Children's Home run by MacIntyre Care in Hertfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 1 Registered provider: MacIntyre Care

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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, which is run by a private organisation, provides care for up to five children aged 11 to 18 years with learning disabilities.

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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: 2510323 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/07/2023 Full Good 27/04/2022 Full Good 18/05/2021 Full Outstanding 04/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There are serious shortfalls in respect of the help and protection of children and the leadership and management of the home that leave children at risk of harm. There is a widespread failure to monitor the quality of the service, including restraints, recruitment records and shortfalls identified at previous inspections. Clear and predictable risk arising from personal relationships in the home have not been appropriately responded to and this has contributed to a member of staff not raising a serious safeguarding concern for several months. These shortfalls have affected the overall judgement of the quality of the service. However, children do appear to be making progress, and a range of positive feedback was received.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There are four children living at the home. Four other children have moved out since the last inspection. These children had planned moves. The inspector spent time with two children during the inspection. Two other children were out on activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

One of the five beds at the home is used as an emergency bed. This has presented some challenges since the last inspection and there has been some disruption to the home. Leaders and managers acted swiftly to put safety plans in place for all children. Managers are currently reviewing the use of the emergency bed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There are several areas of the home that need maintenance and detract from the homely environment. Two children’s bedrooms need to be painted. There is water damage to a bathroom floor and a door upstairs. The dining room ceiling has marks on it. The maintenance of the home and the timeliness of repairs have been raised at the last two inspections.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children attend specialist schools every day. Staff work well alongside schools, and the communication is good. One headteacher complimented the staff on the work they have done to support a child. The support provided has helped the child to participate in school each day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The staff are very inclusive of children’s families, and they are always welcome at the home. Children’s parents regularly call in and spend time with their children. The manager and staff are proactive in promoting these relationships.

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

There are personal relationships in the home that have not had adequate oversight from leaders and managers. There are insufficient safeguards in place to ensure that these do not affect the day-to-day practice of staff.

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

A staff member did not follow the home’s safeguarding and whistle-blowing procedures in reporting safeguarding concerns about children in a timely manner. This limits the Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 4 manager’s ability to protect children and ensure that all staff are working in a safe way. In addition, there are demonstrable gaps in staff knowledge of safeguarding. Some staff who spoke to the inspector did not know the role of the local authority designated officer (LADO). This further reduces the opportunities for staff to share concerns appropriately.

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

Leaders and managers have not ensured appropriate oversight of physical interventions. The records are not clear. There was insufficient curiosity concerning the intervention methods that staff used and whether they were reasonable and proportionate. The manager had also signed off interventions that he was involved in. This does not provide sufficient safety for children, promote learning for staff or provide opportunities for the manager to identify and respond to trends and patterns.

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

Leaders and managers have not ensured that appropriate checks have always taken place before staff have been employed to work at the home. Recruitment records for core staff and agency staff do not contain all the relevant checks. Additional checks were not in line with the home’s policy. This does not ensure that recruitment is safe and effective.

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

The fire risk assessment was completed in August 2024. It has many actions that have not been completed within the stated timeframe. One fire door has been broken for several months. The manager has reported it, but it is yet to be replaced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2022. He is suitably qualified and has the relevant level 5 diploma.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not monitored the home effectively. Several requirements from the last inspection have not been met and have been restated at this inspection. For the third inspection in a row, it has been noted that there are areas of the home that require maintenance. Shortfalls in the condition of the environment were also identified at the inspection in 2022 and 2023. Following these inspections, requirements were made in respect of these shortfalls. However, raising requirements has not led to the issues being addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are serious shortfalls in the general oversight of the home. Physical interventions do not have sufficient review, evaluation and monitoring by leaders and managers. Leaders and managers have signed off staff recruitment files that did not have the required information. Leaders and managers have not identified these shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

On one occasion, a staff member emailed information about the children and the home to personal email addresses, compromising the security of this information. The manager was copied into this email; however, no action was taken to address this matter.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The reports from the independent person do not sufficiently capture children’s views or experiences. This shortfall has been raised previously with leaders and managers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 5 However, improvements have not been made. The manager has a good relationship with children. Parents also spoke highly of them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 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

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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure 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 effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

ensure that predictable risks arising from close personal relationships are mitigated, carefully risk assessed and that safeguards are in place for children and staff; 5 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 7 ensure that staff understand any expectations of them arising from the risk assessment;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all staff understand the role of the LADO;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff understand and follow the home’s policies and procedures in respect of the protection of children and report without delay any concerns for children’s safety or welfare;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all incidents of physical intervention are recorded clearly and contain all relevant information; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that incident records are reviewed and monitored by an appropriate senior person.

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

leaders and managers must review and evaluate the monitoring arrangements for the home to identify the improvements that are necessary;

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Requirement Due date

leaders and managers must take action to address the improvements they identify as necessary; and

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Requirement Due date

leaders and managers must ensure that all staff have been subject to appropriate recruitment and vetting checks in line with The Children’s Home (England) Regulations 2015 and the provider’s own recruitment policy before they commence work at the home. 5 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 8 * 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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

ensure that action is taken to address the required maintenance of the home, so children can live in a homely environment that meets their needs; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the actions from the fire risk assessment are completed. 5 May 2025

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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 independent person they appoint has the skills and understanding necessary to relate to children in a home’s care. In particular, they should seek to spend time with children and have the skills to gain feedback from children with complex communication needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8)

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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: 2510323 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Seebeck House, 1 Seebeck Place, Milton Keynes MK5 8FR

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jennifer Marshall

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Inspector

Mary Costello, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2510323 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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