Children's Home run by Suffolk County Council in Suffolk

Inspection report for children’s home: SC430022 1 SC430022 Registered provider: Suffolk County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to six children aged between 11 and 17 years with social, emotional and/or mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since January 2018.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC430022 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/08/2022 Full Good 25/01/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC430022 3

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inadequate

At the time of the inspection, five children were living at the home. Three children have moved out of the home and four children have moved in during the last year.

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inadequate

Children’s experiences and progress have been negatively influenced by the combination of the children living togther. The staff have been unable to meet one child’s needs or provide a safe environment that is stable and supports children’s progress. Several serious safeguarding incidents have left children at risk of harm.

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inadequate

Despite attempts the staff have been unable to prevent children from taking illegal substances. On occasion, illegal substances have been brought into the home by children. As a result, the children are at risk of harm.

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inadequate

Children’s education has been affected by disrupted sleep patterns. There are regular night-time disturbances. These include children persistently activating fire alarms, spending time away from the home or being in each other’s bedrooms. These have led to children being tired and refusing to attend school. For most of the children, this has had a detrimental impact on their education, their progress and their well-being.

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inadequate

Two bedrooms have inappropriate and offensive words written on the walls and the doors. This does not create a homely environment for children. Other areas of the home have been re-decorated. This has improved the internal appearance of the home. Children personalise their bedrooms and staff encourage the children to keep their bedrooms tidy.

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inadequate

Children are supported to build and maintain relationships with their families. For some children there are significant developments with their involvement and relationships with family members. The staff recognise the importance of these relationships and help the children to enjoy positive experiences with their families.

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inadequate

Staff have created memory books for the children. These books contain positive memories and items such as receipts, tickets and photos of happy times spent with staff. These are important reminders of the children’s time at the home. These keepsakes help children to retain positive memories that they may otherwise forget.

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

Ongoing risks and exposure to illegal substances are having a detrimental impact on children’s health and well-being. Despite measures to mitigate these risks three children have been introduced to, or taken substances on three occasions. Two of these children had not used illegal substances before they came to the home. One Inspection report for children’s home: SC430022 4 child has stopped taking their prescribed medication, due to the contra-indications of taking illegal substances.

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

On one occasion, staff have failed to fully explore the circumstances when a child has asked staff to take them to meet someone. This resulted in staff facilitating the child meeting an unknown person and obtaining substances. This was observed by staff who were unable to establish what had been exchanged. Despite the staff’s requests, the police did not attend. Consequently, illegal substances were brought into the home. This resulted in an incident when the on-call manager failed to implement safeguarding procedures after a child made an allegation against a member of staff. This delayed a referral being made to the local authority designated officer and prompt action being taken. These shortfalls fail to ensure that children are safeguarded effectively and protected from the risk of harm.

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

The home’s fire risk assessment has identified actions to improve fire safety. Despite the manager’s requests, several fire doors require replacing. This does not ensure that all measures are in place to keep children safe from fire hazards.

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

Serious incidents have occurred at the home. Children and staff have been injured during highly volatile situations. Staff respond and take action to de-escalate and reduce the risk of further harm. The staff have called the police for support during several incidents. Police involvement has been proportionate and necessary to keep others safe.

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

Staff manage incidents of self-harm sensitively and appropriately. Staff offer children emotional support and seek medical advice when needed. As a result, incidents of self-harm have reduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is an experienced and established manager who is aware of the shortfalls and has tried without success to reduce the risks to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff said that they feel well supported by the managers. However, some staff are not receiving regular, practice-related supervision sessions or annual appraisals of their performance. This means that staff do not benefit from the oversight and guidance that they need to support them in their roles, particularly when they are managing a high level of risk for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are provided with the training that they need to fulfil their roles safely and knowledgeably. However, one staff member has not completed the required level 3 diploma within the agreed timescale. During the inspection, managers could not easily provide records to demonstrate staff training, particularly substance-misuse. training. This makes the staff’s knowledge and training difficult to monitor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The location risk assessment identifies the risks associated with the location of the home. However, important information and crime statistics that could help to minimise the risks to children have not been sufficiently gathered. This does not Inspection report for children’s home: SC430022 5 ensure that staff are continually informed about the area and can mitigate potential concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers work proactively with other agencies to build effective relationships. Feedback from professionals is positive. They are confident that the managers are aware of the risks posed to children. Communication between staff and professionals is good. Professionals say that they are regularly updated and informed of areas of concern.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Despite the serious shortfalls identified, the leadership team has taken some immediate steps to address these. Inspection report for children’s home: SC430022 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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

managers and staff follow the home’s child protection policies when a child makes an allegation about staff;

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Requirement Due date

staff respond effectively to incidents when illegal substances are brought into the home;

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Requirement Due date

staff are consistent in their approaches to children and follow children’s risk assessments. 15 January 2024

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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 15 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC430022 7 promotes their welfare.

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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

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

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff demonstrate awareness and professional curiosity regarding the presenting risks for all children and take the necessary action to mitigate the risks, including establishing the circumstances and understanding the children’s activities outside the home.

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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 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)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the actions from the fire risk assessment are implemented.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 15 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 12 February 2024

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate 26 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC430022 8 qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming, supportive and homely. In particular, remove offensive graffiti from children’s bedrooms. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that the location assessment includes the identification of any risks and strategies for managing these. In particular, ensure that local crime data is regularly reviewed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  The registered person should ensure that there is a record of training and the continuing professional development needs of staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: SC430022 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Floor 4 Gold, Endeavour House, Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 2BX

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Inspector

Rachel Watkinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC430022 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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