Inspectors say homes are failing damaged children

With 14 private care homes, Barnsley has the highest concentration in Yorkshire –although the local council does not use any of them.

Inspectors from Ofsted picked up on significant problems at two of those homes last year.

The first unnamed home, rated “adequate”, has accommodation for five young people with emotional and behaviour difficulties or learning disabilities. Inspectors identified shortfalls in the planning, decision-making and case recording for some young people who entered the home on an emergency basis. They also discovered that staff were not trained in the recognition and management of child sexual exploitation.

The report said the home was ineffective in dealing with the “frequent” incidents where children go missing.

“Staff work within a reasonable missing from home policy and procedure that is in line with the local police joint protocol. Staff have taken action under these procedures to address some particularly concerning episodes when young people have been missing for extended periods, with associated concerns of child sexual exploitation.

“Staff have worked closely with all the relevant agencies to identify strategies to reduce the risk of harm... those strategies have not been effective to date to reduce the level of going missing, though professionals are hopeful about the latest strategy. It is too soon to evaluate if it will indeed be successful.”

A second private home in Barnsley, also judged “adequate”, was found to be struggling to cope.

The Ofsted report highlighted several successes in helping young people become independent, but added: “The manager has struggled to get good quality information from the placing authorities to assist in new children’s admissions. Admissions have been close together and left staff ill-prepared to care and support children’s diverse and complex needs. This has impacted on the outcomes and levels of safety children experience that were previously judged as outstanding.”

Figures from Barnsley Council show that the authority’s spending on private children’s homes is going up, although a spokesman said it was not trying to reduce its reliance on private provision.

Councillor Tim Cheetham, Barnsley Council’s Cabinet spokesman for children and young people, said he is lobbying the Government for greater clarity about councils’ rights and responsibilities for private homes.

Across Kirklees, there are 10 private children’s homes and while Ofsted reports that most are well run two were critcised.

One home, which provides long-term placements for young people with emotional and behaviour difficulties, was judged last year to be “inadequate” because of a variety of failings, including significant shortfalls in education attendance and achievement, behaviour management, staff training and leadership.

Some of the children did not enjoy such good health “because staff support them in smoking by purchasing cigarettes on their behalf”, Ofsted said.

A Kirklees Council spokesman said a council officer visited the home and reviewed the company’s action plan and social workers also looked again at the placements. A second private home in Kirklees, for 13- to 17-year-olds, was was failing to tackle bullying.

Leeds Council said it was reducing spending on residential homes outside the city. There are 10 private homes in Leeds and the council has used eight of them.

Nigel Richardson, director of children’s services in Leeds, said: “Our priority is to ensure that vulnerable children in our care are placed in the right home for them.

“As part of the major improvements we’ve made in children’s services since 2009, we’ve reviewed how and where we place children to give them the best quality care possible.

“This includes using independent children’s homes where necessary to make sure children with complex and specific needs get the very specialist support that they need.

“Over the past two years 
Leeds has invested in preventative and early intervention services to address the issues faced by vulnerable children and their families at an early stage, to prevent the need for them to come into care.

“We are beginning to see the benefits of this strategy and forecast that the amount we spend on residential homes outside Leeds this year will be around £1.3m less than in 2011/12.”