Children's home in Birmingham

Inadequate

There are serious widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected and their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and their care and experiences are poor and they are not making progress.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

 The home has not had a registered manager for over a year. Senior managers have not dealt with this in a timely manner. Recruitment procedures designed to ensure that applicants have requisite levels of experience have proved ineffective. Children and staff are not properly supported.  Admissions to the home have not been managed effectively. Planning has not addressed the needs of the young people in the home or confirmed that the home has capacity or the resources to meet the needs of new arrivals.  Young people do not have positive views about the home. They do not feel valued or made welcome when they first arrive. Young people cannot identify anyone in the home to whom they can talk and build up a relationship of trust. They do not know who their key workers are.  Young people are not in education. Efforts to secure full-time provision have been ineffective. In addition, staff and managers do not promote regular

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

routines that would provide structure to the day and support them to maintain a school programme. The welfare of young people is not being promoted.  Staff feel overwhelmed and exhausted. They refer to an absence of robust management and have not been receiving regular, recorded supervision. Managers have not maintained records to confirm that new staff have completed induction training. Staff have lost confidence and are not able to manage complex and challenging behaviours consistently  Staff have not reported safeguarding allegations in a timely manner, leading to delays in organising a prompt response. This is a serious failing with potential to undermine children’s safety.  Young people’s risk assessments do not result in effective strategies to manage their behaviour. Staff do not update these regularly and there is no managerial oversight of these records.  The home’s location risk assessment does not assess the danger presented

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

by traffic on the nearby road and fails to present ways to manage the risk involved. Again, this serious gap has the potential to undermine children’s safety.

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The children's home strengths

 The current temporary manager has made a positive impact on both young people and staff. In the two weeks she has been in post, she has begun to influence the service provided to young people although none have yet been helped back into education.  Staff have started to receive recorded supervision. The premises have been redecorated, including young people’s bedrooms.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered persons 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

7: The children's views, wishes and feelings standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the children’s views, wishes and feelings standard, the registered provider must ensure that: (1) children receive care from staff who: (a) develop positive relationships with them; (b) engage with them; and (c) take their views, wishes and feelings into account, in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. 27 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the education standard, with particular reference to ensuring that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational progress and are helped to do so, the registered person must ensure that staff:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(iii) understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers; (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. 27 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular regard to risk of harm, the registered person must ensure that staff:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if 27 June 2016 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; (vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 27 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification by the relevant date (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b)). 27 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction and that all employees receive practice- related supervision by a person with appropriate experience (Regulation 33 (1) (a) (4)(b)). 27 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year, with particular reference to ensuring that any risks connected to the location of the property are identified and that strategies for managing these are in place (Regulation 46 (1)). 27 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if: (a) there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and (b) the registered provider (iii) is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(iii)). 27 June 2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn, with particular reference to developing daily routines for each child that they and staff can follow, which will provide consistency and support children to attend and make progress in school (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.18).  Ensure that staff have the capacity and competence to build constructive, warm relationships with children that actively promote positive behaviour, and provide the foundations for managing any negative behaviour. Staff should have the skills to respond to each child's individual behaviour with particular reference to celebrating achievements and reducing negative behaviour. This is with particular reference to maintaining regular and frequent key-working sessions

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Recommendations

(‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.14).  Ensure that children are listened to and enabled to report any allegations at the earliest opportunity. Staff should report any allegation of abuse immediately to a senior manager within the home. Any allegation of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home's child protection policy (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.17).  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them, with particular reference to ensuring that strategies to manage risk are up to date. Plans must include details of the steps that the staff will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5).

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Recommendations

 Ensure that placements for children are only accepted when managers are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child's assessed needs as recorded in the child's relevant plans, and when managers have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4).  Ensure that there are procedures in place for welcoming and introducing each child to the home, and that staff are sensitive to the needs of the child at the time of arrival. A warm welcome and introduction to the home is an entitlement for all children, whether they are admitted in a planned way or in an emergency. The home has a key role in helping children to understand why they are living there and the plans for their future, with particular reference to helping them feel welcome and valued (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including

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Recommendations

the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.7).

