Concerns persist at secure care home, says Ofsted

A secure children's home has made some progress since being rated as inadequate although concerns remain, a regulator has said.

Clare Lodge, in Glinton near Peterborough, is the UK's only all-female secure children's home and it had its rating downgraded in February by Ofsted after it was found to have failed to protect a child from serious harm.

The education and children's services watchdog returned in May to the city council-run home for a monitoring visit.

Ofsted said although some improvements had been made and it can once again accept more children to live there, "not all steps in the compliance notices have been fully met".

During the latest inspection, there were four girls living in the home but it could accommodate up to 16 children between the ages of 10 and 17.

The report highlighted ongoing concerns about leadership, saying actions taken by managers to investigate incidents were "not always robust".

In one case, Ofsted said concerns were raised by a child who continued to use a laptop while a staff member fell asleep.

Inspectors found the employee was spoken to a week after the report was made, but could find no reason for the delay.

They noted the child's claim about being able to access potentially inappropriate material was not explored or was a check made of the computer's internet history.

The report continued that a fact-finding mission following an incident was not swift and comprehensive enough, and children's preferred names and pronouns were not used consistently.

The home's manager, who started in February, is not yet registered with Ofsted, the report also said.

However, inspectors noted the children were "settled" and had good relationships with staff.

The report also highlighted "homely" improvements, including personalised spaces and new carpeting.

In its two recommendations, Ofsted said staff should have the right skills to support each child's education and training targets, while girls should also have a clear education, training or job plan on leaving the home.

Peterborough City Council has been contacted for a comment.

Previously, Katy Cole, Peterborough's cabinet member for children's services, said the authority accepted "responsibility for the concerns raised".

"We are taking Ofsted's feedback extremely seriously, and steps are already being taken to make the necessary improvements to the facility."

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