Children's Home run by Aston Children’s Care Ltd in Birmingham

Unique reference number SC453726 Inspection date 17/03/2014 Inspector Suzanne Young Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 05/06/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is privately operated and provides care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making inadequate progress .

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Progress

At the last full inspection in June 2013 the home was judged to be adequate with nine requirements and three recommendations made. A significant number of these requirements and recommendations have not been adequately addressed and as a result, progress since the last inspection is inadequate.

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Progress

The home has undergone significant management changes since the last inspection. The home has been without a Registered Manager since 31 October 2013. A manager employed shortly after this date has also recently left the home and the previous Registered Manager has returned. He is in the process of applying again for registration.

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Progress

The quality of record keeping within the home is not adequate. Physical intervention, measures of control and missing from home records are not completed to an acceptable level. They do not include the views of young people and are not recorded as required by legislation. Important information is missing from the home, including, outcomes of child protection referrals and minutes from strategy meetings. As a result, there is an unacceptable level of confusion within the home with managers unable to confirm how safeguarding investigations have been concluded. The manager is monitoring the activities of the home, however, reports lack evaluation and impact on the quality of care provided to young people. Consultation with young people is also still not being adequately explored in these reports. The monthly monitoring visits to the home conducted by an appropriate individual are also not taking into account the views of parents and relatives of young people.

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Progress

Staff are not being adequately supported or trained to enable them to care for the young people in the home. For instance, they have not been provided with the training to enable them to complete the new recording system the previous manager had introduced. Not all staff are receiving formal supervision on a regular basis.

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Progress

Stronger practice is noted in other areas. Young people do not engage in risk taking behaviours and benefit from positive relationships with staff. They report that they are well cared for and feel safe in the home. Staff understand young people' individual needs and support them to get involved in a range of activities within the community. All the young people are in education or are in the process of being enrolled at college. Young people who previously have experienced difficulties in education, are now attending school on a regular basis. This is because staff work closely with them to promote attendance at school.

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Progress

Six requirements and two recommendations have been made as a result of this inspection. these relate to record keeping, staff supervision and training and the monitoring of activities within the home.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the procedure under paragraph (1) (b) shall in particular provide for the prompt referral to the local authority in whose area the children’s home is situated, of any allegation of abuse or neglect affecting any child accommodated in the children’s home (Regulation 16(2)(d)) 14/04/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) ensure with 24 hours of the use of any measure of control, restraint or discipline in a children's home, a written record is made in a volume kept for the purpose which includes all matters listed in the regulation (Regulation 17B(3)) 14/04/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure all staff receive appropriate training, supervision and appraisal (Regulation 27(4)(a)) 14/04/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure visits made by an individual in accordance with this regulation include interviews with parents and relatives of 14/04/2014 children accommodated in the home to form an opinion of the standard of care provided in the home (Regulation 33(4)(a))

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) establish and maintain a system for improving the quality of care provided in the children’s home (Regulation 34(1)(b)) 14/04/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the system referred to in paragraph (1) shall provide for consultation with children accommodated in the home, their parents and placing authorities. (Regulation 34(3)) 14/04/2014

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure that the home implements a proportionate approach to any risk assessment (NMS 4.5)  ensure that written records kept by the home when a child goes missing detail action taken by staff, the circumstances of the child’s return, any reasons given by the child for running away from the home, and any action taken in light of those reasons. This information is shared with the responsible authority and where appropriate, their parents. (NMS 5.10)

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection.

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