Children's home in Birmingham

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people, who have autism, complex needs and learning disabilities, continue to be settled and to make significant progress living in this safe and supportive environment. They enjoy trusting relationships with the friendly staff, who provide them with a very high standard of personalised care. They are consistently treated with dignity and respect, feel safe and have a strong sense of belonging. Their wishes and feelings, regardless of their means of communication, are always listened to and taken seriously. A young person said, ‘I love living here, this is my home and everything is going well.’ The manager and staff are positive about the young people, and are warm, caring, experienced and skilled. They clearly enjoy spending time with the young people and are committed to helping them to do well, despite the complexity of their needs and the challenges they face. The staff have a detailed understanding of

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

each young person. They work cohesively to deliver consistent and creative routines tailored to meet young people’s individual needs. They also have strong working relationships with the young people’s families, social workers, teachers and health workers. Everyone works together effectively to keep up to date with young people’s progress, to understand their needs, to deliver the best possible individualised support and to plan effectively for their futures. Young people enjoy extremely positive and rewarding experiences that are helping them to make significant and sustained progress in all aspects of their development. They are happy, becoming increasingly confident and sociable, and understand and take part in a wide range of experiences in the community. The staff have a detailed understanding of individual young people’s vulnerabilities, how their disabilities impact on their daily lives and how they experience and

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

understand the world. Because staff are vigilant and know the young people extremely well, they are able to identify when the young people are unhappy or worried. The staff work in an effective and well-coordinated way to manage risk, keep young people safe from harm, and ensure that they consistently get the right support. They are helping young people to understand socially acceptable behaviour and to develop friendships with other young people. For example, a young person is now confident to approach other young people in the park to ask them to join in their game of football. Another young person now feels comfortable around other young people and more often wants to be part of what is going on. Young people’s emotional well-being and resilience continue to improve. They show fewer signs of anxiety and frustration. As a result, the number of times they use aggressive, self-harming or unacceptable behaviour has reduced. The staff

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

understand the reasons for young people’s behaviour, and intervene effectively to deal with the situation. They use clear and concise language to let young people know when their behaviour, such as swearing or making a mess, is not acceptable. The young people respond positively, apologise and clean things up. This calm, but assertive, approach is helping young people to develop socially aware behaviour, and prevents situations from becoming difficult to manage. The staff also support young people to manage their feelings themselves by doing activities that they enjoy or by going to places where they feel safe. For example, a young person takes himself to his bedroom to feel calmer. The manager and staff together carefully reflect on the times that young people get upset. This valuable exercise is developing their understanding of young people’s feelings and behaviour, and informs how best to support them to manage their feelings.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff continue to use a wheelchair as a means of managing risks to a young person’s safety in the community, near busy roads and in large crowds, although he does not have difficulty walking. His risk assessment and behaviour management plan still do not clearly set out the circumstances when and how a wheelchair should be used, or set out a plan to work towards it no longer being required. The staff said that they are using the wheelchair less frequently and he is walking much further, but his records do not show the progress he is making, the other strategies that are being used or his views about having to use the wheelchair. The members of staff have a good understanding of young people’s educational needs and support them to meet their targets. For example, helping them to improve their communication skills and use of language, encouraging young people to make independent choices and supporting them to build positive relationships

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

with other children. Young people’s concentration and listening skills continue to improve. One young person particularly enjoys having a bedtime story. He chooses the book, turns the pages and responds to the different voices and expressions that staff use when they are reading the story. The young people have every opportunity to develop their interests and talents, including listening to music, dancing and playing sport. They play an active part in the local community and enjoy good social lives. They love going to the cinema, swimming and for meals at different restaurants. One young person is passionate about football, plays for a local team and scored a goal in the last match. Young people regularly take part in a sponsored walk to raise money for a local children’s hospital. They are able to maintain and develop their cultural and religious beliefs by celebrating festivals, gift-giving and observing religious requirements around

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

food. The staff ensure that they have the chance to have the same experiences as other children, including going on holiday. They are currently planning a holiday abroad for later this year. The young people are increasingly more able to carry out their own personal care. They are able to follow a consistent toileting routine and now let staff know when they need to use the bathroom. They also do more jobs around the house, including making a cold drink, clearing the table and keeping their rooms tidy. They help staff with cooking. One young person especially loves stirring stews and curries, and shopping. Young people go shopping for food with staff, push the trolley, choose what they buy and use the self-service till. Another young person is making sure that the house is safe by helping staff to carry out health and safety checks. The staff actively promote young people’s physical health and well-being. The

