Children's home in Birmingham

Requires 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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because:

 Since the previous inspection, leaders and staff have not consistently responded effectively to deal with incidents of difficult behaviour displayed by young people. The police have been involved and, as a result, the behaviour of one young person has become unnecessarily criminalised.

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because:

 There is a lack of reflective practice following incidents, which limits staff’s ability to learn and avoid a repeat of difficult behaviour. Information passed from one staff team to another when care staff change each day lacks purpose and/or careful planning.

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because:

 Records do not contribute effectively to understanding the life and experiences of young people as required. Information is repeated in several different documents and/or lacks sufficient information to support staff’s understanding of young people’s care and their supervision needs. Important information is not summarised and too much information is out of date.

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because:

 It is not clear that staff have access to or have read legislation, policies and practice guidance to support their understanding of their roles and responsibilities to young people. Filing systems do not help staff to locate information quickly.

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because:

 Instability in the staff team has caused attachment issues and disruption for a young person.

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because:

 The young people’s guide is not a child-friendly document. It is wordy, and does not demonstrate high expectations of young people, instead referring to ‘drug use, police involvement and criminal behaviour’. The document describes rules and what is expected of young people, rather than describing what support and guidance young people can expect from care staff.

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The children’s home’s strengths

 Young people have made progress since living in this home. Most have found stability after being moved on from several different homes previously. One young person has made a suitable return to living with his family. Another has improved, regular contact with family.

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The children’s home’s strengths

 One young person has made a return to school education after years of non- attendance. While this is not without some difficulties, it represents a significant improvement for the young person. Adults who have an interest in the young person’s life are pleased about this achievement.

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The children’s home’s strengths

 A recently appointed manager is in post. He has recognised some of the areas that need to improve and has started to work on these. The staff team is now established and all those who work in the home have a suitable care qualification.

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The children’s home’s strengths

 Young people are involved in a range of activities to support their development. Care has been taken to create a sense of belonging for young people. Bedrooms and other areas of the home are personalised with photos and other items that are important to young people.

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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

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 person must: (2)(c) keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document. 31/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the positive relationship standard, the registered person must ensure: (2)(a) that staff: (i) meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans; (ii) help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; (iii) encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; (iv) help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; (v) communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; (vi) help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful; (vii) help each child to develop the understanding and

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Requirement Due date

skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship; (viii) strive to gain each child’s respect and trust; (ix) understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret 31/01/2017 these and develop positive relationships with children; (x) are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same; (xi) de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. 36: Children’s case records

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Requirement Due date

(1) The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which: (a) include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; (b) are kept up to date; and (c) are signed and dated by the author of each entry. 31/01/2017

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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

 The registered person must demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted, including ensuring that the employment of any temporary staff will not prevent children from receiving the continuity of care that they need (regulation 31(1)). (The guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 51, paragraph 10.1)

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (The guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (The guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for children and young people who may display emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 06/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/05/2015 Full Requires improvement 17/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/06/2014 Full Adequate

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Requires improvement

The overall experiences and progress of young people is weakened by shortfalls in safeguarding and the leadership and management of the home.

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Requires improvement

Since the previous inspection, the quality of the care provided to young people has been variable, as have staff’s responses and their understanding of difficult behaviour. Staff are now starting to develop a more empathetic way of interpreting young people’s behaviour and have started to anticipate and deal with issues before they become dangerous and beyond staff’s control.

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Requires improvement

All young people have made some progress since living in the home. Some of this progress is significant and includes the reintegration of a young person to live back with his family. He is doing well and attending college. Another young person has found some stability after years of ‘bouncing about between different homes’.

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Requires improvement

Education is encouraged well by staff. Bespoke education packages are provided within the organisation to take into account young people’s history and the impact this has on their ability to learn. One young person is engaging in education for the first time in years and although this can be difficult to manage, nobody is giving up.

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Requires improvement

A good range of activities are provided to suit the interests of young people. These opportunities help to expand their knowledge and skills and increases the potential for them to develop social skills. All access to the community for one young person is supervised, without the risks or reasons being fully explored and agreed with the placing authority.

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Requires improvement

Contact with families is encouraged well and supported by the staff. Young people have had regular meetings with a parent and sisters since moving in. The staff have arranged to provide a family Christmas day for a young person and his family which will be a positive achievement.