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Information about this children's home

This home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is owned by a private organisation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

15 September 2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Inadequate

Currently none of the young people are in full-time education. Many have come to the home without a formal educational programme in place and with a history of school refusal. Staff and managers have tried to address this by liaising with placing authorities, but their efforts have not been effective. In some cases, this has amounted to drift of several months. Some young people show passion and creativity that could be harnessed to support their learning. For instance, one young person has written song lyrics describing her loneliness, relationships with friends and family and asserting her personality. Staff and managers have not used this opportunity to build the young person’s confidence and establish a constructive relationship with her.

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Inadequate

Young people do not have regular daily routines that could provide a structure to their day, and which staff and managers could support them to follow. Consequently, young people are both bored by the lack of meaningful activity and resentful when staff try to exercise some control. Staff are patient, but have lacked managerial guidance and have lost confidence in their ability to develop relationships with young people. As a result, when young people complain, they have no confidence that staff are listening or that they will explain to them why their requests cannot be met.

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Inadequate

Staff are mindful of the need to look after young people’s physical health. They encourage young people to look after their personal routines and support them to attend medical appointments. However, all young people smoke. The dangers of this are not challenged effectively by staff and managers through key worker sessions or discussions at residents meetings. Consequently, young people persist with this habit. This negative cycle has proved burdensome for both staff and young people. Young people do not feel valued and their confidence has not improved.

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Inadequate

The current interim manager has been providing managerial oversight for two weeks and has begun to foster a more positive environment. She is assured in her approach to young people and, while recognising the difficulties, she is determined to lift the atmosphere and actively promotes contact between the young people and staff. Both staff and young people have begun to respond well to this and have confidence in her authority.

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Inadequate

Some young people have benefited from the care that they have received. The mother of one young person said, ‘She is calmer and she tells me she likes it there.’ Staff also comment that they have noticed a reduction in the number and severity of negative incidents for some young people. This was also the view of the young person’s parent. This is important, given young people’s starting points, and suggests that they can make progress in making relationships and managing their responses.

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Inadequate

Many of the young people in this home come with a history of risk-taking behaviours. They have complex needs and display challenging behaviours. In addition, some young people have been brought to the home in emergencies for which young people have not been fully prepared. Young people speak openly of feeling abandoned in a place far from their families or communities. They do not feel welcome and cannot identify any particular member of staff to whom they can talk. They are lonely and resentful and this is reflected in volatile behaviour.

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Inadequate

Staff and managers have not made the most of opportunities to develop relationships and promote more positive behaviour. For instance, each young person has a key worker, but sessions are not regular and do not take place after a negative incident or when a young person may have earned a reward. As a result, young people are not consistently reminded of what is expected of them or praised when they have achieved a goal. The current interim manager is introducing a programme for weekly key-worker sessions with all young people.

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Inadequate

When young people first come to the home, managers are given an initial risk assessment in which known risks are graded to indicate the level of seriousness. However, there is no system for balancing known risks with effective risk reduction strategies. Further, staff do not update risk management plans following an incident. This does not promotes children’s safety or support staff to prevent reoccurrence. Managers have not consistently reviewed all individual incidents and, because of this, they are not overseeing young people’s progress effectively.

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Inadequate

Incidents of young people going missing are rare. Staff follow procedures to alert the police and liaise with placing authorities until the young people return. Managers have made contact with a local charitable organisation that specialises in working with young people at risk of exploitation and who have gone missing. This project sends specialist workers to attend the home to conduct return from missing interviews. However, the home has not followed up incidents robustly to ensure care plans are updated in discussion with the placing authority. The current interim manager is addressing these issues and has been proactive in tackling risks of internet access for young people. Parental controls have recently been introduced to control internet access in the home. All young people’s phones are checked every night by staff. Young people do not always like this, but they are compliant with it and this has promoted their safety.

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Inadequate

On occasion, staff have not responded to child protection concerns quickly enough. Once incidents have been reported, managers have responded purposefully. They have liaised promptly with placing authorities and other statutory agencies to take effective action and safeguard the young person. Such incidents are rare but managers appreciate the seriousness of such an event and this has been addressed with staff. Staff are now confident that they would know what to do in the event of a child protection concern. This was tested out during inspection in discussion with staff.

