Children's home in Birmingham

Require improvement

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

 The recently registered manager has left. No permanent manager has been appointed. This means that there is inconsistent oversight of the home, which limits its capacity to improve.  Frequent change in managers has created uncertainty and insecurity in relationships between young people and staff. Young people have demonstrated this anxiety through increased challenges to staff. This has caused further strain on relationships in the home.  Owing to changes in leadership, young people and staff have experienced differing approaches to behaviour management. An inconsistent approach has created uncertainty and challenge about the rules and expectations of living in the home.  Care plans do not clearly set out how staff support young people to improve, particularly in relation to moving on and sexual development, and in relation to autism. This prevents staff from delivering consistent care that improves young people’s understanding of the world.

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The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

 Owing to changes in leadership, the quality of the management’s review of young people’s records of key-worker sessions and activities does not ensure that staff reflect upon and improve their practice. This limits the progress young people make.  Senior managers are committed to driving forward improvement, but recognise that there is still much to be achieved. This includes stabilising and increasing staff, embedding their understanding of learning disability, and the impact of past trauma on current behaviour, to better meet young people’s needs.

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The children’s home’s strengths

 Young people say that they like living in the home, and say that relationships between them are mostly positive, with staff helping them to overcome any disagreements.  The senior manager who is providing oversight of the home is actively seeking to appoint a suitable manager, and has promoted a detailed development plan that aims to achieve sustainable improvement. This is work in progress.  Social workers are satisfied with the conduct of the home. They say that young people are making progress because of the efforts of staff.

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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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The quality and purpose of care standard

6. —(1) The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who — (2)(iv) provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background; specifically autism, past trauma and sexuality. (2)(vi) help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to live independently as an adult. 31/08/2016

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The enjoyment and achievement standard

9. —(1) The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills. 31/08/2016

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The health and well-being standard

10. —(1) The health and well-being standard is that— (2)(a) that staff help each child to— (i) achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans, particularly with regard to sexual development. 30/09/2016

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The positive relationships standard

11. —(1) The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— (a) mutual respect and trust; (b) an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and (c) positive responses to other children and adults. 30/09/2016

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The leadership and management standard

13. —(2) The leadership and management standard requires the registered person to— (2)(f) understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. 30/09/2016

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Appointment of manager

27. —(1) 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. 30/08/2016

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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 expectations of standards of behaviour are clear and unambiguous so that young people understand how to improve, and how and when they will be rewarded for progress they make. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39 paragraph 8.11)

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Information about this children’s home

The service is run by an established private provider. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people with learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

15/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Require improvement

Young people make uneven progress due to inconsistent leadership in the home, and changes in staffing created by vacancy and absence. Nevertheless, young people say that they like living in the home, enjoy spending time with the male staff that they know well, and like living with each other, most of the time. Records show that since the registered manager left in May 2016, young people have demonstrated their upset and anxiety by increased levels of challenge to staff, and disruption to previous patterns of positive activity and relationships. This has resulted in reduced participation in out-of-school clubs and experiences, with fewer opportunities to practise social skills and peer relationships.

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Require improvement

Both young people’s social workers and one teacher confirmed that the core staff have supported young people’s progress in many areas, but that disruption and some setbacks have arisen from a lack of stability in management. They also confirmed that the acting manager has begun to identify and address elements of decline in young people’s progress, by actions such as improving routines and communication to ensure that young people attend school and further education regularly in order to improve their understanding of the world.

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Require improvement

Relationships in the home are stabilising under the guidance of the acting manager, with a reduction in the number of incidents in the home. However, young people have demonstrated poor understanding and acceptance of the role and status of female staff, and this has created serious difficulties in relationships between them. This has created further impact on the quality of activity and learning that young people experience because they have been refusing to spend constructive time with female staff. The manager has identified this area for staff training and development, but it is early days. When young people have requested a change in key worker, this has been accommodated, to improve their level of engagement with their goals and plans.

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Require improvement

Young people have made progress in their relationships with appropriate family members. Staff have encouraged and supported them to attend contact meetings with family members. They have organised activities that enhance young people’s enjoyment of these encounters, so that they have a greater sense of belonging and shared history. Staff carefully monitor young people’s emotional welfare before and afterwards. This is helping young people to explore their past experiences in order to develop maturity and understanding about their lives.

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Require improvement

Young people’s general health needs are met, and they attend regular appointments to ensure that they remain fit and well. One young person independently accesses his GP, as appropriate to his age, although he also talks to staff about his emotional and physical health. Although care plans indicate that young people need help with puberty and emerging sexuality, key workers have not identified a clear and reviewed approach to support their healthy development. Staff have not fully understood the individual needs of young people, particularly related to their past experiences and their learning needs. This has resulted in inappropriate comments and behaviour being expressed by young people, with staff managing these without a formal and planned response. Consequently, neither young person is making good progress in this area, which makes them vulnerable to making poor choices and unsuitable approaches to others.

