Children’s home – Monitoring visit
Inspection date

20/10/2016

Unique reference number

SC405379

Type of inspection

Monitoring

Inspector

Clive Lucas
Ashley Hinson

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 On the 2 September 2016, an inspector conducted an interim inspection. This
found that the home had declined in effectiveness. Following that visit, a
compliance notice and nine requirements were set. The compliance notice was
concerned with the quality of impact risk assessments and individual children’s risk
assessments. On 20 October 2016, two inspectors undertook a compliance
monitoring visit. The purpose of this visit was to evaluate whether the provider
had met the requirements in relation to the compliance notice and to follow up
additional concerns that had been received.
The organisation had identified that there were serious shortfalls in the operation
of the home and the home is now closed it for a significant period of time. It will
re-open with a different purpose and function. One child has recently moved on
and the one remaining child is due to move within days of the visit. At the time of
the visit, the manager, a senior manager from the organisation, was overseeing
the home.
The inspectors found that the provider had not made sufficient progress to meet
the compliance notice. This is because risk assessments for the one child in
placement remained inaccurate, incomplete and inconsistent. The inspectors found
that a risk assessment relating to ‘fire setting’ by individual children had not been
reviewed or updated after a significant incident at the home during which the
children lit hairspray, set fire to walls, threatened staff and tried to set fire to the
school building. Neither had the home’s central fire risk assessment been reviewed
to include this information. These omissions mean that the risk assessments are
not an accurate representation of the risk and do not safeguard the children or the
staff.
The child’s bullying risk assessment had not been updated to reflect recent
incidents when the child had been a victim of bullying, despite the service
identifying these incidents to be significant enough to warrant notifications to
Ofsted. The risk assessment only considered the child as a potential perpetrator of
bullying. Therefore, the risk assessment neither fully considers the risks nor
contributes to safeguarding the child. The incidents are recorded in the home’s
bullying log, stating, as an action, that there would be a restorative meeting
between the children and key-work sessions with the perpetrator. Staff could not
find any record of the restorative meeting taking place. There were three recorded
key-work sessions, but in one of these the child refused to speak. In the other
two, there was no recognition by the child that there was anything wrong in her
actions. This failed to address the bullying effectively, yet no further steps were
considered to help either child to deal with the impact of this relationship. Neither
the child’s behaviour plan nor the violent and aggressive behaviour risk
assessment make reference to recent serious behavioural issues when the children
attempted to push staff into the path of oncoming traffic. Inspectors also found
inconsistencies between risk assessments relating to management of medication.
No children have been admitted to the home since the last inspection. The home’s

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 improvement plan states that training and guidance have been given in relation to
impact assessments. However, the home’s manager and operations manager were
unavailable during the visit. The manager on site at the time of the monitoring
visit was unable to provide any detail on what this constituted or who received this
training. It was therefore not possible to judge the degree to which this element of
the compliance notice has been met. Ofsted will monitor future placement
decisions.
Inspectors found that staff have not been able to manage challenging situations or
children’s challenging behaviour effectively. This has led to incidents escalating
and the children not being protected and not maintaining appropriate routines. For
example, children have regularly slept in until late morning or even into the
afternoon. They consequently have not settled at their expected bedtimes. While
staff have made efforts to get the children up on time, these have not been
sufficiently rigorous. When incidents of challenging behaviour have occurred,
children have dictated what staff should do. For example, after the children had
run off into the local town and staff had found them, the children insisted that
staff walked back to the home in front of them. The staff walked in front and the
children then threw stones at them and tried to push them into the way of
oncoming traffic. On another occasion, a child refused education, was threatening
towards staff and threw items around in the house. They then ‘demanded’ to be
taken to buy cigarettes and were subsequently taken by staff. In a very serious
incident, children used hairspray and lighters to make flamethrowers which they
used to set walls alight, threaten staff and attempt to burn down the education
building. This has put children at serious risk and led to them being arrested. In
addition, some children have moved out of the home as a result of the incidents.
This has meant a disruption to their care plans and an additional move of
placement.
As a result of the shortage of available staff, some staff have been working
excessively long hours. One worked 108 hours over eight consecutive days.
Additionally, this member of staff covered sleep-in duties on all apart from one of
these days. Other staff have also worked long hours. At times, staff have had
disturbed nights with little sleep. This affects staff’s ability to work effectively with
the children, who have at times been very challenging. The records of the hours
actually worked by staff are not all available. These should be kept in the home for
15 years. In addition, there are no induction records on the file of a member of
staff who started working in the home on 9 August 2016. It is not known whether
these have been put somewhere else or whether the induction did not take place.
It is important that staff are properly inducted, so that they can work effectively
and safely with the children. It is also important that records of induction are
available for managers in supervising and undertaking appraisals of staff.
The inspectors did not monitor the requirements made at the interim inspection on
2 September 2016. Monitoring of these requirements will take place through
future regulatory activity.

