Children's home run by Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council in Walsall

Good

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 enjoy positive relationships with staff. This enhances their feeling of safety and security and enables them to make good progress in the home.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Risk assessments are detailed. They promote young people’s safety and welfare because they specify the actions for staff to take to protect young people and reduce their risk of harm.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Partnership working arrangement with placing authorities, local police, safeguarding agencies and other professionals are strong. The registered manager effectively challenges the response of other agencies when this is detrimental to young people’s progress, safety and welfare.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff work with young people to help them to develop the social skills they need to take responsibility for their actions and behaviours. One-to-one sessions are detailed and reflective of the aims and objectives of the placement.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff encourage young people to express their views and opinions regarding their care and the development of the service. This ensures that young people are involved in decisions about their care.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Some areas for improvement are identified. These include ensuring that young people are encouraged to undertake independent study, that young people have immediate access to specialist health agencies that staff understand and implement e-safety policies and that records of physical restraint are recorded in detail.

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the education standard, the registered person must ensure that staff— (2)(a)

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Requirement Due date

(i) help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

(ii) support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study. 29 August

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the health and well-being standard, the registered person must ensure that staff— (2)(a)

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Requirement Due date

(i) achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. This specifically relates to addressing diet and nutrition concerns. 29 August

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure that staff— (2)(a)

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Requirement Due date

(v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

(vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. This specifically relates to e-safety 29 August policies.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes a description of the measure and its duration. This specifically relates to an explanation of the term ‘guided’. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(iv)) 29 August

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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 records detail all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (regulation 36 (schedule 3(14)). Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.31)

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Information about this children's home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a local authority.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

15 February 2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

27 January 2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

Young people make good progress in all areas of their development. They receive personalised care that reflects their individual needs and vulnerabilities, and takes account of their future ambitions. Staff ensure that boundaries and expectations of acceptable behaviours are clear. This means that young people develop in a nurturing environment that delivers the routines and structure they need to move forward with their lives.

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Good

Staff provide young people with a programme of one-to-one sessions. These sessions enable young people to review their progress, reflect on their behaviours and express their views and wishes. Young people are involved in decisions about their care. One young person said, ‘I met with my keyworker and we talked about what I want for my future. Staff listen and I think that’s important.’ Relationships between young people and staff are positive and appropriate. Young people enjoy spending time with staff and appreciate the support that staff provide. One young person said, ‘Staff don’t judge, they just want to help. I know that now.’

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Good

Young people have suitable, full-time education placements and make good progress in this area of their development. This is because staff work in partnership with the local authority and with allocated teaching staff. The registered manager challenges other professionals and education providers when bureaucracy compromises young people’s learning. Subsequently, young people have a positive attitude towards school, and attendance is high. One young person said, ‘School is good and I like seeing my friends. It’s just normal to go to school and I like it.’ Staff liaise with allocated social workers and teachers to ensure that young people have relevant personal education plans. These support young people’s learning, although staff do not consistently ensure that they complete the actions expected of them. For example, if staff are required to provide young people with additional reading sessions as part of structured homework, these

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Good

sessions are not always completed. Furthermore, staff do not encourage young people to undertake personal and independent study outside of usual school hours. This potentially means that young people do not strive to further their achievements.

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Good

Partnership working arrangements between staff and external health professionals are good. Young people benefit from easy access to primary health services such as dentists and opticians, and staff are competent in identifying young people’s additional health needs. Young people are assigned psychological and emotional well-being specialists if they require this support. Staff encourage young people to adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle. They use one-to-one sessions to promote the benefits of taking regular exercise and following a sensible diet. However, when young people are reluctant to heed this advice, and this is detrimental to their health and well-being, staff do not take decisive action to ensure that young people follow a healthy and nutritious diet.

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Good

Young people participate in regular ‘house’ meetings and are encouraged to voice their views and opinions regarding the quality of the care that they receive. Consultation is a strength of the home and young people are involved in decisions regarding the development of the service. One young person said, ‘Living here is like being in a proper family. Sometimes we get on each other’s nerves but we talk about things and make plans.’ This enhances young people’s day-to-day experience and positively impacts on their self-esteem and confidence.

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Good

Staff ensure that young people maintain regular and constructive contact with their families, when appropriate. This means that they are not isolated from their families. Young people are encouraged to spend time with their friends and bring their friends to the home. This helps them to develop suitable and lasting social relationships.

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Good

Young people’s transition from the home is well planned and supported. When the service no longer meets young people’s individual needs, staff work in partnership with young people and the local authority to identify a suitable alternative placement. This means that young people benefit from a seamless transition that takes account of their wishes and feelings. This increases the likely success of their new placement.