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Requires improvement

Mental health support services are provided for young people. They do not access all the services which would benefit them, but do attend child and adolescent mental health service appointments and those connected to reducing the potential for offending behaviour.

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Requires improvement

The home is, for the most part, a homely, domestic-style environment. It is personalised by and for young people to create a sense of belonging. Repairs are carried out quickly most of the time. Some areas require refurbishment and a cupboard in the lounge area is used for the storage of used files rather than by young people. In addition, some food is locked away from a young person. This approach avoids dealing with any food issues.

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Requires improvement

Risks are not well identified, understood or recorded to support the constant supervision of a young person by two care staff when outside of the home. While the intention is to avoid unnecessary harm to the young person, this is not balanced with a need to help the young person to be able to take age-appropriate risks and to develop some of the skills needed to live independently in the future. This current restrictive practice has not been fully discussed, considered or agreed by the placing authority. The manager took action towards addressing this concern during the inspection.

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Requires improvement

Staff’s responses to managing the difficult behaviour of young people are not always appropriate. Some prolonged incidents have occurred that demonstrate a lack of de-escalation skills among the staff involved. Police involvement to deal with difficult behaviour has resulted in a young person spending hours in police custody and being charged with behavioural offences. These responses do not help young people to feel safe and to build meaningful attachments with those who are caring for them.

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Requires improvement

There is a lack of reflective practice discussions between staff and managers following incidents. As a result, this reduces the opportunities for staff to learn from what happened and to anticipate further problems so that incidents can be avoided.

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Requires improvement

There are discussions with young people following incidents and for the most part these include opportunities to explore the feelings of young people. On occasion, these discussions have included staff saying to a young person that, ‘The placement may be at risk if behaviour continues.’ This caused unnecessary anxiety for a young person involved.

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Requires improvement

The physical restraint of young people has been kept to a minimum. Incidents are recorded. Recently, and during significant incidents, the use of physical restraint has avoided a young person becoming increasingly out of control and has enabled them to become calmer and consider their actions.

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Requires improvement

Incidents of young people being missing from the home are unusual, although two incidents have been significant and required police involvement. The staff understand how to respond to safeguard young people during these incidents. Their actions are supported by policy documents and written guidance. They have worked in partnership with the police to ensure the safe return of young people and have challenged when they feel other agencies have not acted in the best interests of the young person.

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Requires improvement

Health and safety within the home is a priority. Routine checks and fire safety precautions are all in place.

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Requires improvement

The majority of essential recruitment checks are in place before staff start work at the home. One record lacked information about a member of staff’s full employment history. In addition, recruitment records do not include information to show how a decision was reached about the suitability of candidates.

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Requires improvement

Young people say that they feel safe in the home and the support and guidance provided has made them safer than in previous homes.

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Requires improvement

A recently recruited manager is now in charge of the home and is in the process of applying to register with Ofsted. He has previous management experience in a children’s home and has the necessary qualifications. He has some knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has started to take action to address the shortfalls. Some improvement is needed before the home can provide a consistently good service to young people.

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Requires improvement

The stability of the care team has been problematic up until recently, with seven staff leaving since the previous inspection, to be replaced with different staff. This is unsettling for young people and has an impact on their ability to form attachments with those looking after them.

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Requires improvement

All current staff team members have a suitable childcare qualification and can access essential training. Some more specialist training, which would help with the progress of young people, such as sexual health and relationships work, has not been provided.

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Requires improvement

Young people’s records, including behaviour management plans, risk assessments and care plans, are not concise, precise or up to date. It is difficult to find information to guide and support the actions of staff. Some daily records have recently been reviewed and the information now recorded is more meaningful.

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Requires improvement

Young people have made steady progress, often from very difficult starting points. Stakeholders are pleased with the progress being made.

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Requires improvement

The relationships with some stakeholders are mixed, with both the placing authority and the home reporting some communication problems. There is evidence that the staff team has challenged other agencies when they fail to live up to expectations or do not act in the best interests of young people.

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Requires improvement

The frequency of supervision provided to staff has improved since the new manager took over. Appraisals have also been completed so that staff have a focus for continuous personal development.

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Requires improvement

The manager and staff are working towards providing the service as set out in the statement of purpose. There is a determination to sort out shortfalls and to support the young people in achieving the best possible outcomes. Independent monitoring of the home and monitoring by senior managers and the new manager supports these developments.

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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

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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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