and is not a consequence.

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improvement to be good

There are thorough processes in place for the recruitment of staff. However, not all staff have a full employment history obtained. This means potential gaps in employment are not identified or explored.

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good

A new manager has joined the home. This has been a challenging period, both in terms of staffing and due to the significant disruption to one child’s key staff group. Inspection report children's home: SC489820 5 The staffing shortfalls resulted in the use of temporary staff. The manager and other leaders supported children themselves to minimise the need for these staff. However, this impacted negatively on the management oversight of the home and implementation of changes needed. High levels of temporary staff unfamiliar with children’s support needs meant that at times, children experienced inconsistent care and support.

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good

Staff enjoy working in the home. They speak of the improving atmosphere to work in and the increased sense of stability over recent months. They feel well supported by the manager and other leaders. Staff receive training relevant to their role.

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good

Supervision provides staff with a space to explore their practice and support for children. Managers prompt staff about their use of the organisations ‘challenge charter’ in supervision. This promotes a culture of healthy challenge and open discussion. In addition to this, a team meeting focused on closed cultures makes staff aware of the potential risks in the home.

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good

Professionals recognise there have been changes in the home, with a particularly challenging period in the summer holidays. They are assured by the manager and the stable staff team now in place. The social worker for one child identifies that communication with them was previously inconsistent. They now say this is a strength, with the manager sending weekly updates to families and professionals. Inspection report children's home: SC489820 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, 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

Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing—

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Requirement Due date

injury to any person (including the child);

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Requirement Due date

serious damage to the property of any person (including the child);

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that restraint is used only in accordance with the regulations and is necessary and proportionate. 19 January 2024

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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; 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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and 26 January 2024 Inspection report children's home: SC489820 7 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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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.

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Requirement Due date

(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, ensure staff are spoken to in a timely way about their involvement in restraint. Also, ensure staff understand and record sanctions given to children to allow appropriate management oversight and review.

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

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Requirement Due date

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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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that management oversight of incidents in the home critically reflects on the actions taken and is used to understand where improvements are needed. Also, 8 March 2024 Inspection report children's home: SC489820 8 ensure targets and goals that children work towards are reviewed and updated regularly, that they are meaningful to children, and that consideration is given to how staff can support children to achieve them.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that a full employment history is obtained for all staff working in the home. 26 January 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that consideration is given to offering the child a conversation with someone who is not involved in restraint incidents. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 50, paragraph 9.60)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure it is clear what health diagnoses mean for children to help staff understand the impact of their conditions on them. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 34, paragraph 7.12)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure the home is kept in a good state of repair and that it is homely. This includes regular reviews showing how the reintroduction of elements that have been temporarily removed for safety have been considered. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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 children's home: SC489820 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Potens, 68 Grange Road West, Birkenhead, CH41 4DB

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Bettina Jeppesen

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Inspector

Clare Nixson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC489820 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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