Children's Home run by Ivory Cottage Limited in Warwickshire

Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2586067 1 Registered provider: Ivory Cottage Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. The registered manager’s post is currently vacant.

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This monitoring visit

The previous assurance inspection found serious and widespread concerns in the protection of children and the leadership and management of the home. The inspector identified poor safer recruitment practices by leaders and managers. As a result, a compliance notice under Regulation 32 (fitness of workers) was issued.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit considered the actions taken by the responsible individual and the manager to meet the steps in the compliance notice. This visit did not consider the other requirements issued at the previous inspection. As a result, these have been restated. At the time of this visit, two children lived at the home.

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This monitoring visit

The responsible individual and the manager have obtained overseas criminal record checks for all staff who have lived or worked abroad. In addition, the majority of staff have undergone the recruitment checks required by the regulations to ensure that they are able to work with children.

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This monitoring visit

However, for two members of staff, attempts had not been made to find out the reasons why they had left their previous employments with children or vulnerable adults. This is a requirement of the regulations. Ofsted has considered these findings and made the decision that it would not be proportionate to reissue the compliance notice. Instead, the requirement for Regulation 32 is restated.

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This monitoring visit

The leaders’ and manager’s monitoring and oversight of staff recruitment requires improvement. This is because the current system for recording recruitment checks is chaotic. During the inspection, both the responsible individual and manager found it difficult and time-consuming to find the documentation to evidence that they had Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2586067 2 completed the required recruitment checks, as they were not in individual staff’s recruitment files. This is despite them recently completing audits on each staff member’s file to check their compliance. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2586067 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2586067 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 with 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that all staff have the required skills to support children with high-risk behaviours. 19 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. (Regulation 33 (4)(b) 19 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

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

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Requirement Due date

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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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; 4 March 2024 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2586067 5 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(a)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that they have monitoring and reviewing systems in place that identify shortfalls effectively.

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (7))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the responsible individual having oversight of the home. 4 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b)(4)(a)(b) 4 March 2024

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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

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or 4 March 2024 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2586067 6 if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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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

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate 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; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b)

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the registered person verifies the reasons why staff left employment with vulnerable adults and children.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that staff working in the home have the required level 3 diploma within the required timescales. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2586067 7

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2586067 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Skytax, 37th Floor, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AA

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Inspector

Melissa McMillan, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2586067 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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