Damning report on Shropshire children’s home
A children’s care home in Shropshire smelled of urine, had broken furniture in every room and the children were highly sexualised, a Government inspector found.
Officials from Ofsted visited the home - which can not be identified - last month and rated it as inadequate.
Social care inspector Dawn Bennett visited the home and heard that police had been called when staff could not cope.
In her report, Mrs Bennett said: “Children use highly sexualised language, gestures and inappropriate touching towards each other and staff. A lack of guidance from staff means that their interventions are unsuccessful.
“Staff are managing the environment by separating the children. This strategy has not been successful.
She went on: “Staff have still not been provided with training and they do not have the skills to manage relationships between the children to prevent them from harming each other.”
Mrs Bennett found that the home’s staff failed to develop positive relationships with the children, who have emotional and behavioural problems, and said they were more influenced by each other than by the staff team.
She added: “Six out of 13 staff have not attended fire training. Staff do not ensure that children use the internet safely.”
Mrs Bennett continued: “Staff are currently sleeping in a room that smells of damp. A, currently unoccupied, child’s bedroom smells strongly of urine. The house is not homely or welcoming. Furniture is broken in every room. There are very few pictures on the walls. As a result, children do not live in a comfortable, nurturing environment.”
She also found that medication was not stored securely and that care plans, education and healthcare plans and minutes of reviews are not available to staff or children.
A spokesman for the firm that runs the home said: “The home now has a new manager and all of areas found to be of poor quality have now been dealt with.”
