Children's home run by Rock Lennox Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2745080 1 Registered provider: Rock Lennox Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is privately owned and provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. Two children were cared for at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably qualified.

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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: not previously inspected

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2745080 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The overall judgment is inadequate due to significant shortfalls in staff’s ability to keep children safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

This is the home’s first full inspection since its opening opened in November 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Overall, the staff and children have positive relationships. However, there are some inconsistencies in staff practice which can affect children’s progress. There have been several incidents which have impacted on the trust that children have in staff. As a result, some children have not received the support and encouragement they need to do well. Children have mixed experiences of living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are regularly encouraged to access a range of activities in the local area. They are supported to explore their interests and hobbies. For example, one child attends the local youth club. This supports children to build their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are supported to attend all their medical appointments. Staff liaise with relevant health professionals. This helps to maintain children’s physical well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s education is a key priority for the home. Staff recognise the importance of education for children’s futures, and they encourage them to complete all the required work. When children are home schooled, staff work hard with education providers to motivate them to learn. Staff ensure that educational activities are built into each day, encouraging children to learn. Managers have been proactive in ensuring that children’s educational needs are met and advocate strongly for this. The staff recognise children’s potential and children are praised for their achievements. This supports children to learn and develop new skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s cultural needs are not always being met. This impacts on the progress that children make toward their goals and aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home needs some redecoration and new furniture. Children’s bedrooms are personalised. However, the living area needs to be improved to create a homely environment. Some internal fittings in the home were damaged and had not been repaired in a timely manner despite these being identified and escalated by the registered manager. The garden area also had damage that needed repair. As a result, the environment does not promote the well-being of children. Inspection report for children's home: 2745080 3

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

When children have been restrained by staff, records of these incidents have been of a poor standard. One child sustained injuries during the use of restraint, on more than one occasion. It is not clear how these injuries happened. Injuries to children were not reported to the local authority or the local authority designated officer (LADO). Necessary safeguarding processes could therefore not be completed. Management oversight of the use of restraint is poor. When restraint practice has fallen short of expected standards, there have been no lessons learned or debrief with children. This leaves children at risk of harm.

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

There have been incidents of children going missing. When children go missing, staff are quick to respond. Partnership work with the police is effective and staff work proactively to ensure the child returns home as soon as possible. Plans are in place. However, staff do not assess all the risks for the child to consider how episodes of the child going missing can be reduced. Some risk assessments are not updated and do not have management oversight. Risks related to phone use are not well understood or considered by staff. Return home interviews have not been completed despite escalation to the local authority by the registered manager. However, there is now a plan in place.

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

For children who struggle with substance misuse, staff have missed vital opportunities to recognise and respond to risk. For example, risk assessments for substance misuse are not clear or evaluative. When concerns of substance misuse have been noted during room searches, care has not been adapted to ensure the safety and well-being of children. It is not clear how staff should check on children when they are suspected to be under the influence of substances. On one occasion, medical attention was not appropriately sought in a timely manner.

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

For children who have historical ligature risks, these have not been adequately assessed, reviewed or evaluated. The home environment has not been properly assessed to consider possible ligature risks.

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

Staff are trained in safeguarding. The training meets the needs of the children living at the home. However, safeguarding is not always routinely discussed in one-to-one staff supervision sessions. This does not provide staff with opportunities to reflect and develop their practice.

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

Team meetings take place. However, these meetings do not always have safeguarding children as a standard agenda item. This prevents staff from discussing specific and wider safeguarding issues. Additionally, team meetings do not yet act as a vehicle for staff development or a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities within the team.

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

There have been shortfalls in some staff members’ practice. There have been occasions when their responses to children have been poor. This is particularly evident in direct sessions with children. Inspection report for children's home: 2745080 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Whilst the home has been open since November 2023, the registered manager has had a period of absence. The manager identifies this as having an impact on the management and leadership of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management systems for monitoring the quality of care are poor. Managers do not have oversight of all records, for example, intervention debriefs for children, consequence logs and records of children’s meetings. Children’s care plans and risk assessments have not had management oversight to review and evaluate strategies for risk reduction for children. Monitoring does not yet provide sufficient oversight or demonstrate a full understanding of the impact and effectiveness of care. Consequently, areas requiring improvement are not addressed and opportunities to make improvements are missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers are not leading this home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos described in the statement of purpose. The use of language in records of children’s key-work sessions is not restorative or therapeutic. They fail to demonstrate a nurturing approach or response to children. This does not promote their welfare. The manager is aware of this and is taking steps to address the shortfalls. However, this needs to be embedded in practice to ensure the home provides all aspects of children’s care and that shortfalls are responded to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff have faced difficult situations. They have had to manage some behaviours that challenge. Staff are positive about the support being offered by the manager. Staff receive daily support and guidance from the management team and each other. Training is being sought to further support staff to develop their understanding of children’s complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Partnership work with some external agencies is positive. Managers have built effective working relationships with external providers and professionals. However, there is a lack of feedback from carers, children, staff and external professionals in reports from the independent visitor. This feedback is necessary to continually improve the experiences and care of children at the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2745080 5

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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

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 that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)(d)(e)) 17 July 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2745080 6 The responsible person and manager must ensure staff take all necessary and appropriate action to reduce the risks of children going missing and when children are missing from the home.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure staff and managers have assessed each child’s exploitation risks, make necessary arrangements and take necessary action to reduce the risk of harm.

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Requirement Due date

Effective and thorough implementation of arrangements must be in place for staff to act on and reduce the risks of substance misuse for children.

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Requirement Due date

The responsible person and manager must ensure all injuries are recorded and external professionals are informed as soon as possible.

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Requirement Due date

Managers and staff must ensure that any hazards or damage to the home are made safe and fixed in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

The responsible person and manager must monitor and review their policies and practices on keeping children safe on a regular basis or when there has been an incident.

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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

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;

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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)(f)(h)) 17 July 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2745080 7 The responsible person and manager must review and evaluate risks and plans for children and take necessary action to reduce the risk of harm and identify and address any shortfalls found. External professionals must be informed as soon as reasonably practicable after the incident and any other action required in respect of staff practice must be taken. This is to reduce risks for children.

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Requirement Due date

The responsible person and manager must review and evaluate the impact and effectiveness of physical interventions, missing episodes, ligature risks and incidents for children and ensure action is taken to review and revise plans and risk assessments to keep children safe.

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions and team meetings include discussion on safeguarding issues which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs and risks of children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)  The registered person should set out the expectations on staff to have positive relationships with others, including individuals both inside and outside the home such as other children in the home, staff, family members, siblings, previous carers and friends (in accordance with their relevant plans). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.8)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of its children. It should provide a homely,

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Recommendations

domestic environment. This is especially in relation to the interior decor. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2745080 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 58 St Peters Road, Leicester LE2 1DD

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Inspectors

Thirza Smith, Social Care Inspector Netsai Muzuva, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2745080 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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