Children's home run by Utopia Supported Housing

Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 1 Registered provider: Utopia Supported Housing

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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 privately owned home is registered to provide care for up to six children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. Three children lived in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager in post since April 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 and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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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: 2748091 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/01/2025 Full Good 22/04/2024 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 3

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inadequate

This area has been judged as inadequate due to shortfalls in the management of safeguarding concerns in the home. A poor safeguarding culture in the home has resulted in poor experiences for children. There have been delays and failings in notifying and sharing information to keep children safe and a lack of clear guidance for staff on how to manage and understand children’s risks.

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inadequate

As a result of this inspection, a restriction notice has been issued, which prevents the provider from admitting new children to the home. In addition, two compliance notices were issued in relation to shortfalls in safeguarding and leadership and management.

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inadequate

The home feels institutionalised and is not furnished, decorated or maintained to provide a warm, homely environment. There are many areas of the home that are dated and in need of refurbishment and maintenance. Door locks, labels, signage, peeling wallpaper and mismatched and old furniture add to the institutional feel of the home. The decor of the home did not represent the interests, age or personalities of the children living there.

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inadequate

Levels of cleanliness in the home are poor. Children have not received the support required to maintain their bedroom spaces to an acceptable standard. Other personal and communal areas, such as bathrooms and hallway areas, had also not been appropriately cleaned and maintained to an acceptable standard. As a result of these shortfalls, children are not benefiting from a warm, nurturing environment that can help them to feel valued.

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inadequate

Children are in good general health. They are receiving support to develop healthy routines and are being supported to understand healthy diets and sleep routines. When staff are worried about children’s health, they reach out to the appropriate services, including completing referrals to health professionals to promote good mental health when required. Children have access to in-house therapeutic support and equine therapy if this is identified as appropriate by their placing authority.

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inadequate

Children are receiving support to stay in contact with people they identify as important. They get to spend time with their family, maintaining relationships through engaging in joint activities, having overnight stays or speaking regularly on the phone.

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inadequate

Education is prioritised, and managers help children’s voices to be heard in their education planning. All children are enrolled in education and are receiving appropriate encouragement to attend. Children are supported to attend and have a voice in their education planning meetings. Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 4 Children are supported to have new experiences. Their interests are used to plan fun and engaging activities. They have benefited from trips to the beach, local shopping venues and for meals out. One child with an interest in wrestling has been supported to attend the theatre to see a wrestling match.

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

There are significant failings in the management of safeguarding concerns in the home. Allegations in the home are not responded to appropriately. When managers have identified shortfalls in the responses of staff, they have not taken appropriate action to address this with staff to ensure they have the understanding, skills and knowledge to respond appropriately. As a result of this lack of action, staff have continued to be unclear on the process for managing allegations, and there are indications that further allegations, comments and complaints have not been recorded or taken seriously.

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

There have been substantial delays in sharing appropriate information with professionals and taking effective action to reduce risks following allegations. Managers have failed to take action to supervise or limit staff contact with children following allegations or conduct concerns. There have been at least two occasions when allegations shared with the manager have not been shared with the local authority designated officer (LADO). When concerns have been shared with the LADO, this has not taken place until several days after the concern was initially reported. In addition to this, managers have failed to notify the regulator of several serious incidents.

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

Risk management practices in the home do not ensure that staff have the information needed to respond to children’s known risks. Risk assessments are basic, detailing known information. However, individual safety plans do not provide clear guidance for staff in relation to relevant risk factors, such as the safety of other children living in the home.

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

Incidents of racially inappropriate behaviour have been responded to robustly. Children have received support to understand and reflect on the impact of their behaviours on others. Reflective one-to-one discussions help children to learn about tolerance, respect and valuing differences in others. Support for staff following incidents of racially inappropriate behaviour is good; managers are supportive, offering practical and emotional support and guidance when needed. There has been a reduction in racially offensive behaviour in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

An interim manager has been in post since the last inspection and has submitted their application to register with Ofsted. Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 5 Senior leaders have not sustained changes made as a result of previous inspection findings. Allegation management shortfalls identified previously have reoccurred. Weaknesses have been found in the management oversight of safeguarding incidents. In addition, managers have not ensured effective partnership work with external professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

When leaders and managers have identified the need for investigations, they have failed to appropriately explore the comments of staff and children. When action plans have been created as a result of investigations, managers have been ineffective in ensuring these actions have been followed through in suitable timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring systems have not been established to ensure that managers have effective oversight of the quality of care for children. Managers are unable to provide information to show they understand the interventions used by staff, the quality of support offered to children or the levels of incidents in the home. Incorrect data on allegations, complaints and the use of consequences was provided multiple times during the inspection. Managers have also been unable to identify and mitigate shortfalls in the condition, cleanliness and maintenance of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have been unable to inspire a culture of openness and transparency in managing safeguarding concerns. Staffing levels are good, supervision takes place regularly and staff feel valued by managers who work directly with them. Records of supervisions are brief and do not provide an insight into the discussions in relation to improving standards in practice or the experiences of children. Managers have been ineffective in driving improvements to provide good standards of care to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

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 effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) 24 October

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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— 24 October Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 7 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

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; 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)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(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

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

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 24 October Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 8 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 24 October

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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: 2748091 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Utopia Supported Housing

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: English Room, Old Free School, Watford, Hertfordshire WD18 0BX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Lauren Mercurius-Mascoll

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Inspector

Georgia Carty, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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