Children's Home run by Care and Management Services Ltd in Birmingham

home are

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people have made major developments in their behaviour, health, and confidence while being at the home. This is primarily due to the effective relationships that the staff team have created and sustained. This allows the young people to trust adults and see the staff as significant positive role models. One parent stated that, ‘whatever they are doing they are doing it right.’  Planning is highly individualised and ensures staff respond to young people’s needs consistently. Good links are in place with a range of external professionals who work well to support young people, including health workers, police, education and those involved with activities. Although young people have made significant improvements in education, some are not receiving sufficient formal education to thoroughly support them.  Young people are kept safe through effective practices and developing young people’s awareness of the dangers relating to being missing and the use of

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The children's home provision is good because:

drugs and alcohol.  Young people are admitted in line with the homes statement of purpose, although initial risk assessments require development to clarify the effect that they may have on current residents.  The home has a staff team with a good range of experience and qualifications. They are led by a committed manager, with a strong awareness of issues within the home. The independent visitor to the home supports the manager’s monitoring of the paperwork, but does not meet with the young people sufficiently. A current workforce plan has not been finalised although all necessary information is available.

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the education standard with particular reference to young people that do not attend education the responsible person must ensure;

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Requirement Due date

(viii) help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible 30/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (2a)) 31/08/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure the registered person only accepts placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child's assessed needs as recorded in the child's relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and the principles as set out in 9.35 are respected (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 46, paragraph 9.36)

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Recommendations

 Develop a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs19 and 20) (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Information about this children's home

The home is one of three children’s homes within a privately run organisation. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people. The home’s Statement of Purpose indicates that the general age range will be between 12 and 17 years of age

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

13/03/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

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people living in the home are

Young people enjoy being at the home and all have developed significantly since they arrived. Relationships between staff and young people are extremely strong. Staff have a high awareness of the differing needs of the young people and how to respond to these. They achieve this through effective key working meetings, strong planning arrangements and a high level of communication within the staff team. Young people are positive about the staff team and state that, ‘there is always someone around that you can talk to.’ Admissions processes are in place and initial impact assessments are completed, however, these do not clearly examine possible risks that new admissions may have on those already at the home.

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people living in the home are

Young people are consistently listened to when they wish to talk and good relaxed interactions between staff and young people ensure that they feel cared for and important. Staff use a ‘thoughts book’ effectively to support young people who wish to communicate their feelings through writing. All young people have regular key working sessions. Staff use house meetings well, to share plans, develop menus, and discuss areas that the young people wish to talk about. Young people have staff if they trust to talk to they have any particular concerns, although no complaints have been raised since the last inspection.

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people living in the home are

Young people enjoy a good range of activities. These have helped to develop their confidence and skills. For example, regular army cadets, where they have learnt new musical instruments and enjoy building new relationships. They have well planned, contact arrangements and visits with their families. Staff give support where necessary. A professional linked to a young person, commented in a review report that the relationship with a young person’s family had: ‘come on leaps and bounds and she engaging well with her Mum.’

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people living in the home are

All young people have improved in their involvement with education and training since they came to the home, with some having recently completed GCSE exams. Differing learning packages meet the individual needs of the young people. Some school arrangements are insufficient and do not to allow young people to enjoy a full educational experience. This has been due, in part, to slow response by the placing authority, their local authority education service and the school’s decision making.

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people living in the home are

Health arrangements within the home are good, with all young people attending necessary appointments and visiting health professionals to ensure that they have a healthy lifestyle. Links with mental health support services are strong. The management team has sought changes to young people’s medication and they have responded well to these. Additional support is given to both the young people and the staff team by an independent psychological service, who help to advise regarding young people’s development.

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people living in the home are

The home is a pleasant and homely environment. Young people and staff are involved in keeping the home tidy. Communal rooms are comfortable and there are places available for staff to meet with young people in private. Young people personalise their bedrooms and develop their independence. Staff assess and develop independence skills as they move closer to leaving the home. Links are in place with adult mental health services to ensure that there are good transition arrangements in place to support young people following their move.

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people are helped and protected

All young people state that they are safe and they feel safe at the home. They feel that staff look after them well and discourage them from doing things that may harm them, such as being absent from the home. There has been a decrease in incidents of being missing from the home without permission and young people meet with an independent person once they return. Records about incidents of young people going missing are basic and do not give a full picture of the details of any event, without other reading other incident records.

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people are helped and protected

Detailed risk assessments are in place, helping to respond to concerns from young people’s histories or current behaviour. Good links are in place with organisations that work to reduce harm from being missing or drug and alcohol use. An assessment of the local area is in place and raises an awareness of where possible risks may occur and how to respond to these. Full recruitment checks on all staff prior to them starting at the home supports the safety of young people.

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people are helped and protected

Good systems are in place to respond to child protection concerns. Staff are fully aware of these procedures through regular training and discussions within team meetings. No safeguarding referrals have had to be made since the last inspection. Procedures are in place to allow staff to search young people’s rooms to support their safety. Good records show the reasoning behind them and also young people’s awareness of the search.

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people are helped and protected

Staff reinforce boundaries clearly and young people respond positively to this. Incidents of sanctions and restraint are very low, with an emphasis on reward systems and praise. This works well. Restraint logs do not give a full picture of any incident without reliance on other records to show the antecedence, behaviour and response. Although the manager is fully aware of incidents and how they are dealt with, they do not sign off all records formally.

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leaders and managers

The Registered Manager has been in post since 2012 and completed the level 5 managerial qualification in December. She has a good awareness of the home and ongoing issues within it, through development plans and regular monitoring.

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leaders and managers

The external visitor completes a good monthly examination of the paperwork relating to the young people and some discussions with staff and parents takes place on occasions. However, there is no record of any discussions with young people over the past six months of visits, raising concerns about the effectiveness of these visits.

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leaders and managers

Young people have in-house placement plans that link well with the statutory placing authority documentation. Plans are individualised and give staff guidance in how to respond to the differing nuances of behaviour that the young people exhibit. This helps staff to give consistent support to young people’s development. Timely reviews ensure that plans are up to date and responsive to the young people’s current needs.

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leaders and managers

Staff feel well supported by the management of the home and organisation. Monthly supervision gives a good opportunity to discuss issues about the home and their work with young people. Appraisals lead to training plans where additional awareness is needed of specific areas. All staff receive training in a range of areas with regular updates to keep them aware of current procedures, for example, in medication and food hygiene. Regular staff meetings enable awareness of the development of the young people and effective ways of responding to their needs.

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leaders and managers

Sufficient permanent staffing reduces the need for any agency staff. This helps to create an environment where young people are well aware of the staff that are working with them and can develop positive relationships. No specific coordinated workforce plan is in place to define the staffing structure, training, or performance management, although information about these issues is available within the home.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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