Children's Home run by TLC Youth Care Ltd in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2532139 1 Registered provider: TLC Youth Care Limited Full inspection 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 experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 22 January 2024.

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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: 22 November 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 for children’s home: 2532139 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/11/2022 Full Good 05/07/2021 Full Good 19/02/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2532139 3

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improvement to be good

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. Two children have moved out of the home in this inspection year.

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improvement to be good

The children living in the home have reported very different experiences of care during this inspection year. One child spoke of not feeling emotionally safe and of not trusting staff. They described staff closing doors on them when they felt heightened in emotion. The child said that staff would talk to them about other children and members of staff. The child feels that this has directly impacted their ability to trust staff because they feel that staff would talk to other children about them.

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improvement to be good

Professionals working with this child, including their independent reviewing officer, therapist, and social work team manager, also expressed concerns around the child’s experience in the home. The child’s independent reviewing officer said that staff at the home lack insight into the child’s needs and described the home as a ‘punishing environment’ for the child. Concerns were raised around the quality of staff relationships with this child, with them being ‘blamed’ and ‘belittled’ at times by staff.

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improvement to be good

The child’s therapist described the child’s relationships with staff as ‘not great’ and said that the child worries that staff may overreact or not be responsive. They further stated that they are ‘curious’ whether staff have sufficient therapeutic understanding to meet the child’s needs.

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improvement to be good

The other child in the home has made progress since coming to live at the home. Their youth offending worker said that the child feels wanted and that staff at the home have worked to ensure that the child can pursue their hobbies. They feel that this has lessened the child’s vulnerability.

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improvement to be good

Staff meet children’s physical health needs well. Both children are registered with health professionals and seek appropriate support.

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improvement to be good

At the time of the inspection, one child was in full-time education and had recently achieved well in their GCSEs. The other child was receiving tuition for one hour per day. However, there plans are in place for this child to access a fuller vocational timetable.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to pursue a range of hobbies. One child attends a boxing club and is now a peer mentor, and the other child attends a weekly karate class. Children go out with staff to country parks and for coffee. However, a social work team manager for one child raised concerns that there have been financial restrictions on the child engaging in activities in the past year. As a result, she said Inspection report for children’s home: 2532139 4 that the child has missed out on additional activities which would have helped them to succeed and progress further.

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improvement to be good

Children’s moves to and from the home this year have been well planned. When one child’s needs escalated, staff put in place measures to try and support the child to stay in the home. Despite staff’s efforts, the child moved out of the home due to their increased vulnerability and level of need. This was appropriate.

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improvement to be good

The manager has plans to develop the home environment, which includes plans to redecorate areas of the home. Photos of the children are displayed on the walls and there are games in the front room, which provides a homely feel for children.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to spend time with their families safely. Staff are supporting one child to explore their faith .

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments lack an analysis of all potential emerging risks. For example, staff identified that two children spent time alone together on two separate occasions while staff were in bed. One of the children’s risk assessments suggested that this could have been a high risk to the other child. Staff addressed the two incidents in silo and potential risks were not joined up by management oversight. As a result, staff did not understand the children’s risk assessments in a wider, and possibly significant, safeguarding context. Therefore, potential risks to both children were not fully identified.

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improvement to be good

Staff recordings do not show consistent awareness or understanding around what may drive children’s presenting behaviour. When one child self-harmed, staff recorded that this was due to the child being unable to manage their emotions well rather than fully exploring the underlying causes.

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improvement to be good

Staff recordings use blaming language in respect of one child. Staff describe the child as ‘controlling’ and ‘manipulative’. When the child read their records, they were upset and cried and spoke of a lack of trust in staff as a result. Consequently, the child did not wish for staff at the home to attend their care review meeting.

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improvement to be good

At the time of the inspection, the conservatory was missing one outside door, so children could access it from the garden. There was a broken sofa with a sharp splintered wooden leg, and there were shards of glass on the floor. The senior leadership team was not aware of this and could not say how long the glass had been on the floor. Maintenance logs do not reflect that the issue had been identified. On the first day of the inspection, the manager asked staff to make this area safe and clean the glass up. However, the following day, some glass and wooden splinters remained on the floor. Staff are aware that one child in the home self-harms. The child has very recently used glass to cut themselves on more than Inspection report for children’s home: 2532139 5 one occasion. This child could have walked into the conservatory and used the glass to self-harm.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they know how to make a complaint. However, when children raise complaints with staff, these are not always recorded as such or followed up. One child said that they feel there is little point in complaining as they do not feel listened to.

