Children's Home run by Sunflower Children Care Services in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC449099 1 SC449099 Registered provider: Quantum Care UK Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider. It offers care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left the home on 31 January 2024. An interim manager is in post and has applied to Ofsted for registration.

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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

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: SC449099 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/06/2022 Full Good 10/05/2021 Full Good 12/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 04/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC449099 3

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improvement to be good

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home. Two children have moved out during the inspection year.

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improvement to be good

Children’s progress has been varied. One child’s independent reviewing officer said that this is the longest their child has stayed in one home. She said that her child has made significant progress. However, the other child’s social worker said that their progress has ‘regressed’ in the past six weeks. She feels that this is due to several staff members leaving suddenly. She also has concerns that the home has failed to employ a therapist in line with its statement of purpose.

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improvement to be good

Children’s moves into and out of the home have been poorly managed and assessed. As a result, one child had to move out of the home suddenly. The child was only told that they were leaving on the morning of their move. There was no plan for staff to remain in contact to lessen the child’s potential feelings of rejection.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not always been supported to challenge discrimination. One child was subject to repeated racist comments, as was a staff member.

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improvement to be good

Staff say that they could not hang photos of the children around the home, nor celebrate special feast days with them. The interim manager is actively working to address this and help staff to meaningfully celebrate children’s identity. However, there is still much work required to address the previous culture in the home and repair children’s trust in staff.

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improvement to be good

One child was in full-time education and doing well at the time of the inspection. The other child is not in formal education, but staff have worked hard to ensure that they accessed a bespoke package of age-related educational provision. The interim manager has been tenacious in escalating the child’s lack of formal educational provision to the children’s commissioner.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are met. When children are ill, medical advice is sought. Children are supported to attend specialist appointments.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are not sufficiently detailed to allow staff to understand and meet children’s emerging needs. Management oversight has systemically failed to identify significant safeguarding concerns in staff recordings. This has meant that risk assessments have not identified children’s unique risks and vulnerabilities. Staff have not been able to keep children safe consistently. Inspection report for children’s home: SC449099 4 Staff are not consistent in how they record rewards and consequences for children. They do not routinely offer children restorative opportunities. This limits children’s ability to learn from their behaviour and does not model safe conflict resolution.

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improvement to be good

Several serious safeguarding incidents have left children at risk of harm. Staff have minimised dynamics between children as ‘sibling rivalry’ and missed opportunities to de-escalate incidents safely. On one occasion, police were called because there were not sufficient staff to restrain a child. This has led to children hurting each other and police criminalising one child.

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improvement to be good

Children have not been routinely consulted with and listened to. There is no system in place to allow children to make complaints. The manager has not given written feedback to children’s suggestions in their children’s meetings. Additionally, children are not routinely spoken with by the independent visitor, and management has failed to identify and challenge this theme.

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improvement to be good

One child has not received the correct dose of medication following an accident. The child had less pain medication than they were prescribed. The interim manager has been quick to address this potential risk. He has changed the format of recordings so that they are simpler for staff. There have been no further medication errors.

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good

Staff have not been receiving regular practice-related supervision or annual appraisals of their performance. One staff member only had two supervision sessions during their probationary period. Other staff members say that they have not been given copies of their supervision notes. 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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good

Staff are provided with training to fulfil their roles. However, they have not been offered a reflective space to embed this learning. Staff have not always felt safe enough to discuss risks with management in respect of certain children. The lack of support for staff has seriously undermined morale and safety for children.

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good

The home is located next to a busy road. The location risk assessment does not adequately identify the potential risks associated with the location of the home. Staff leave the gate between the house and the carpark area open sporadically. This means that children could walk out onto the road. It also means that children cannot safely play on the swing set in the larger back garden without staff being with them. This does not promote children’s safety or growing independence.

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good

Despite the serious shortfalls, senior leaders have been proactive in recruiting a new interim manager and supporting him to apply to register with Ofsted.

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good

The interim manager is widely praised for his open style of communication and his quick response to concerns raised by professionals such as teachers and social Inspection report for children’s home: SC449099 5 workers. He is supported by a deputy manager. Both have high aspirations for embedding a staff culture which is open, reflective and promotes staff and children’s safety.

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good

Staff speak warmly of the manager and his deputy’s collaborative leadership style. They welcome their approach. One staff member said, ‘The manager and deputy haven’t made massive changes yet, but they are two people who’ve made massive changes in how they treat the staff.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC449099 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

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

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 6 (2)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s moves into and out of the home are robustly assessed for risk and that clear plans are in place which support children to understand these moves. Additionally, children should have consistent access to a therapist, in line with their needs. 1 August 2024

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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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are maintained to protect each child. (Regulation 12 (2)(a)(iv)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that changes are made so that children cannot access the busy main road from the larger garden/carpark area.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, staff should be alert to emerging risks between children and should not minimise these to ‘sibling rivalry’. Any incidents of discriminatory language or harm to a child should be acted on immediately. 1 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 1 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC449099 7 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(a) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff supervision sessions are regular and in line with the statement of purpose. Staff should all be trained to meet children’s communication needs and be confident about whistle- blowing and escalating safeguarding concerns in the staff team.

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Requirement Due date

Children’s plans should be easily accessible and in one place. Additionally, management should actively identify where there are potential themes in children’s plans which could suggest an escalation of risk or vulnerability.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children. (Regulation 39 (1))

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Requirement Due date

Children should be able to make complaints independently of staff and be assured of a response to any concerns they may raise. 1 May 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with Regulation 33(4)(b). It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and the staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraphs 13.3 and 13.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff have the skills and confidence to communicate easily and understand the importance of listening to, involving and responding to the children they provide care for. Staff should understand that they have a responsibility to observe, notice and respond to children who are expressing their views, acknowledging that it is not the sole responsibility of the

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Recommendations

child to ‘tell’. They should also understand how children might communicate their feelings through their behaviour, or non-verbally, especially where the child has a disability which does not allow them to communicate as others might. Children must be consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration Inspection report for children’s home: SC449099 8 should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraphs 4.10 and 4.11)

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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: SC449099 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Quantum Care UK Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Forge, Church Street West, Woking, Surrey GU21 6HT

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Inspector

Majella Russell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC449099 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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