Children's home in Birmingham

Inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean that young people’s welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and they are not making progress.

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The children’s home provision is inadequate because:

 The registered persons have failed to manage the home in line with the statement of purpose and to promote the welfare of young people. Poor decision making has resulted in inexperienced staff being left in charge of the home. This has placed young people at risk. Additionally, five of the six requirements made at the previous inspection have not been addressed.  Admission practices are poor and are not always in the best interests of the young person being referred or the young people already living at the home.  Young people’s risk assessments lack important details about actions to take to try to minimise identified risks. The registered manager does not ensure that risk assessments are always carried out for young people at risk of sexual exploitation.  Not all young people are accessing education or training. This does not help them to realise the importance and value of education, and does not help

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The children’s home provision is inadequate because:

them to reach their academic potential.  Recruitment practices are not robust, which means that managers cannot be assured that all staff are suitable for working with vulnerable young people.  Staff do not receive a robust induction in a timely manner and there is no documentary evidence that agency staff receive an induction.  Quality assurance systems, including the visits carried out by the independent visitor, have not identified shortfalls in practice.  A number of young people’s case records were not accessible during the inspection.

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The children’s home strengths

 Young people have good relationships with staff. They are able to talk with staff and raise any concerns that they may have.  Young people access a wide range of activities based on their individual interests. This means that they are able to be part of the wider community while, at the same time, improving their social skills and confidence, and having fun.

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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, to ensure that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational progress and are helped to do so, the registered person must ensure that staff: (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 (iv) help each child understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment (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. 22 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

12. The protection of children standard.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure:

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Requirement Due date

(i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child.

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to ensuring that young people’s risk 22 July 2016 assessments include all areas of identified risk and give clear and accurate details of actions to take to minimise identified risks.

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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 enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that:

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Requirement Due date

(1)(b) promotes children’s welfare. 22 July 2016 *

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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: (2)(c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child (e) ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 22 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard the registered person must ensure that children: (1)(b) have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 22 July 2016 *

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement of purpose within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(b)) 22 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. This includes obtaining a full employment history with recorded explanations for any gaps identified, and obtaining documentary evidence that all the required checks have been obtained for all agency staff used. 22 July 2016 (Regulation 32 (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction. This also includes providing written evidence that agency staff have received an induction. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)) 22 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development. This is with specific reference to providing ligature training for staff and ensuring that agency staff have received safeguarding children training. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)) 22 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the following items, which may be kept in an electronic form, are kept in an accessible manner: (i) children’s case records. (see Regulation 36) 22 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to statutory requirement notice.

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home is registered to provide care for four children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

8 December 2015 Full Requires improvement

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Inadequate

Admission practices are poor, which means that the requirement made at the last inspection has not been addressed. This is mainly due to poor decision-making about new referrals, including the matching of young people’s needs by the registered manager and responsible individual. The registered manager does not always complete a compatibility risk assessment when considering a new referral. Compatibility risk assessments that are completed are not robust, as they do not assess the actual impact on the existing group of young people. As a result, admissions have had a negative impact on the existing group. Ofsted has issued a compliance notice in relation to admission practices.

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Inadequate

Young people’s do not make sufficient progress in changing their risk-taking behaviours and achieving their academic potential. This can be partly attributed to an unsettled environment caused by the poor matching of young people’s needs and the frequent admissions and termination of placements. However, young people currently placed at the home told the inspector that they are happy and feel safe.

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Inadequate

Young people have care plans, individual risk assessments and behaviour management plans which staff review regularly. The registered manager has not addressed a requirement made at the last inspection regarding risk assessments. This is because young people’s risk assessments do not include details of actions to take in order to minimise risks. For example, a risk assessment identified that a young person was at high risk of going missing, but did not include details of when to report the young person to the police. Additionally, where actions have been taken to try to minimise risks, important information is missing. For example, one young person had their access to social media reduced due to making contact with adult males and going missing. The risk assessment did not give details of how staff would monitor the young person while using electronic devices. Failure to provide this important information does not protect young people who are

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Inadequate

considered to be at high risk of child sexual exploitation.

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Inadequate

Not all young people of school age are in education and there is no structured plan of educational activities. Although one young person has received support in completing a curriculum vitae, there is very little evidence of staff trying to encourage engagement in educational activities on a daily basis. The attendance of other young people is not consistent.

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Inadequate

Young people attend routine health appointments and are encouraged to eat healthily, which helps to improve their health. Staff work hard to enable young people to access and engage with specialist health services, such as the child and adolescent mental health service, to ensure that their physical and psychological health needs are met. The management of medication is safe.

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Inadequate

Young people have good relationships with staff and they told the inspector that they feel listened to. Weekly house meetings are held where they contribute to the running of the home and discuss the menus and activities.