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

young people enjoy healthy food that meets their dietary needs, and they get plenty of exercise. They have easy access to community and specialist health services. The staff ensure that young people get suitable and immediate medical advice and treatment when there are concerns about their health or well-being. When a young person experienced a series of seizures, the manager and staff worked closely with health professionals to gain a thorough assessment of the young person’s specific health needs and how best to support them. This includes making sure that treatment plans and medication continue to meet the needs of young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager and staff are working collaboratively with parents and social workers to sensitively plan and manage a young person’s move into their own accommodation. They have contributed to the assessment of the young person’s needs and to identify the right accommodation and support that he will need in the future. The manager and staff have thought carefully and creatively about how best to help this young person move on without becoming confused and anxious. This includes his new staff coming to spend time with him before he moves, and finding out how best to meet his needs. They are developing social stories and making a film of his new house for him to watch to help him understand what is going to happen and to become familiar with his new home and the people who will be supporting him. Since the last inspection, the provider has appointed a team leader and two senior support staff to assist the manager in running the home. This has significantly

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

improved the capacity and resources to complete all the required management tasks. It also means that there are clear and suitable arrangements for the running of the home when the manager is absent, off duty or on leave. The team leader is suitably experienced and qualified, including being trained in the formal supervision of staff. The manager and senior staff now have sufficient dedicated administrative and management time to provide the effective oversight of the running of the home, to develop a detailed understanding of how they are making a difference to young people’s lives and to develop the service systematically. The manager has completed a detailed review of the quality of care provided to ensure that the quality standards are being met for each child, which identifies the strengths of the home and areas that need improvement. The review has informed the development of a realistic and suitable action plan for improvement, in particular to

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

build staff’s skills in gathering young people’s views to enable them to influence, in a meaningful way, the decisions affecting their lives. The manager has revised the home’s statement of purpose to incorporate clear aims and objectives, and to provide up-to-date information about how the home plans to support young people, and the experience and qualifications of the staff. The manager is also completing a comprehensive audit of young people’s records and introduced clear systems for staff to describe, evaluate and measure young people’s experiences and progress in meeting their individual goals. Information from young people’s review meetings are now available on their files. The roles and responsibilities of young people’s key workers are now clearly defined, and the key workers have detailed expectations of their performance. This includes monitoring and reviewing young people’s experience, understanding their views,

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

setting appropriate and achievable development goals and measuring their progress in achieving them. In addition, the key workers are responsible for producing regular reports about young people’s progress and ensuring that their records, risk assessments and plans are relevant to their current needs and circumstances. The impact of these improvements is not yet evident. However, they should ensure that accurate information is always available to assist staff in caring for the young people, monitoring and measuring their progress to add to a better understanding of their lives. Staff are well supported by the manager and receive the advice and guidance that they need to do their jobs effectively. The manager, and some of the staff, are still not having professional supervision as frequently as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. This means that they are not getting regular opportunities to meet with a manager individually to reflect on the needs of the young people

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

and their practice, and to identify their own training and development needs. In addition, the manager has not yet developed a workforce plan to make sure that staff have the right skills, expertise and training and that the staffing arrangements continue to be suitable to meet young people’s needs.

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home for up to three young people who have learning disabilities, including autism and challenging behaviour.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

14 July 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

30 July 2014 Interim Improved effectiveness

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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

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. In particular, that all staff receive this supervision as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) 30 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:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the use of wheelchairs to promote children’s safety follows a rigorous assessment process and is necessary and proportionate. It should be identified within a broad ranging, robust risk assessment and behaviour support plan which aims to bring about the circumstances where its continued use will no longer be required. (Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 47, paragraph 9.45)

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Recommendations

 Develop a workforce plan that details the management and staffing structure, the experience and qualifications of the staff, and any ongoing and professional development needs of the manager and staff necessary to deliver the objectives of the home’s statement of purpose. (Guide to the children’s homes regulations including quality standards, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. In particular, key worker reports and daily written records provide a detailed and evaluative narrative of the events of the day, the work carried out with the child, the child’s views, experiences and progress. (Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

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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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