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improvement to be good

Both children have recently highlighted that they do not ‘get on’ with some staff members. Staff spoke with the children about this, but their response lacked curiosity around what was behind the child’s presenting behaviours. One child was blamed for their feelings of anger and aggression when they were sharing their feelings about a staff member.

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improvement to be good

The manager did not write up a key-work session during which one child described a member of staff as ‘weird’. The manager said that she is often too busy to write up key-work sessions. As a result, the evidence that informed the manager’s decision that there was no risk to the child was not available.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from the home, there is an effective plan and response. The missing-from-care police officer said that they have no concerns around the staff’s ability to meet children’s needs in this area.

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good

Staff sickness and resignations have impacted negatively on the management team’s capacity. As a result, the senior management team appointed a new deputy manager to help the manager to concentrate on paperwork. However, the deputy manager has been off sick. The manager has also had to cover some shifts due to staff sickness. The manager said that this has impacted her ability to keep up with paperwork. This has contributed to some management shortfalls.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision. The manager tries to support staff around the emotional impact of their role. However, managers do not challenge staff about the language that they use in respect of children. A member of staff told the inspector that one child is manipulative. Risk assessments reflect that this is an accepted view of the staff team. One child’s independent reviewing officer said that this is also an area of concern for them. They are of the view that there is a culture in the staff group which seeks to blame the child. He also spoke of staff being ‘critical’ in their parenting of the child, which replicates a dynamic that the child has experienced with their birth family.

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good

Senior managers have identified issues of staff ‘moaning’ and the detrimental impact on the staff team and children’s care. Staff have talked to the children about other members of staff. The leadership team put a plan in place in November 2023 to address this. However, in January 2024, a staff member raised their concerns that one staff member’s ‘moaning’ can have a direct impact on the children. Therefore, Inspection report for children’s home: 2532139 6 measures do not appear to have been effective and have not led to improved practice with children in the home.

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good

Staff inductions and recruitment checks are robust. However, there are some gaps in staff training. No members of staff have completed training in managing disclosures, despite a child making a disclosure in November 2023.

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good

Professional relationships are varied. One child’s local authority is actively seeking to move the child due to their concerns around the staff’s lack of empathy and ability to keep the child safe emotionally. The child’s social work team manager said that this is not a new concern and that they raised similar concerns in early 2023. When the child’s independent reviewing officer requested a meeting and met with senior management in February 2024, he said that he left concerned about the responsible individual’s ‘blaming and ambivalent response’ to his concerns. The manager and responsible individual do not agree with the views shared by these professionals.

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good

Another child’s youth offending officer said that they have no concerns regarding staff at the home. They said that staff communicate well with them and that they come across as doing their job and wanting to help the child to move on.

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good

Staff say that they enjoy working at the home. One staff member told the inspector that the manager is always available. Another staff member said that the manager has kept them well informed since being off work ill. Inspection report for children’s home: 2532139 7

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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 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

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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to their health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(d))

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Requirement Due Date

This specifically relates to ensuring there are clear plans and strategies in place for staff to manage any potential risks between children.

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Requirement Due Date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that there is a robust system in place to identify environmental hazards to children and ensure that these are acted on to reduce any potential risks to the children. 6 May 2024

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Requirement Due Date

In order to meet the positive relationships standard the registered provider must ensure that staff—

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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 (2)(ix))

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Requirement Due Date

This specifically relates to ensuring that records relating to children are written using language that is appropriate and child-friendly. 26 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2532139 8 In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered provider must—

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Requirement Due Date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due Date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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 (2)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due Date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that any complaints by children in their records are identified and responded to appropriately. In addition, children’s records must be kept up to date. 6 May 2024

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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: 2532139 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: TLC Youth Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 19 Harrier Park, Northampton, Northamptonshire NN4 0QG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Duncan MacKenzie

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Inspector

Majella Russell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2532139 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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