A DAMNING report has revealed a shocking catalogue of incidents at a Yorkshire children’s home.

Ofsted inspected the home, which is not named or identified, back in August.

It was rated ‘inadequate’ in every area and inspectors said there were “significant shortfalls in the safety and protection of children and the leadership and management of the home”.

They said children in the home, which provides care for up to six children between the ages of 11 and 18 years who have social, emotional or mental health difficulties and is run by North Yorkshire County Council, were placed at risk of “serious harm”.

The report said: “A child’s misuse of alcohol is impacting on their safety and welfare.

“Their case records describe this child as ‘intoxicated’ and presenting as a risk of injury to themselves.

“These risks include falling over and hitting their head, falling asleep in a shower tray which resulted in their head blocking the drainage of water, and being left unsupervised to cross a road whilst intoxicated. Staff have failed to effectively respond to this child’s alcohol misuse.

“On one occasion, this child was drinking alcohol in the home for a period of six hours. Records show that staff were singing with the child during this time, which could be seen as an act of encouragement.”

The report added: “One child writes emotive statements, such as ‘help me’ on their bedroom walls. They see these statements each day, as a continual reminder of difficult periods of their life.

“Staff and managers have not explored these statements, and any direction from the life coach to help the staff to better support the children has not filtered into the children’s care plans.”

Inspectors also raised concern that children were permitted to have “inappropriate” objects their room, including inappropriate pictures and empty bottles of alcohol.

The report said: “One child has computer games with a certificate rating of 18 years, and this means that the content is unsuitable for children.”

Ofsted said the home’s manager “failed to respond to increased concerns about a child’s risk of sexual exploitation and harm”. The report also highlighted that staff “have stopped looking for a child” when they reported as missing to police.

The report also said there is extensive damage and unsanitary conditions around the home.

Stuart Carlton, North Yorkshire County Council’s corporate director of Children and Young People’s Services, Stuart Carlton, said: “We find the report very disappointing.

“We take the care of our children very seriously and immediate action has been taken to improve the care and home conditions. We identified the work needed to make the necessary improvements and carried out those tasks.

“This situation is a point in time and clear interventions are being made to work towards gaining back the previous inspection rating of good.”