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Inadequate

The home is situated next to a busy road. On occasion, some young people have run out of the home onto the road. While these incidents are infrequent, staff and managers are not promoting the importance of road awareness as part of their overall approach to young people’s safety. The independent visitor raised this in her latest report, but managers have not addressed this in the current locality risk assessment. This is a serious omission, which makes young people more vulnerable.

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Inadequate

The requirements and recommendations of the previous inspections have not been met. The local risk assessment has not been updated, staff have not been receiving regular supervision, young people are not in education and their records are not updated regularly or reviewed by the manager. The independent visitor has highlighted issues in her monthly reports but these have not been addressed by managers in the organisation.

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Inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager for over a year. The responsible individual has made significant efforts to address this situation during this period. However, he has not been able to recruit someone with the requisite levels of experience and skills to this post. He has identified a new and experienced manager who should be in post within a matter of weeks. In the meantime, an experienced and effective manager from another home within the organisation has recently started providing day-to-day interim management.

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Inadequate

The staff group currently consists of a number of permanent workers some of whom are part-time or on restricted duties. While there are sufficient numbers of staff to care for the young people, this is dependent on the regular use of agency workers and some staff being required to work extra hours. Staff are exhausted and overwhelmed. In particular, they refer to an absence of strong and robust management. Staff have not been receiving regular, recorded supervision. There are no clear records of whether new staff have completed their induction training. Consequently, staff do not give young people a confident message about what is expected, with the result that young people do not feel secure. One member of staff said, ‘I have talked to the managers and they are very supportive. I want it sorted out as I know how good it can be.’

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Inadequate

The current interim manager is aware of these problems and is working with energy and conviction, alongside senior managers in the company, to address them. Vacancies in the staff group have been recruited to. A new supervision rota has been compiled with staff who are starting to receive supervision. The manager has updated the training matrix and ensured that ongoing refresher training for all staff is up to date.

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Inadequate

While some members of staff have been trained to level 3, others will not have finished their training until November 2016. This means that staff will not meet regulatory requirements regarding their professional qualifications for a further six months. However, there are sound plans in place to address this matter and the manager insists that any agency workers who come to cover individual shifts at the home must have the level three qualification.

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Inadequate

The current interim manager has focused on promoting supportive relationships between staff and young people and active up-to-date care plans. She has promoted the importance of educational provision for all young people by liaising actively with partners in education, although as yet this has not resulted in any young people returning to education. However, liaison with the head of the virtual school has resulted in an arrangement for an education assessment in a local school for one of the young people.

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Inadequate

The interim manager has attended placement planning meetings and liaised with social workers about contact. All young people have contact plans so that they can maintain relationships with family or others who are close to them. Families confirm that staff understand the value of these relationships and go out of their way to support them.

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Inadequate

The interim manager has initiated a programme of redecoration and repairs throughout the house and has organised a gardener to tidy the lawns. Young people are being given a budget to decorate their bedrooms. They have responded well to this, and are being encouraged to have pride in their environment. While this work is in the early stages, as this interim management arrangement has only been in place for two weeks, staff and young people appreciate that it has made a difference. Young people feel more valued and this helps their self-esteem.

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Inadequate

A lack of advance planning of admissions has meant that young people have not had time to build trusting relationships with staff who have appropriate levels of experience and skills to help them settle. Managers have not always assessed the possible impact of any new arrivals on the current group. In an emergency, managers did not ensure that all necessary information was obtained from the placing authority, so that they could be sure that staff at the home were able to meet their needs. Consequently, young people did not feel welcomed by staff.

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Inadequate

Managers have not had sufficient oversight of admissions. Some have been authorised outside the normal managerial channels, so that young people have been placed without the direct approval of the home’s management team. While they were not placed at immediate risk, senior managers in the organisation accept that this has exposed a serious shortfall in how admissions can be agreed.

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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 children looked after 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 that 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 whom 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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