Children face 'serious risk of harm' at Gloucestershire care home, Ofsted report says
Nina Jacobs
Monday, December 16, 2019
A children’s home for young people with autism and learning difficulties has been rated "inadequate" in all areas of its provision after an Ofsted inspection uncovered a catalogue of leadership and safeguarding failures placing children at “significant risk of harm”.
Inspectors that visited Orbis Abbey Rose in Tewkesbury on 6 and 7 November recommended immediate action to suspend the home’s registration and for the 10 children in its care to move to alternative placements.
Orbis Abbey Rose confirmed that Ofsted has suspended its residential care provision but added that “the day school remains unaffected”.
The inspectorate said it carried out an inspection of the home - which is on the same site as a day school also owned by Orbis Education and Care group - after receiving “several specific concerns and allegations” about practices in the home.
“During the inspection, these concerns were reviewed, and Ofsted identified serious weaknesses in the management of the home that placed the children at significant risk of harm,” the inspection report states.
It describes how staff, children and the premises being smeared with faeces was a “regular occurrence” and children engaged in “highly dangerous behaviours” including destroying property and assaulting staff.
The inspection highlighted how an “insufficient” lack of arrangements for staff and children to keep clean had resulted in poor infection control and environmental issues.
Despite “plentiful supplies on-site”, one house only contained one toilet roll between six bathrooms and the staff bathroom did not contain any hand wash or hand towels.
In terms of children’s diets, staff regularly gave them high levels of processed and takeaway food.
With daily visits by staff to a fast food outlet, one child was being provided with around 122 chicken nuggets and 14 litres of fizzy drink each week.
One member of staff said they brought food in from their home to ensure the children could have a healthy cooked meal.
Staff were found to lack the skills to de-escalate incidents safely with several serious incidents occurring since May.
These included children smashing car windows, throwing furniture and assaulting staff.
On two occasions, one child was not prevented from eating wild mushrooms and another child was not stopped from misusing the internet despite both children having at least one-to-one support from staff.
The investigation revealed within a month of the home being registered with Ofsted in May, its manager had resigned and an interim manager had been appointed.
The report flagged up repeated changes to the senior leadership team and “poor retention” of staff remained as concerns describing how agency staff were used regularly and relied on to cover staff vacancies.
Such “significant staffing changes” meant children’s opportunities to develop relationships and to join in with activities was “vastly reduced”, it adds.
Gloucestershire County Council, which organised placements for two of the children at the home, said it took the welfare of children in its care “very seriously”.
“As soon as we were made aware of the outcome of the Ofsted inspection at Orbis Abbey Rose, we took immediate action to remove the two children we had placed there as soon as possible,” a spokesman for the council said.
Orbis Education and Care group runs a number of schools, residential homes and facilities for children and adults with autism.
A spokesman for Orbis Abbey Rose said: “At Orbis Abbey Rose the safety and wellbeing of our young people is paramount and we are committed to delivering high-quality education and care across all of our services.
“Following a recent Ofsted inspection in November 2019, we can confirm that Ofsted has temporarily suspended the residential children’s home. The day school remains unaffected.
“This is clearly a concerning matter for us and we have taken swift action to make alternate care arrangements for all of our young people during this temporary suspension.
“Since the initial inspection we have been working closely with Ofsted to address their concerns and have put a robust improvement plan in place. Following a monitoring visit this week, Ofsted has acknowledged the progress we have made over the past few weeks. We will continue to work closely with Ofsted, the local authorities and families as we implement the improvement plan.”
