A SECURE children’s home run by South Gloucestershire Council has been ordered to improve.
Regulator Ofsted visited Vinney Green in July and its report, published in October, said the unit ‘requires improvement’ in two areas: the help and protection of young people, and the effectiveness of leaders and managers.
A team of five education, social care, health and justice inspectors spent three days at the unit between Mangotsfield and Emersons Green.
Ofsted has visited Vinney Green eight times since an inspection in April 2022 found it to be ‘inadequate’, highlighting complaints of “unlawful, painful” physical restraint and unjustified solitary confinement.
An inspection in April last year found the home, which can accommodate up to 24 children aged between 10 and 18 for the Youth Custody Service, to be ‘good’ in all areas.
The latest report raised concerns about safeguarding the 17 children living there in July.
The inspectors said a complaint from a child that “raised serious safeguarding concerns about staff conduct and behaviour” was not responded to effectively.
This included a letter sent to the child which “infers blame” because of a rule infringement that had “no relevance to the safeguarding concerns raised”.
In a separate incident, managers decided a referral to Vinney Green’s local authority designated officer (LADO) was required after four children complained about a member of staff.
The inspectors said: “No referral was made, despite children being told that it had. The children have not received a final response or outcome to their complaint.”
The report said children’s health, education and learning was ‘good’ and highlighted the home’s “broad curriculum that largely meets children’s needs”.
Children are able to work towards GCSEs, A-levels and vocational training qualifications.
They have “well qualified and experienced” teachers, trained to teach children with “complex and wide-ranging needs”.
Health provision was also found to be good, with comprehensive and “highly individualised” assessments and plans for children’s mental, physical and sexual health and neurodiversity needs. The inspectors said: “Children said that they enjoy living in the home, feel safe and have no concerns about the care and support they receive from staff.”
They concluded: “The secure children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people.
“However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.”
They set out five requirements and a further six recommendations for improving the unit.
A council spokesperson said: “The recent report from Ofsted highlighted areas for improvement at Vinney Green, particularly in relation to how we complete records and how those records allow staff to further improve their practice.
“While we are naturally disappointed with the ‘Requires Improvement’ rating, we fully acknowledge the report’s findings and are committed to addressing these issues.
“We are pleased that the report highlighted many examples of good practice and sustained improvement, particularly in relation to the quality of our staff and the positive experiences of the children in our care.
“We are reassured that actions are already being implemented to make the changes identified by Ofsted, and we look forward to being able to update inspectors on our progress in the future.”