Children's home run by Eden Care Homes Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2768436 1 Registered provider: Eden Care Homes 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 owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to three children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2024.

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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

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: 2768436 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s day-to-day experiences are poor because they are not provided with structure and consistent boundaries. Children lack positive routines and have poor sleep patterns. Some children are routinely staying up through the night and sleeping in the day, and this is having an impact on another child who lives at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Two children are not accessing suitable education, and they are not being provided with opportunities for informal learning at home. There is a lack of aspiration for children’s education, and they are not provided with structure to their day. On the day of the inspection, children were provided with funds to spend time in the community during school hours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

While children are being supported to attend routine health appointments, some children’s individual health needs have not been addressed. The manager could not provide evidence that staff are carrying out direct work with children to help them to better understand the risks relating to vaping, smoking cannabis or their use of alcohol. During the inspection, one child smoked cannabis inside the home, and another child had vapes in their bedroom.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

It is unclear whether children are consulted with or whether their wishes and feelings are sought because there were no records of key work or conversations between the staff and the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The manager and staff do not ensure that the conditions of children’s bedrooms remain at a good standard of cleanliness. This does not provide children with a nurturing and homely environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

An alarm system used inside the home restricts children from accessing the ground floor during the night. This prevents children from coming downstairs to get a drink. Very little thought has been given to this. The individual children’s placing authorities have not provided written consent for this to happen.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Family time is promoted in line with children’s plans. Staff help children to see the people who are important in their lives, and they support children’s friends and families to visit the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s relationships with staff vary. Some have good relationships with staff but there are times when children use discriminatory language towards staff members. Staff respond to this in a sensitive way and seek to improve children’s knowledge and understanding of the language they use. Inspection report for children’s home: 2768436 3 Children are provided with a range of activities that reflect their individual hobbies and interests, such as day trips out, baking, going to the cinema, bowling and going to the gym. Staff ensure that these experiences are captured in children’s memory books.

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

Staff do not respond consistently when children go missing from the home, and they do not always escalate concerns appropriately. Children’s plans do not provide up-to-date information, and guidance for staff is ambiguous. Staff have not always searched locations where children have reported to have been on previous episodes of missing from home, leaving children vulnerable and at increased risk of harm. Leaders and managers have not escalated concerns about a child having bruising following two prolonged missing incidents.

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

The inappropriate behaviour of a member of staff was witnessed by children. Leaders and managers have followed safeguarding procedures, and the member of staff no longer works at the home. However, there is no evidence in records to demonstrate the actions taken to support the children.

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

Serious incidents have not been shared with the regulator. Records are poor and have not demonstrated the actions taken, and there is little clarity about whether information has been shared with social care professionals. Staff do not routinely record conversations that they have with children. There is no evidence of staff carrying out direct work with children to educate them about risk.

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

Children’s individual risk assessments do not identify all known risks to children. They are not always updated when incidents occur and do not detail children’s vulnerabilities. This does not provide staff with the guidance to help children stay safe or reduce their risks.

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

There is limited reflection following serious incidents involving the children. Leaders and managers do not analyse and evaluate incidents, and they do not always provide staff and children with the opportunity to talk about what happened. Additional safeguards to reduce risk and prevent a reoccurrence are not always introduced following a serious incident.

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

There have not been any incidents that have led to children needing to be restrained, and consequences to behaviour are not used.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Issues relating to staff conduct and performance have been ongoing since this home was registered in February 2024. Due to a high staff turnover, gaps in the rota have sometimes been filled by leaders and managers working shifts. This has provided consistency of care for the children but has had a detrimental impact on the management oversight in this home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2768436 4 Leaders and managers could not demonstrate a full understanding of individual children’s needs and risks. The manager struggled to locate information about the children, and some records were either missing or incomplete. The quality and accessibility of recording hindered the inspector from having a full understanding about the home and the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Systems for leaders and managers to maintain oversight and to monitor the quality of care provided to children are ineffective. A lack of analysis and evaluation by the leaders and managers has led to significant shortfalls that have not been addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not ensured that new staff are provided with an induction to the home. Not all staff have been supported to access the core training program, and supervision has not been delivered in a way that is described in the home’s statement of purpose or within the proposed timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Complaints and concerns relating to staff conduct and professional boundaries are investigated and internal procedures have been followed to address the shortfalls. However, on one occasion, a member of staff raised concerns about feeling unsupported and about conflict within the staff team. These concerns have not been followed up by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Team meetings happen regularly. These sessions are used to provide staff with additional training and the opportunity to discuss the best strategies to meet individual children’s emotional needs. Staff report this additional support is beneficial to fulfilling their role. Inspection report for children’s home: 2768436 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)(vi)) 25 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

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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; 25 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2768436 6 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; and

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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))

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(vii)) 25 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings; and 25 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2768436 7 regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iv))

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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

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; and

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(iv)(v)) 25 August 2024

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iii)) 25 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected; 25 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2768436 8 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;

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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)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 25 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 2768436 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Eden Care Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 203 Westgate, Bradford BD1 3AD

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Katherine O’Brien

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Inspector

Rachel Webster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2768436 10 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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