Children's home run by Heathfield (Parkgate) Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2667771 1 Registered provider: Heathfield (Parkgate) Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to four children with learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection, there were four children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 31 March 2022.

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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 widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2667771 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/08/2023 Full Good 08/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2667771 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Significant and widespread failings in how well children are helped and protected, and how the home is managed have led to the home being judged inadequate. As a result of these failings, Ofsted issued two compliance notices and a notice restricting accommodation following this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff are not consistent in their approach when children are not able to manage their own conflicts and difficult feelings. Children and staff have regular key-work sessions. However, these are not sufficient and fail to ensure that children understand clear, consistent and appropriate boundaries, particularly when spending time with others. This impacts on children, some of whom do not always feel safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Relationships between staff and children are generally positive. However, on occasions, some staff have openly spoken negatively about a child. This could hinder children from developing a positive self-view and prevent trusting relationships being maintained. Likewise, negative language in some records could impact negatively on children should they wish to read their records in later life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are encouraged to take part in meetings about their care planning. However, for one child who is not able to verbalise their wishes, thoughts and feelings, this engagement is limited due to staff not receiving training in the child’s preferred method of communication. Despite staff raising this, it has not been addressed by the leadership team. However, other means of communication are used, so the child’s views are recorded.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff encourage children to engage in a range of activities both in the home and in the community. For example, children enjoy bike rides and sporting activities. However, when some of these are no longer possible due to children’s behaviours, there is no explanation provided to children to help them to understand why decisions have been made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Some children have maintained the progress seen during the last inspection in August 2023. However, one child continues to receive education in the home, and another has been excluded from school due to a significant increase in incidents. Senior leaders continue to prioritise children’s educational needs and work in partnership with other professionals to support children to return to school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff actively support children to spend time with their families and friends. This maintains their identity and improves their social skills and interaction with others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children benefit from a well-maintained home and personalised bedrooms. All children coming to live at the home are encouraged to choose colours and themes for their rooms. As a result, they feel a sense of belonging and are proud of their personal space. Inspection report for children's home: 2667771 4

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

There are serious failures that have resulted in children being harmed. Staff have not followed children’s risk assessments. Consequently, one child has suffered harm on at least two occasions, one of which resulted in them requiring medical attention. On another occasion, staff did not follow the agreed safety plan. A child was left unsupervised, and another child was harmed as a result.

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

One child told staff that they did not feel safe following an incident. Senior staff members failed to ensure that identified actions were completed. As a result, the child did not receive ongoing support or help to understand how to seek support.

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

The children’s guide is available to all children living in the home. This contains all necessary information, including how to make a complaint. However, one child’s complaint was not followed up adequately by the registered manager to ensure that they felt heard and that appropriate action was taken.

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

Allegations relating to staff are taken seriously and acted on swiftly by the registered manager. Investigations are thorough and well recorded, with identified actions. However, actions are not actively monitored to ensure that they are completed. For example, one action was to discuss practice issues in a team meeting, and this was not followed through. Therefore, learning is not readily shared with staff to improve their practice and safeguard children appropriately.

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

Physical intervention to manage negative behaviour is used when necessary. However, there has been a significant increase in incidents and on one occasion an unauthorised hold was used. Staff have raised concerns in relation to other staff’s management of behavioural incidents. However, the registered manager has not addressed these concerns or supported staff to manage some incidents effectively.

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

There are significant delays before the registered manager reviews incidents that have required physical intervention. Despite an increase in incidents, swift action is not always taken and there is a lack of effective safety planning. Consequently, incidents continue to occur.

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

The registered manager does not have a system in place to review the needs and training requirements of staff. A recent plan to address this failed to identify that one member of staff does not have the required physical intervention training to appropriately meet a child’s needs. This means that timely action could not be taken to safeguard staff or other children living in the home. The responsible individual took immediate action to address this.

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

Staff have failed to complete some necessary health and safety checks to ensure that the children live in a safe environment. These include legionella testing and checking of first aid equipment. Inspection report for children's home: 2667771 5 Safer recruitment practice has not been followed for one member of staff working in the home. This member of staff remained working in the home without a valid Disclosure and Barring Service check.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has a registered manager with the required qualifications. However, they have failed to consistently lead and manage the home as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. For example, they have failed to immediately address staff negativity towards a child or act when staff have not followed the home’s behaviour management policy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring and quality assurance systems are not effective. The registered manager has failed to identify the shortfalls found during this inspection. This prevents learning and identifying themes or concerns. This increases the risk of harm to both children and staff and hinders children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Team meetings are held regularly, with the expectation that staff attend. However, these are at times ineffective due to a lack of information-sharing and learning following incidents. For example, the inappropriate use of physical intervention was not discussed during a team meeting, despite this being an identified action.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Not all staff receive regular practice-related supervision. Although this was known by the registered manager, there was no action plan in place to address this shortfall. The quality of supervision varies. Some staff have not received their annual appraisal. Therefore, staff do not all have the opportunity to discuss their professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager failed to review and update the home’s workforce development plan or complete an effective quality of care review. As a result, they have not recognised the impact that the quality of care is having on the progress, safety and well- being of children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Serious incidents are generally well recorded and reported to the relevant professionals and Ofsted within the relevant timeframe. However, on one occasion, the registered manager failed to notify the appropriate stakeholders of a significant incident. Inspection report for children's home: 2667771 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)) 31 August 2024

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)) 31 August 2024

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(v)) 11 August 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2667771 7 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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(g)(ii)) 31 August 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 promotes their welfare.

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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)) 11 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— 31 August 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2667771 8 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)) 31 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report"). (Regulation 45 (3))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 31 August 2024

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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 workforce plan is kept up to date and meets the requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should maintain good employment practice. They should ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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Recommendations

Inspection report for children's home: 2667771 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: 2667771 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Heathfield (Parkgate) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5 Deansway, Worcester, Worcestershire WR1 2JG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jacqueline Smeeth

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Inspector

Jill Sephton-Wright, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2667771 11 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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