RNIB failures led to some children in its care being harmed, charity watchdog says

A report published by the Charity Commission, the charity sector’s independent regulator, says “systemic weaknesses” at RNIB allowed serious safeguarding breaches to take place.

These breaches were not picked up or addressed at senior levels of the charity at an early enough stage, allowing children with complex needs to come to harm or distress, the regulator said.

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They also put other children under the care of the charity at undue risk of harm, it added.

In its findings, the regulator uncovered a “catalogue of failings” at the charity which it said could be considered a breach of its duty to take all reasonable steps to protect these vulnerable children from coming to harm.

The investigation was launched by the commission in March 2018 following serious concerns raised about services provided at the RNIB’s Pears Centre children’s home in Coventry and Ofsted’s notice of intention to cancel the facility’s registration.

The concerns were later corroborated by the inquiry, as well as being supported by independent reviews, revealing failings such as inadequate staff training and poor recruitment practices which did not adequately protect children.

There was also found to be a disproportionately high number of basic medication errors carried out at the centre.

The inquiry found the seriousness of these failings, particularly at RNIB's Pears Centre, was exacerbated by many of the children having learning and communication difficulties which meant they and their families were heavily reliant on the charity.

“Children at the RNIB Pears Centre had needs and disabilities so complex that in some cases, a placement at the centre was an alternative to a hospital stay.

“However, the charity’s safeguarding processes and oversight did not reflect the high level of care and attention that was required,” the regulator said.

Its findings concluded that families affected by these failings were “badly let down” by RNIB.

The centre was later transferred to the responsibility of Warwickshire County Council in December 2019.

The regulator said evidence had also been found of “ineffective and dysfunctional” governance at the charity, citing that trustee committees meant to oversee regulated establishments did not meet for a period of 10 months.

It also uncovered no single person had “direct qualifying experience” in the chain of senior managers, various committees, senior executives and the trustee board overseeing the regulated establishments catering for children and adults with complex needs.

The report criticises the charity’s board for failing to ensure its governance arrangements appropriately matched the complexity and scale, and associated risks, of its activities and structure.

Helen Stephenson, chief executive of the commission, said the case was one of the worst examples of poor governance and oversight having a direct impact on vulnerable people.

“A catalogue of serious failings were allowed to occur because the charity’s governance was simply too weak for the trustees in charge of the charity to do the job that beneficiaries needed them to do.

“No child should ever be put at risk of harm, and this case is all the more troubling because it happened in the care of a charity,” she said.

Following the inquiry, the commission sanctioned the charity with an official warning issuing a legal order holding its trustees to account against an action plan requiring wholesale change to its governance and management processes.

The charity, which remains under ongoing statutory supervision until it has implemented all of the required reforms, is part way through the transfer of its schools and colleges to new specialist providers.

In response to the findings, Matt Stringer, chief executive officer at RNIB, said the charity apologised for the failings identified in the report which represented a “low point” in its 152-year history.

“It is clear that we seriously let down children and their families, staff, volunteers, supporters and blind and partially sighted people who make up the RNIB community. We are sorry to every one of them.

“We fully accept the Charity Commission’s recommendations and the inquiry report acknowledges that we are making good progress in implementing them.

“We have made significant changes to RNIB and are continuing to embed improvements to ensure that these failings can never happen again,” he said.

Shortly after the report was published, the commission issued a regulatory alert to leaders of large, complex charities that directly support beneficiaries or provide amenities or facilities to the public.

The alert reminds charities of the importance of suitable oversight that takes into account the complexity, scale and nature of their activities, in order to help avoid potential harm to their beneficiaries, finances or reputation.

In a message to more than 600 charity leaders, Stephenson said:“Over the past few years, we have seen grave governance failings in some household name charities. These failings have resulted in serious incidents which have put people at risk of harm and exposed the charities in question to financial and reputational damage. These cases have also impacted the sector as a whole.

"We cannot ignore the potential impact of these failings on public trust and on the support on which charity relies. I am, therefore, writing to you as leader of a large charity involved in service delivery to consider the issues set out in the regulatory alert and to ensure you understand and implement adequate and clear lines of accountability in the governance of your charity.

"I know that this is a very difficult time, both for the country and for the sector, and I am mindful of the significant demands being placed on those running charities. But irrespective of the current context, the matters raised through our inquiries are extremely important, and need to be raised with you now.”