Children's Home run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in Stoke-on-Trent

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people’s experiences are variable. One young person is making good progress. For example, his education attendance and attainment have increased. He is becoming more independent. He has developed positive friendships in the local community. This improves his day-to-day experiences and his social skills. The young person talked positively about this and the care that he receives from staff. However, some of the young person’s records are not adequate. Specifically, the manager has not completed a written risk assessment relating to the young person’s time with his friends. As a result, there is little guidance for staff or evidence that the potential risks are appropriately considered. The good relationships between staff and the young person, and their awareness of his needs, limit the impact of this.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Another young person is due to move out of the home soon. The planning for this move is poor. The manager has taken some steps to challenge the placing authority about this. However, these actions have not been effective. The young person is spending an increasing amount of time away from the home. This is affecting his relationships with staff and their ability to support him. His education attendance has also decreased, despite some previous success in his exams. His social worker commented, ‘He is disengaging.’ These issues hinder the planning for his future. This creates anxiety for the young person, his family and staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff do not always take effective action when one young person goes missing or is away from the home without permission. For example, they do not always respond quickly when they find out where he is. Specifically, on one occasion there was a delay of approximately an hour before they went to collect him. This resulted in the young person leaving that location and continuing to stay away. Staff do not always visit the addresses where the young person might be or call his friends, associates or relatives. Furthermore, they have not taken enough steps to meet the people whom he is staying with. This prevents them from accurately assessing whether the young person is at risk or making arrangements to reduce this risk. Records are not always clear or carefully completed, and are not always up to date. For example, the names and addresses of the young person’s associates are incorrectly and inconsistently recorded. Moreover, his absence protocol does not

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

contain updated information or guidance for staff. These shortfalls further hinder staff in locating him. Finally, on one occasion another young person did not have access to an independent interview on his return. Because of this, he was not given the chance to talk to someone not directly involved in his day-to-day care about any concerns that he may have.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has made some improvements since he started in the role in September 2016. He has met the majority of the shortfalls identified at the last inspection. Most notably, consultation with young people and engagement with specialist services, including a psychology service, have improved. In addition, the manager has resolved issues relating to the vetting of staff. These improvements have enhanced the consistency of staff practice in some areas. They also make sure that new staff are safely recruited.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Monitoring and review systems are inconsistent. Consequently, they do not support the manager to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided. The manager is planning to introduce new systems. However, these are not yet in place. In addition, the manager has not completed a formal quality of care review. This has reduced his oversight in several areas, including medication processes. He has therefore failed to meet a previous requirement. Specifically, staff failed to support one young person to take his medication at regular intervals. Neither did they seek medical advice to ascertain the effect that this might have on him. This had the potential to place his physical health at risk.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has made improvements to some areas of the home. Other areas still require improvement. For example, the manager has identified that the bathroom needs to be refurbished and the bath replaced. He is yet to address this. Furthermore, a set of drawers in one young person’s room has been damaged. These shortfalls detract from the homely environment that the manager and staff wish to create.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Most staff receive good support. By contrast, a small number of staff do not receive sufficient supervision. For example, records show that one member of staff has only had two supervision sessions since July 2016. This limits the support available to them and has the potential to impact on the quality of their practice.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has taken action to improve the response to negative behaviour. There is now more focus on rewarding and celebrating positive achievements. The use of sanctions for negative behaviour is also more proportionate. However, records do not always show that staff assess the effectiveness or any consequences of the use of these measures. This was an area of weakness identified at the last inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager and staff have developed strong relationships with a number of other professionals. One social worker highlighted, ‘I think the home overall is doing well. The new manager has improved things, for example communication and working together.’

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to two children or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A local authority operates the home. The home supports only children and young people from the local authority’s area.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 06/09/2016 Full Requires improvement 09/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/06/2015 Full Good 13/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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 protection of children standard, with particular reference to missing and risk assessment, the registered person 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; (vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. 10/03/2017

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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, with particular reference to monitoring and review systems, the registered manager must: (2)(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 10/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard, the registered person must ensure that children: (1)(a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. 10/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23(1)) 10/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) 10/03/2017

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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 10/03/2017 child in the home, a record is made which includes the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(vii)) The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which are kept up to date. (Regulation 36(1)(b)) 10/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (‘a quality of care review’) at least once every six months. (Regulation 45(1)) 10/03/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendations:  For the home to be a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of their children, ensure that it is homely. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  Ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, clear recording. Ensure that information

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Recommendations

about the child is always recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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 0300 123 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

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

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