Children's Home run by J24 Resourcing Ltd in Derby

Inspection report for children’s home: 2686855 1 Registered provider: J24 Resourcing Ltd

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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. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager’s post has been vacant since July 2023. A manager is appointed but is not registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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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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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2686855 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/06/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2686855 3

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improvement to be good

The atmosphere in the home is warm and welcoming. The child said that they like their home and said that the staff are like family.

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improvement to be good

The child is supported to attend all health appointments. When there are specific health concerns which require regular monitoring and review, the managers and staff ensure that there is continuity in care from medical professionals. The child receives specialist help from services for their emotional well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not eat meals with the child and do not have sufficient oversight of their eating habits. For example, on one occasion, staff did not ensure the child had access to their lunch, and the food products needed to prepare the meal were frozen. Staff do not provide the child with healthy snacks, despite fresh fruit being named on the weekly menu.

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improvement to be good

The managers and staff have not sufficiently supported the child with their education. Staff have worked with agencies for the child to receive education in the home. However, they do not encourage the child to engage in additional educational activities. This could lead to widening gaps in educational achievements for the child.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always support the child to nurture their abilities and talents. Activities are not planned, with staff relying on the child to share ideas for what they want to do. The child rarely leaves the home and does not have opportunities to enjoy fun activities. This prevents the child from having an enriched and fulfilling life outside of their home. These are also missed opportunities for the staff and child to get to know each other.

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improvement to be good

Staff are aware of how to keep the child safe and are vigilant. However, the child’s risk assessments fail to provide staff with clarity on what actions they should take to keep the child safe. During the inspection, a safeguarding risk was identified. The manager was not clear on how to reduce such a risk and failed to identify the appropriate safety actions needed. This poor safeguarding practice has the potential to increase the risk of harm to children.

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improvement to be good

The manager does not always demonstrate professional curiosity. On one occasion, the description of a physical intervention used should have triggered a conversation between the manager and a staff member. Failure to do so is a missed opportunity to provide staff with clear guidance and reflective practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2686855 4 The child has not made any formal complaints. They identify the manager as the person they would speak to about a concern. The child did not understand the reason why they do not have access to the kitchen. This decision had been made by the manager based on a risk assessment but had not been shared with the child. This could prevent children from understanding their rights and entitlements and receiving the right support if they felt aggrieved.

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improvement to be good

Children rarely go missing from care because staff are always available to them. If children go missing from care, there is a coordinated multi-agency response. The manager ensures that a representative from the placing authority completes a missing-from-care or statutory visit to children when they return home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager’s post has been vacant since July 2023. A manager has been recruited but is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders have not ensured that staff are recruited in accordance with safer recruitment protocols. For example, there was a poor evaluation of references in the pre-recruitment vetting for two members of staff. One staff member who was recruited from abroad was working with children, for several months, without a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and risk assessment in place. Staff have worked in this home for over 12 months without receiving a suitable induction or an employment contract.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager and staff receive supervision on a regular basis. However, some supervision discussions lack detail and relevant content, and there is no evidence of meaningful reflective conversations between managers and staff. Leaders and managers say that they challenge staff to support them to make progress and develop professionally. However, they do not record such conversations. This prevents staff from having opportunities for reflection and development and learning from their care practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are weaknesses in the manager’s monitoring and oversight of risks, which leads to safeguarding shortfalls. There are examples of managers’ verbal accounts not aligning with written records. There is a lack of rigour with internal monitoring systems. Staff do not always receive the support they need to improve their practice, which could better support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has not ensured that the home’s statement of purpose is up to date. The manager has not sent revised copies of this document to Ofsted in line with regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff feel supported by the manager and say that they have a positive working environment. This is endorsed by the placing authority, which reports that there is good communication and supportive partnership working to help the child make progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2686855 5 The manager and leaders acknowledge that improvement is needed. However, the plans that are designed to drive improvement forward are not yet in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection have not been met and therefore are reinstated. Inspection report for children’s home: 2686855 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

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

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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)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to having risk assessments and home care plans in place that identify known and potential risks for each child, and staff being skilled and confident in challenging and dealing with inappropriate and risky behaviour. This also refers to ensuring that records of incidents are clear, detailed and demonstrate management oversight, reflection and learning. 12 July 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

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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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 12 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2686855 7 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to leaders and managers having oversight of all significant incidents and having monitoring systems in place to ensure quality of care.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to any revised statement of purpose being submitted to HMCI within 28 days. 12 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; is necessary and proportionate;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iv)) 12 July 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;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). 12 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2686855 8 The requirements are that—

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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. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to leaders not following safer recruitment processes when employing staff and ensuring that there are clear records in place when there are concerns regarding staff practice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to share any concerns about their care or other matters as soon as they arise. Children must be able to take up issues or make a complaint with support and without fear that this will result in any adverse consequences. Regulation 39 sets out the requirements on the registered person to have a complaints procedure. Children must be aware of this procedure and be reminded of it as necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)  The registered person should ensure that where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full- time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported

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Recommendations

to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children’s home: 2686855 9

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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: 2686855 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 3, Burley House, Rowditch Place, Derby DE22 3LR

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Inspector

Corline Parker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2686855 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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