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Inadequate

Staff provide both practical and emotional support to young people to remain in contact and, where appropriate, to re-establish relationships with their families. As a result, young people are able to develop their sense of identity and understand their family heritage.

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Inadequate

Staff support young people to pursue their interests and access a wide range of activities that they enjoy. They are also encouraged to try new activities. This helps to increase their confidence and keep them fit. For example, some young people have recently been kayaking.

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Inadequate

The home is decorated and furnished to a good standard. Young people personalise their bedrooms. Repairs and maintenance are dealt with swiftly, which is an improvement since the last inspection. A requirement made at the last inspection, about the length of time repairs and maintenance were taking, has been addressed.

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Inadequate

Young people are not adequately safeguarded, partly due to poor management decisions and practices. There has been an increase in police involvement and notifications made to Ofsted in the last three months.

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Inadequate

The matching of young people’s needs is not sufficiently robust. Recent admissions of young people with the high-risk behaviours and vulnerabilities including a high risk of sexual exploitation have had a negative impact on young people already living at the home. Some young people’s incidents of going missing had reduced significantly, but of late they have started to go missing with other young people recently admitted to the home. As a result, their risk of being sexually exploited has increased. The police have expressed concerns to Ofsted about the number of incidents at the home that they have been called to, and the recent admissions of young people with high-risk behaviours. Staff have received a range of training, including safeguarding children, behaviour management and self-harming behaviours. However, some staff have struggled to manage some high-risk, challenging behaviours and this has resulted in young

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Inadequate

people self-harming and going missing. Weak behaviour management strategies have also contributed to staff being assaulted. Staff have not received training on the use of ligatures, which means that they are unable to deal with some aspects of self-harm.

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Inadequate

Recruitment practices do not fully protect young people from the risk of harm and abuse. Gaps in employment are not always explored. The registered manager does not always obtain documentary evidence that agency staff have had all the required checks, and agency staff profiles do not always include their work experience.

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Inadequate

The registered manager and responsible individual have failed to address five out of the six requirements made at the last inspection. Furthermore, poor decisions have been made about covering shifts. Inexperienced members of staff, including staff who have not completed their induction and probationary period, have been left in charge of shifts. For example, a new member of staff whose experience amounted to less than three months of working in childcare was left in charge of a shift. This means that the registered manager and responsible individual have failed to promote the welfare of young people and to safeguard them adequately.

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Inadequate

The registered manager started working at the home after the last inspection in December 2015. She has relevant experience of working with children and young people in a residential setting and a level 3 qualification. She is currently completing her level 5 diploma. She presents as committed to improving the lives of young people but this inspection has identified a significant number of management shortfalls.

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Inadequate

The registered manager reported that they have a full complement of staff. However, with the admission of a young person in April 2016, additional staff were needed. This meant using a lot of different agency staff over a period of a month. This does not ensure continuity of care, which is particularly important when new young people have been admitted, and when there is a potential significant impact on the existing group. There is a significant delay in new staff receiving their inductions. This is of particular concern, given that a new member of staff was left in charge of a shift and carried out sleeping-in duties before they had completed their induction. This is unsafe practice. The quality of the induction is poor. Induction records demonstrate that all areas of the induction were completed in a day. Failure to provide a robust induction, in a timely manner, means that staff do not have the information to practise safely and meet young people’s needs.

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Inadequate

A requirement was made at the last inspection to ensure that there was documentary evidence that agency staff have received an induction. The registered manager has failed to address this, as there is no written evidence that agency staff have received an induction.

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Inadequate

The majority of permanent staff have the level 3 qualification in working with children and young people. They receive a range of mandatory training. They have also received training on self-harming behaviours since the last inspection. However, this did not cover specific issues relating to the needs of young people currently placed, such as the use of ligature cutters. For a number of agency staff, there is no documentary evidence that they have received safeguarding training relevant to children and young people.

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Inadequate

The company has installed a new electronic recording system since the last inspection. However, the registered manager was unable to access important documents regarding a young person who had recently left the home. The registered manager informed the inspector that the records had been archived and she does not have the authority to access archived records. There are also problems in accessing the weekly reports and sending them to the young people’s social workers. Failure to provide crucial information does not enable the regulator to assess the quality of care provided.

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Inadequate

The statement of purpose contains all the required details, which informs young people and stakeholders about the service provided. The registered manager reviews the document monthly, updates it when necessary, and sends it to the company’s head office. However, the registered provider has failed to send amended copies of the statement of purpose to Ofsted as required. This has therefore failed to meet the previous requirement.

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Inadequate

Quality assurance systems are not sufficiently robust to identify shortfalls in staff practice. Consequently they do not lead to improvement and do not adequately safeguard young people.

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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 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, 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

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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