Concerns that care homes may not safeguard children and staff

Friday 24 May 2024

Young people in children's homes and staff who look after them may not be adequately safeguarded and supported by the Care Home Service, an inspection report by the Jersey Care Commission has concluded.

The highly critical report – based on an unannounced visit to one unnamed care home in March this year ­– found that ongoing management vacancies in the service run by the Children, Young People, Education, and Skills Department led to limited management oversight and support to the home’s staff team which had been experiencing "multiple challenges".

It acknowledged that management arrangements had been strengthened since the inspection but said that a more permanent solution was required.

"Staff recruitment and retention remain consistent issues for this service," it said.

Among its comments, the report noted that formal reflective staff supervision had not been consistently completed since the start of the year; staff debriefs and group supervision had not taken place “following significant events that would promote a continuous learning culture and staff wellbeing”; and training records showed that not all staff had completed mandatory training required under children’s home standards.

Pictured: "The regulation officers were not assured that care receivers and care staff were adequately safeguarded and supported by this service."

The report said: “Children and young people have a right to live in accommodation that is safe, accessible, and meets their needs with a well-trained, motivated, stable staff team that is well-supported to deliver high-quality care.

"The regulation officers were not assured that care receivers and care staff were adequately safeguarded and supported by this service.”

The Commission identified extensive work undertaken to develop a comprehensive suite of policies for Children’s Homes that are directly linked to standards but found that these were incomplete and had not been formally ratified or brought into force.

There were instances where best practice was not followed, for example, staffing ratios when supporting care receivers on holiday or inducting a care receiver to a new home.

Nevertheless, the report praises the home’s staff team for the “dedication and compassion” with which they discharged their roles.

“Safeguarding and the promotion of children and young people’s rights was a priority and was clearly evident. In addition, their resilience and professionalism should be commended,” it states.

But it calls for risk assessment procedures to be strengthened alongside the Registered Manager’s capacity to refuse a prospective care receiver based on compatibility with others in the home.

Pictured: "Listening to the 'voice of the child' is a crucial element of providing care to children and young people."

It says: “Listening to the 'voice of the child' is a crucial element of providing care to children and young people. This and advocacy should ensure that care receivers' voices are heard and acted upon. Where care receivers have refused advocacy, this should be revisited when major care planning decisions are being made concerning them.”

The home, which was inspected on 22 March, is one of nine which CYPES operates for the Government, and provides for young people between the ages of 10 and 18.

The report comments that the service was operating with an interim manager at the time of the inspection, following a request to the Commission in September last year to deregister the registered manager.

It makes 12 recommendations in an improvement plan that includes the requirement that notifications to the Commission “include sufficient details when there is a significant risk to care receivers and staff”.