Children's Home run by Cove Care – Residential Limited in Telford and Wrekin

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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The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

 Young people do not have access to a full-time education. This is limiting their progress and ability to reach their full potential.  Managers are not making the most of opportunities to work in collaboration with other agencies.  Managers are not ensuring that staff training is consistent.  Young people have their access restricted by the staff practice of locking certain doors in the home.  Managers are not evaluating measures of control and discipline to support and develop new strategies.  The manager has not ensured that the home’s statement of purpose is up to date.

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The children’s home strengths

 Young people are positive about the care and support they receive and feel safe and comfortable in the home.  Young people are consulted on a regular basis through formal meetings and during informal conversations.  Contact with significant family members is encouraged, supported and maintained well.  The manager provides staff with ongoing support, supervision and appraisal.

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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– (2)(a) that staff– (vi) maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement; 27/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered provider must ensure that staff– (2)(a)(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. 27/03/2017

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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)(e) ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; (2)(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 27/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises. (Regulation 21 (b)) 27/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

(a) keep the statement of purpose under review and, where 27/03/2017 appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

(b) notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b))

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Recommendation

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Registered persons have a key role in seeking to develop the home’s effective working relationships with each child’s placing authority and with other relevant persons which may include services, individuals (including parents), agencies, organisations and establishments that work with children in the local community, e.g. police, schools, health and youth offending teams. (regulation 5 – engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met) These working relationships will also be key to success in delivering the care planning standard (regulation 14). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.3)

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A private company operates the home.

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Recent inspection history

This is the home’s first inspection since registration.

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Requires improvement

This is the home’s first inspection since its registration in August 2016. Since that time, there have been three admissions to the home. The young people have settled in quickly and are developing good relationships with each other.

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Requires improvement

Young people currently receive their education on a part-time basis through tuition received at the home and local libraries. This arrangement means that young people are left without meaningful activities for part of the day. Inspectors observed young people in bed until their education began at midday. Consequently, young people are not getting used to the routine that attending school brings.

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Requires improvement

Young people benefit from a staff team that shows considerable patience, and is attentive to their individual and complex needs. As a result, young people develop excellent relationships with staff, and they appreciate the support afforded to them. One young person expressed this by saying, ‘My keyworker understands me. She’s caring and loving. She makes me feel like I am not as bad a person as I think I am.’

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Requires improvement

Young people have clear health plans and are registered with the relevant primary healthcare services. Young people have access to specialist therapeutic input provided by the organisation operating the home. There are good links with specialist health services, such as mental health services. This means that young people receive specialist input that is tailored to meet individual needs. Young people’s medication is stored and administered safely by trained and competent staff.

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Requires improvement

Young people are fully involved in day-to-day decisions in the home. This is done through regular house meetings, key-work sessions and daily interaction with the staff. Young people confirmed that their opinions and suggestions are put into practice whenever possible. Young people confirmed that they are aware of the procedure for making a complaint.

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Requires improvement

Young people have clear contact plans in place to ensure that they retain positive links with family members and carers. Staff support these arrangements, both practically and by providing emotional support to young people. This ensures that the young people continue to build relationships and attachments with those significant to them.

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Requires improvement

Young people are supported to begin to develop basic life skills. They are provided with opportunities to develop new skills, such as washing and cooking with good support and encouragement from staff. This helps young people develop practical skills and enables them to complete daily tasks safely and independently.

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Requires improvement

Young people engage with positive activities outside the home, where they can develop sporting talents and hobbies. This provides them with opportunities to have fun and enjoyment and to build confidence and self-esteem.

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Requires improvement

Staff do not make sure that risk assessments are consistent. Some assessments are on different templates and do not include a clear risk management plan for staff to follow. Risk assessments are not routinely reviewed after significant incidents to evaluate their effectiveness and make relevant changes. This means that staff are referring to risk assessments which do not reflect the most recent behaviours displayed by young people.

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Requires improvement

Young people’s positive behaviour is promoted and restraint is rarely used. However, not all staff have been trained in the organisation’s model of restraint. This has the potential to compromise the care of young people and cause harm. Young people receive regular praise and reward for positive behaviours, but there is no record of any sanctions that have been issued. This means that the consequences and impact of interventions are not being monitored for their effectiveness, and young people are not being provided with the opportunity to learn from their behaviours.

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Requires improvement

The doors to the lounge area and kitchen are locked and not accessible to young people at specific times. This means that young people’s access around the home is restricted and potentially places them at risk because they cannot access a possible fire escape.

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Requires improvement

The good relationship between staff and young people means that young people feel safe and secure in their home. Staff know what action to take to promote young people’s safety if they go missing. There are effective procedures and protocols to promote their safe return. None of the young people in placement currently has gone missing from the home since their admission.

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Requires improvement

The manager ensures that young people benefit from living in a safe environment. Staff make sure that the home is kept safe by carrying out regular health and safety checks and making sure that equipment is serviced. They also practise the home’s fire evacuation procedure and test the system on a regular basis. Young people also participate in fire evacuation so that they know what to do in the event of a fire or other emergency situations, which helps to keep them safe. The manager fully implements the home’s recruitment policy and practices. This helps to prevent unsuitable adults from working with young people.

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Requires improvement

The home has an appropriately qualified registered manager in place. The manager has been in post since August 2016 and holds a level 4 national vocational qualification in leadership, health and social care.

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Requires improvement

The home’s statement of purpose carefully sets out the aims and objectives of the service. The document has recently been updated but it does not meet regulatory requirements. For example, details of staffing and the layout of bedrooms are not clear. This means that placing authorities are not receiving accurate information about these areas.

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Requires improvement

On some occasions, representatives from the organisation other than the manager or staff have attended meetings. This hinders staff and the manager from building up their collaborative partnership working, especially given their knowledge of the young people’s needs that could be shared at meetings.

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Requires improvement

All members of staff spoken with gave positive comments about the manager’s supportive leadership of the service. They receive regular and effective supervision, and all mandatory training is completed in line with the organisation’s requirements. The staff feel that the training provided is of a good quality and has enabled them to put their skills and knowledge into practice. All staff are qualified or working to gain a relevant qualification for their role. In addition, the organisation’s therapist provides clinical oversight to equip staff with further strategies for working with young people.

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Requires improvement

Monitoring visits from someone independent of the home take place every month. The monitoring system provides a review of the home’s practice relating to the quality of young people’s care. Young people and staff are consulted and influence the actions taken to make progress in the home. The manager has a development plan to drive forward further improvements.

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Requires improvement

A detailed safe area report is in place and this identifies local resources and risks associated with the location of the home. This means that staff can be aware of specific risks to young people in the local area and take action to manage them.

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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 harm or leave children and young people

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What the inspection judgements mean

being 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 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 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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