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Good

Young people are safe in the home and say they feel safe. One young person said, ‘The staff really care about us. I can just tell they do and it makes me feel safe.’

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Good

Staff ensure that risk assessments identify young people’s vulnerabilities. These documents detail actions to reduce young people’s risks, and emphasise the importance of partnership and multi-agency working arrangements. This partnership working means that young people become increasing safe and that their risk-taking behaviours continue to reduce. For example, occasions when young people are absent from the home without permission or are missing from the home have significantly reduced since the last inspection. Although this is due in part to a change of young people residing in the home, improvements to one-to- one sessions mean that young people recognise circumstances and situations in the community that impact on their safety. However, staff do not ensure that they complete missing from home records as required. They do not ensure that records contain sufficient detail to continually evaluate and improve practice.

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Good

Staff receive regular safeguarding training that incorporates information relating to child sexual exploitation, radicalisation and managing allegations. However, a minority of staff do not have an adequate knowledge of these areas of practice. Action is required to ensure that this shortfall does not impact negatively on young people’s safety. Furthermore, not all staff are familiar with e-safety policies, or acknowledge their responsibility to ensure that young people remain safe when using the internet or accessing social media sites. This means that the successful implementation of these procedures is dependent on which staff are on duty. This potentially compromises young people’s safety and welfare.

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Good

Staff support young people to take responsibility for their actions and behaviours. Incidents of unacceptable and anti-social behaviours continue to reduce. Staff hold young people accountable for their actions and encourage them to consider the impact that their behaviour has on others. This growing recognition and sense of responsibility enables young people to develop the skills they need to find alternative methods of managing their frustrations. Young people follow reward and incentive programmes that celebrate their achievements and demonstrate their progress.

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Good

The use of physical restraint is rare because staff deploy verbal de-escalation techniques to defuse potentially challenging situation. Nevertheless, when restraint is necessary to protect young people or others from harm, staff recordings of these events lack detail. The use of generic terms such as ‘guided’ means that it is unclear how staff hold young people. This impedes the registered manager’s ability to review these events to ascertain the need for staff to use this measure of control.

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Good

Recruitment procedures are detailed and robustly implemented. The registered manager ensures that when new staff are appointed, they are subject to a range of employee assessments, including disclosure and baring service checks. This ensures that young people work with safe adults.

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Good

Staff complete regular health and safety and fire checks in the home. This ensures that the environment is safe. Young people participate in fire drills and tests and are aware of how to exit the home safely in the event of a fire. This further promotes young people’s welfare. Judgement grade

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Good

The registered manager holds suitable qualifications for her role, including the level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. She has extensive experience of working in and managing services for young people. The registered manager has taken sufficient action to address the requirements made at the last inspection. For example, young people are now encouraged to take responsibility for their actions, staff completed sanction records in detail and young people are able to access all areas of the home.

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Good

Young people make good progress in this placement because the registered manager prioritises their needs. She ensures that listening to young people, identifying their needs and responding to these are central to the routines in the home. The registered manager retains a detailed overview of young people’s vulnerabilities and risks, progress and achievements. This ensures that the aims and objectives of the service continually evolves to meet young people’s needs.

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Good

The statement of purpose is a clear and unambiguous document. The registered manager regularly reviews this document to provide others agencies and young people’s families with a synopsis of the function of the home and the services available. This ensures that new young people are suitably placed when they are admitted to the home, and that the service can meet their needs.

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Good

Staff receive regular and good quality supervision. These sessions review their performance and encourage them to reflect on their practice. Team meetings occur monthly. The registered manager utilises these meetings to discuss practice issues, disseminate information and provide training sessions. Formal training programmes ensure that staff have the skills and knowledge that they need to support young people. Furthermore, all eligible staff hold recognised formal qualifications as required for employment in children residential services. Young people make progress in their development because they receive support from capable and experienced staff.

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Good

Partnership working between the registered manager and other agencies, including the local authority, is a significant strength of the service. These relationships are strong and focus on young people’s vulnerabilities, needs and progress. When other agencies fail to deliver the care and support that young people require, the registered manager is quick to challenge these shortfalls. One professional commented, ‘The manager is so committed and knowledgeable. She wants the best for the children and she doesn’t give up until she gets them the best.’

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Good

The registered manager uses a range of monitoring systems to evaluate and review the quality of care provided by the services. She is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home, taking account of young people’s progress and feedback from the independent visitor. The registered manager identifies patterns and trends that may negatively affect young people’s development or compromise their safety, and devises action plans to address identified shortfalls. This means that the service continues to evolve to reflect young people’s individual needs

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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 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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