Children's Home run by Bay Tree House (Gravesend) Limited in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 1 Registered provider: Bay Tree House (Gravesend) Limited 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 three children. The home’s statement of purpose states that it provides therapeutic care for children with learning needs, language and communication difficulties and/or autism spectrum disorder. Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since 23 October 2023.

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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 and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 10 January 2023

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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: 1244108 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/01/2023 Full Good 18/05/2021 Full Good 12/06/2019 Full Good 15/11/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 3

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inadequate

Children make some progress living in the home. However, any progress is significantly compromised due to widespread safeguarding failures and inconsistent leadership and management oversight. This has resulted in weak responses to changes in children’s behaviour and poor practice from staff. The culture in the home has undermined the overall experiences and progress of children.

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inadequate

Children’s care plans and targets are not regularly reviewed. This, combined with guidance not being easily accessible, means that staff cannot be confident that they are caring for children in line with the most recent information. Day-to-day targets set for children have not been reviewed and have been repeated for almost a year.

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inadequate

One child moved into and out of the home in under two weeks. The ending for the child was sudden and unplanned. They were taken into police protection due to leaders, managers and staff being unable to keep them safe. Furthermore, leaders refused to transport the child’s personal possessions to them without a financial agreement in place. This does not demonstrate the child-focused or therapeutic approach detailed in the home’s statement of purpose.

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inadequate

Another child, however, moved on from the home in a positive and planned way. The child was well supported to prepare for independent living with training in tasks such as budgeting, shopping and cooking. This work ensured that the child’s move on to more-independent living was a success.

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inadequate

Children are supported to engage in education. They all attend school regularly and make some educational progress. Children are supported with their homework.

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inadequate

Children can express their wishes and feelings. Children have regular one-to-one sessions with an adult. These are combined with monthly well-being surveys and weekly house catch ups. These help children to contribute to some choices that are made in the home. However, children’s wishes and feelings are not routinely linked to their daily targets or care plans. This means that children are not reaching their full potentials.

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

There are significant failures in how risk is managed. Most children do have risk management plans in place. However, some have not been updated for several months, meaning that staff are not consistently working with up-to-date information.

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

There have been several incidents where staff have responded poorly when a child has presented with behaviours that challenge. This includes staff and the manager, Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 4 who recently left the home, calling the police without using the de-escalation techniques that they have been trained in. Such instances have been in response to minor issues. Staff believe that there is a no-physical intervention policy. This has contributed to decisions to call the police to help staff manage children’s behaviours. Consequently, the police have attended the home on several occasions after children have already calmed. This over-reliance on the police puts children at risk of being unnecessarily criminalised.

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

Unacceptable staff conduct towards children has not been identified or addressed. On one occasion, a member of staff was verbally aggressive and challenging to a child. This resulted in the child, who has learning disabilities, being distressed. Instead of supporting the child in their distress, the staff member video recorded the child. This incident was reviewed by both the previous manager and the independent visitor to the home. However, no action was taken to challenge this. The incident was not referred to external safeguarding professionals or notified to Ofsted. Furthermore, despite other staff members witnessing the incident, they did not intervene to safeguard and comfort the child, and they did not report it.

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

The response when children go missing from the home is extremely poor. One child went missing on nine occasions over a three-day period. This child is extremely vulnerable. The response was so poor that the police made the decision to take the child into police protection to keep them safe.

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

There is an insufficient number of staff that hold a relevant first-aid qualification. This has resulted in some shifts being staffed without an individual on site who is trained to administer first aid. This has compromised children’s safety. Urgent action was taken during the inspection to address this.

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

Regular health and safety checks are carried out. However, the most recent fire risk assessment was not carried out by someone with the relevant training. Furthermore, weekly fire checks are not completed consistently. This means that fire safety in the home has not been adequately assessed. The responsible individual recognised this and started to address this during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since October 2023. A replacement manager was appointed, and they applied to register with Ofsted. However, this manager left the home abruptly in January 2024.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The deputy manager has stepped into the role of interim manager while a more permanent solution is sought. The interim manager has already started to make some improvements in relation to some of the weaknesses identified. However, the inconsistencies in management arrangements and oversight of leaders have had a detrimental impact on children’s experiences, progress and safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders have not acted when serious concerns have been apparent. For example, after a child was taken into police protection, leaders and managers did not review Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 5 what happened. Consequently, no learning or actions were identified. Leaders failed to ensure that significant incidents were referred to safeguarding professionals or Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Internal and external monitoring systems are poor and have failed to identify the serious shortfalls in how the home is operated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive consistent levels of supervision. This means that staff do not receive appropriate levels of guidance and support to develop their practice. In addition, staff have not received annual appraisals to monitor and support their ongoing professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders have not ensured that safer recruitment practice is consistently followed. For instance, gaps in employment have not been followed up, and there is a lack of professional curiosity when references make no mention of an applicant’s ability to safeguard children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 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

at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. (Regulation 31 (2)(a)) 1 March 2024

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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

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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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)) 17 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— 17 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 7 mutual respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(v)(vi)(viii)(ix))

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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— 17 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 8 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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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;

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

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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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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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)(a)(b)(c)(e)) 17 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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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)(a)(b)(c)) 17 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 9 The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 17 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(1) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b)) 17 March 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that a comprehensive approach to recruiting new staff is followed by making sure that they are curious about any safeguarding concerns and by exploring any gaps in employment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 60, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 1244108 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bay Tree House (Gravesend) Limited

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Inspector

Mark Newington, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 11 regulates and inspects 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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