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 Information about this children’s home
This privately owned home provides residential care and accommodation for up to
eight children with emotional or behavioural difficulties. An on-site school room
provides education for children.

What does the children’s home need to do to improve?
Statutory requirements
This section sets out the actions that must be taken so that the registered person(s)
meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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.
Requirement

Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

30/11/2016

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, the
registered provider must:
(2)(c)(i) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the
home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of
each child.
12: The protection of children standard

18/11/2016

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the
registered provider must ensure:
(2)(a) that staff 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.
This is in relation to comprehensive impact assessments, care
plans and individual risk assessments.
13: The leadership and management standard
In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the
registered provider must:
(2)(c) ensure that staff have the appropriate experience, and
skills for the work that the individual is to perform.
This is with particular regard to ensuring that staff receive
training on managing challenging behaviour in line with the
statement of purpose.

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30/11/2016

 13: The leadership and management standard

30/11/2016

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the
registered provider must:
(2)(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous
improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.
The registered person must ensure that children are provided at
all reasonable times with access to a telephone on which to make
and receive telephone calls in private, which they may use
without reference to persons working in the home. (Regulation
22(3)(a))

30/11/2016

The registered person must ensure that medicine which is
prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child
for whom it is prescribed and a record is kept of the
administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23(2)(b)(c))

30/11/2016

The registered person must ensure that staff have the
appropriate qualifications for the work that the individual is to
perform. (Regulation 32(3)(b))

30/11/2016

The registered person must ensure that all employees have their
performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least
once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(c))

30/11/2016

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for
each child which include the information and documents listed in
schedule 3 in relation to each child, are kept up to date, and are
signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation
36(1)(a)(b)(c))

30/11/2016

This is with particular regard to ensuring that the information
recorded is accurate and of a sufficient quality.
The registered person must establish and maintain a system for
monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care provided
for children and any actions that the registered person considers
necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care
provided for children. The system must provide for ascertaining
and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing
authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(2)(a)(c)(5))

30/11/2016

11. The positive relationships standard

30/11/2016

In order to meet the positive relationships standard, with
particular reference to managing children's challenging behaviour
and having clearly understood expectations of behaviour, the

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 responsible person must ensure:
(2)(a) that staff—
(v) communicate to each child expectations about the child's
behaviour and ensure that the child understands those
expectations, in accordance with the child's age and
understanding;
(xi) de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or
potentially violent behaviour by children.
14. The care planning standard

30/11/2016

In order to meet the care planning standard, with particular
reference to children moving from the home, the responsible
person must ensure that children:
(b) have a positive experience of moving on from the home.
The registered person must maintain in the home the records in
schedule 4, ensure that the records are kept up to date and
retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last
entry. (Regulation 37(2(a)(b)(c))

30/11/2016

This relates to a record of the actual rosters worked by staff.
The registered person must ensure that each employee
completes an appropriate induction. (Regulation 33(1)(a))

30/11/2016

12. The protection of children standard

30/11/2016

In order to meet the protection of children standard, with
particular reference to addressing bullying between children, the
responsible person must:
(2)(a)(iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them
from harming each other.
The registered person must ensure that the requirements of
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and any regulations
made under it are complied with in respect of the home.
(Regulation 25(2)(b))
This relates to ensuring that the fire risk assessment is updated
to identify significant risks.

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30/11/2016

 Information about this inspection
The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by
the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.
This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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 Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made by following the procedures set
out in the guidance, ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’ which is available from
Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted. If you would like Ofsted to send
you a copy of this guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates 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, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and
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child protection.
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