“SERIOUS failures” at a home for vulnerable children in Almondsbury have been criticised by Ofsted after it was covered up that a child in their care crashed a car.

Overleaze Residental Home, which is run by Crossways Care Ltd and houses three people, was handed the lowest possible rating of “inadequate” by inspectors across all categories after its full inspection between July 4-5.

In the report, it said that young people are “displaying worrying and unsafe behaviours such as assaults on staff and damage to property”.

It added that in one incident, a young person placed themselves in danger after “a lack of supervision” meant he was able to access the home’s vehicle while it was parked on the home’s drive.

After removing the handbrake, the car consequently rolled down the drive on to the road and crashed.

Thankfully, the young person was not harmed, but reportedly received no support or care from the home following the event.

A member of senior management also admitted to having changed the original record of the incident, with no record of an investigation taking place to find out how it happened, or how it could have been prevented.

The report also says that the local authorities were also not informed of the incident.

Members of staff are provided with training in behavioural management and physical intervention, but the report suggests that this was not always being used effectively, with physical intervention continuing to be overly used as a means of behaviour management.

The removal of personal items was seen during the course of the inspection, which was later acknowledged by staff and managers as not being best practice or effective.

Since the home’s last inspection in June 2016, the report noted that there had been significant changes to staffing, with no registered manager since February, resulting in a lack of strong leadership for staff and insufficient support for the young people.

But among the positives found in the report, attendance was good on the whole, and young people moving out of the home were shown to be well supported in the process.

The home itself was also complimented for its presentation, as the report said it was "very well decorated and has a homely feel", with plenty of room for residents to play, socialise and have their own privacy.

A spokeswoman for Overleaze Residential Home said: "We are deeply concerned by the matters raised by the inspector and are working hard to address those concerns.

"We have launched our own internal investigation and have made significant changes to the management of the home and senior managers locally, including introducing a new Head of Quality for the service.”

She went on to say that they would be implementing a wider action plan to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the young people they look after remains paramount.

A South Gloucestershire Council spokesman said: “We do not have any South Gloucestershire children currently placed at Overleaze.

"South Gloucestershire Council does not use any residential units for looked-after children if it has an Ofsted grading of inadequate, so we will not be placing any children there.

“We will request a copy of the Overleaze Ofsted action plan and monitor progress against it.”