Brain Injury Care Provider

Family Court case highlights Ofsted’s role in child protection, says Almond Care

Nuneaton-headquartered Almond Care has cautioned against the use of non-Ofsted registered residential homes for vulnerable young people, following a high-profile case heard before the Liverpool Family Court.

The Court heard that some unregistered homes, despite being paid up to £20,000 by local authorities, left children at serious risk.

One child has now had to be placed under a Deprivation of Liberty (DoL) Order in another unregistered home as a result of a lack of security and support as their previous placement.

Almond Care has flagged the challenges posed to local authorities and young people under their care by unregistered and unregulated children’s homes, particularly for those with additional health or behavioural needs.

Julia Senah, Clinical Director at Almond Care, said: “We know that this is a serious problem faced by too many young people, that they’re not receiving the care and support they need from residential placements.  

“As a result, we’re seeing children put at increased risk because they’re not receiving the correct early intervention from specialist residential care providers. As we’ve seen from these cases heard in Liverpool, it’s putting young people in the way of physical and emotional harm, including becoming involved in criminal activity.”

A major contributing factor, said the care provider, is the lack of registration with Ofsted.

The body, responsible for assessing and rating schools and children’s services providers, helps to ensure that children’s residential care facilities are properly equipped, that staff have the correct training and knowledge, and that the home is able to provide a safe and inclusive environment.

Julia finished: “Children’s care homes have such an incredible responsibility towards the young people in their care – making regulatory bodies like Ofsted of utmost importance.

“While a lack of registration doesn’t necessarily indicate a poor service, it can mean a lack of accountability and benchmarks for success and improvement.

“What we have ultimately seen in the last few weeks is that there is little reason to avoid registration with Ofsted, and plenty of reason to do it.

“All our Almond Care Children’s Services homes are Ofsted-registered and rated Good. This is really important for us, because it helps us deliver support for our clients in line with the latest guidelines and maintain an excellent standard of care.”

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