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Require improvement

Since the last inspection, young people have also experienced dips in their attendance at school and sixth form, although incentive programmes have more recently improved on this. One young person re-sat some exams in which he had not achieved good results previously, and has plans to attend catering college next term. He showed his skill in cooking his own tea, as part of a recently implemented independent living skills programme. Owing to his fear of change, he has great difficulty in thinking about his move to an adult placement during the next year. His social worker, school and the home are all working in partnership to try to explain the process, and how his views are taken into account. However, his care plan does not reflect this approach. His key worker has not provided him with the written information he needs to enhance his understanding of the changes or of how the steps will be set out. This limits the ability of staff to help him manage his

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Requires improvement

Young people say that they feel safe and happy in the home because they like most staff who work there, and enjoy spending time with them. Social workers say that staff understand how to keep young people safe and inform them of any concerns, so that they can participate in reviewing risk assessments and safety guidelines. Both young people demonstrate trust in staff by the progress they make in talking about their past experiences and trauma, and by sharing their fears and feelings.

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Requires improvement

Key workers identify a range of risks and support needs that young people present. The support plan includes details of proactive strategies to protect them, as well as guidance on how to respond to situations that are unsafe. However, owing to inconsistent management, the proactive strategies are not measured for their effectiveness or for the consistency with which staff use them. This limits their effectiveness. For example, one young person receives education and support from a sexual health advisory service, but there is no written record of the programme. Staff are therefore unable to reinforce positive messages or keep track of any outcomes from this work to enhance his safety and development.

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Requires improvement

Both young people have comprehensive plans in place to help staff address episodes of them being missing from the home. Although a rare occurrence, when young people leave the home, or fail to keep to agreed contact arrangements while out of it, staff understand their vulnerability and take swift and appropriate action to locate and return them safely. The guidelines identify young people’s individual capacity to make safe and appropriate choices, while also recognising the support they may need to understand age-appropriate rules and the expectations of the home and society. This approach has helped one young person to explore independent travel, which will enable him to get himself to and from college safely and on time.

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Requires improvement

Owing to changes in leadership, staff have varied their approaches to managing behaviour and promoting positive relationships. This has created uncertainty and anxiety in young people because they have become unsure of the rules and expectations about living in the home. Young people say that they are upset by managers leaving. Records show that staff are failing to manage situations consistently, and do not always record their actions clearly. This has contributed to an ongoing escalation in poor relationships between young people and female staff, as young people struggle to find appropriate ways to express their upset and confusion.

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Requires improvement

The acting manager has begun to address young people’s disrespectful, threatening and angry responses to women. She has negotiated behaviour support agreements with young people, but these do not present a clear set of rewards and consequences that staff and young people can understand and use. They are not yet underpinned by essential education sessions to ensure that young people learn about equality and human relationships.

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Require improvement

There has been no registered manager in post since May 2016. Four managers have been in post over the last 20 months. Although the organisation is seeking to appoint, there is no permanent manager in place. This means that there is inconsistent oversight of the home, and this limits its capacity to improve. Instability has created a pattern of service progress and decline that has been reflected in the uneven progress made by young people. The senior manager who is overseeing the home at present has set up systems of communication and oversight that increase the reliability of the assessment of care practice. The senior manager is committed to sustaining improvement and stability, and has increased the expectation for professional reflection and practice review within the team. This is a recent development, and its sustainability and impact are not yet measurable. Ultimately, any continued progress depends upon the

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Require improvement

successful appointment of a suitable manager and an increase in the number of permanent staff working in the home.

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Require improvement

Staff say that frequent management changes have impacted upon young people’s sense of well-being and security, as well as creating disruption to the systems and processes within the home. This is manifest in care plans that fail to identify and address young people’s significant needs. Although staff are knowledgeable about young people, they have come to rely on word of mouth and discussion rather than written planning because the expectations about how care plans are recorded have changed with successive managers. As a result, staff and managers address emerging issues, such as sexual health needs, by setting up appointments with specialists without fully understanding their role in supporting young people’s development. Not only does this impair progress, it also creates inconsistency in the way young people are supported.

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Require improvement

Similarly, staff support mechanisms have varied in their frequency and impact on improving care practice. This includes irregular supervision, and limited reflection and oversight regarding the lessons learned from professional consultation. For example, despite visits from an autism specialist, key workers have failed to implement guidance such as ensuring that communications with one young person are reinforced by written messages and schedules. Similarly, management oversight of records of direct work such as key-worker sessions, discipline and behaviour management, and how incidents are managed has not been sufficiently rigorous to identify shortfalls in staff practice that, if addressed, would improve the quality of care provided. This includes, for example, staff’s misunderstanding of autism and anxiety-related behaviour.

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Require improvement

Together with the independent visitor, the current manager has identified the poor quality of staff recording as a development need for the home. This is included in a comprehensive written plan that sets out the major areas of focus to improve the conduct of the home against its aims and objectives. This builds on a previous development plan created by the last registered manager, as well as setting targets to improve recruitment, induction and staff development. It is too early to assess the impact of this plan, although the manager is addressing immediate issues of care quality through staff meetings, supervision and reflective practice. This includes providing more reliable written staff communications, ensuring that young people have suitable access to community activities and stabilising behaviour management. Professionals such as social workers and teachers confirm that staff work well with them, provide good information about young people, and attend any meetings that

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Require improvement

help to review and set out their needs and goals. However, all remarked on the disruption created by management changes, while recognising that the present leadership has improved communication and planning for 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 the ‘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 that 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, work- based 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

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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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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