Children's home run by Partnerships in Care 1 Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1247390 1 Registered provider: Partnerships In Care 1 Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered with both Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to eight children with emotional health needs and who may self-harm. At the time of this inspection, five children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in February 2022.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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

Date of last inspection: 19 September 2023

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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: 1247390 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/04/2022 Full Good 30/11/2021 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/07/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1247390 3

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improvement to be good

Children have mixed experiences and outcomes while living at this home. Currently, three children are staying at the home. Another two children are receiving care in hospital, but staff are continuing to support them during this time. Since the previous inspection, there has been an unsettled period. While staff tried to minimise the impact on children, some children shared how they found this period difficult. Managers understand that children’s experiences were impacted on and have taken learning from this.

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improvement to be good

Routines and boundaries to promote children’s health and well-being are not well established in this home. This impacts on children’s experiences as staff are not doing enough to support and encourage children into a positive daily routine. Despite the children not being of a legal age to smoke, smoking is accepted by staff. A gazebo in the garden has turned into a smoking area for children. Children who do not smoke also spend time here while other children are smoking.

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improvement to be good

Some thought has gone into how the quality of the environment can be improved. However, on the whole, the environment still lacks a homely feel. Too much unnecessary signage projects an institutional culture. For example, there is a laminated laundry rota for children displayed on a door that children adhere to and signs for staff about remembering to shut doors or rinse plates. Staff wear lanyards and carry bunches of keys. In contrast, jigsaws were out on the table for children and staff to enjoy.

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improvement to be good

Children take the opportunity to personalise their bedrooms. Most of them have pets such as bugs, lizards and rats. Managers have considered how they can improve the quality of children’s bedrooms while also respecting children’s choice and privacy. However, the solution has not been effective to address the ongoing issue. Staff are not achieving the right balance to step in when needed to ensure that bedrooms are kept to a suitable standard.

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improvement to be good

Staff engage children to enjoy some positive experiences and activities. For example, they have access to board games and arts and crafts and go on day trips out to zoos and outdoor activities. However, there is a lack of meaningful engagement and activity to provide structure, routine and educational activities. Managers and staff are not challenging and advocating effectively for all children, to ensure they have education in place.

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improvement to be good

Despite the shortfalls, there are examples of children making some progress. One child goes to college, and staff have supported another child to develop some independence skills, and they have recently been offered a job. There are other examples where through staff’s support, relationships between children and their Inspection report for children’s home: 1247390 4 families have improved, children’s social skills have increased and children have attended important meetings held about them to ensure their voice is heard.

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improvement to be good

Children shared some positive experiences about living in the home. They said that they feel listened to and managers are approachable. Staff show a commitment to children, ensuring they stay 24/7 with one child who is in hospital. They also took a homemade birthday cake and presents to a child who is spending a longer period of time in hospital.

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improvement to be good

Serious incidents have occurred that impacted on the safety and well-being of children, as well as impacting on other children in the home. Risks were high, and managers and staff had a good understanding of these risks and attempted to adapt their approach to manage these. This was not always successful, which did mean that emergency services, such as the police and ambulance service, had to visit the home, which all children found difficult. Unfortunately for one child, their needs were not able to be met in the home, and they are currently spending some time away from the home receiving specialist care. Staff subsequently consulted with children about how their care could be improved when a peer experiences crisis.

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improvement to be good

The ethos of this home is that it provides specialist care for children with complex emotional health and well-being needs. Some children may try to seriously harm themselves. The model of care adopted is that staff will verbally try to support children to stop them from harming themselves; however, they will only physically intervene in life-threatening situations. This means that when verbally supporting a child in crisis is not effective, children have harmed themselves under the direct supervision of staff.

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improvement to be good

Managers have oversight of serious incidents, and they involve the organisation’s clinical team to help them review and adapt the care provided to children. They also engage placing authorities to seek their view and further support. Some changes, such as the removal of certain items that pose a risk, do reduce some immediate risk to children.

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improvement to be good

Staff follow safeguarding processes to report any concerns about children’s welfare. Managers make appropriate referrals to safeguarding agencies. Staff respond quickly when children leave the home without permission. They understand the high level of risk that children may face and so they are quick to respond.

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improvement to be good

Some targeted work with children helps them to progress in relation to risk. Some risks have reduced for children, and staff recognise this and align their care to this change in need. This means that some children gradually have more independent time away from staff, have less direct supervision while at home and may have access to more items that were previously prohibited. Inspection report for children’s home: 1247390 5 The internal clinician makes recommendations to children’s general practitioner about children’s medication. Some children are prescribed controlled drugs as and when they need them to support their emotional health and well-being. Staff have clear guidance around this, and managers have oversight.

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good

This home is part of a large organisation which has its own health-based internal governance structure. This structure is not in line with residential childcare and therefore does not support the manager to develop their service in line with the Children’s Homes Regulations and the social care common inspection framework. The culture developed is from a clinical health perspective rather than being therapeutic and homely, as described in the home’s statement of purpose.

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good

Managers have a good understanding of the quality of care children are provided with. They conduct regular tasks to audit the quality of care, the experiences and environmental issues. However, monitoring is not critical enough or effective to identify the areas of development and implement change.

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good

Managers have an understanding about what is going well and the areas they need to further develop. However, managers are not yet critical enough or they do not have professional support and challenge from leaders within the organisation who are skilled in residential childcare. The responsible individual said that they do not have capacity to carry out their role effectively. This limits the level of improvement which takes place.

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good

Staff supervision is regular and has a focus on children and some of the organisational issues. However, it is not effective to bring about challenge and to help staff, including managers, to develop a strong understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

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good

The team of staff is consistent, meaning children have developed some positive relationships with them. Staff are provided with a range of training and clinical support to help them meet the needs of children. Managers understand their limitations and are open about when their skillset cannot meet the needs of children.

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good

Children’s views are listened to, and children seek out staff to share important information. Children talked about how they feel staff and managers are approachable. Managers can sometimes be slow to take action and make changes when children share information with them. For example, children are repeatedly asking for new bathmats, but these have still not been purchased. Inspection report for children’s home: 1247390 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to the registered person ensuring that they promote children’s welfare in relation to their emotional health needs, such as self-harm. They should also support children to minimise the use of tobacco and vapes. This also refers to ensuring that staff take more action to support children 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1247390 7 to have a healthy lifestyle and help maintain their personal spaces to a suitable standard.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(viii)) 28 June 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

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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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)(c)(f)(h)) 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1247390 8 This particularly relates to the registered person ensuring that leadership and management are effective, with effective monitoring and oversight, including the oversight of the responsible individual. Leaders and managers should ensure they make changes and review the culture to improve the quality of care provided to children.

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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: 1247390 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Partnerships In Care 1 Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fifth Floor, 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Inspectors

Tara Webb, Social Care Inspector Nicola Lownds, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1247390 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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