Children's home run by Sunfield Children’s Homes Limited in Bromsgrove

Inspector Sue Young

Inspection date 21/02/2017 Previous inspection judgement Requires improvement Enforcement action since last inspection None

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement at the last 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

Continued safeguarding and leadership challenges mean that young people are still not having good experiences and outcomes in the home. There has been an increase in the use of seclusion for some young people. This is implemented by staff and involves them holding doors shut so that young people cannot leave the room that they are in. Staff do not always follow young people’s risk assessments or behaviour management plans. Consequently, there has been an increase in the number of inappropriate restraints that are being used to hold young people. This creates the potential for young people to become injured.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, the home has continued to operate with a significant number of staff vacancies. The lack of consistent staffing has had a detrimental effect on some young people. The staff who care for young people do not always have close relationships with them and are not fully aware of their needs and patterns of behaviour. Staff in some of the houses feel unsupported in their roles and this causes morale to be low However, this is an improving picture. Senior managers report that the home has employed several new members of staff and that the home is now close to being fully staffed.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has made some improvements since the last inspection. Managers have commissioned safeguarding training for all staff who work in the home. Staff have found this training to be of real benefit and it has improved openness and awareness among staff in terms of safeguarding issues. Managers also conduct weekly safeguarding meetings that focus on and raise awareness of areas of concern. Young people do not go missing or engage in risk-taking activities. Staff accompany young people at all times inside and outside of the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Many young people are making steady progress. This is especially true of young people who live in the houses in which staff have remained consistent. Staff support young people so that they are able to enjoy a range of activities both in the home and in the local community. Staff help young people to have positive contact with their families. For example, one young person was recently able to attend his brother’s wedding. This was a massive achievement for him. Young people attend school regularly and are progressing in line with their individual needs. They continue to benefit from good therapeutic provision that helps their care to be tailored to meet their assessed needs.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, the home has acquired a registered manager who is qualified and experienced. However, not all of the care staff have attained the appropriate qualification to work with children and young people. This was made a requirement at the last inspection and will therefore be repeated.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The senior management team continues to have oversight of the home’s operation and remains committed to a programme of improvement. However, monitoring does not fully support continuous improvement in the quality of care that is given to young people. The monitoring does not provide details of the actions that the provider considers to be necessary in order to improve the quality of care. In addition, the provider has not sent the quality of care review report to Ofsted within the timescale that is required by legislation.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There were five requirements and two recommendations raised at the last inspection. The home environment is now more nurturing. Staff are considering young people’s views with regard to the refurbishment of the home and the bedrooms are personalised to match young people’s wishes. Record-keeping has improved and consents in writing for the monitoring and surveillance of young people are now in place. Although managers have instigated actions to meet all of the regulatory shortfalls from the last inspection shortfalls, remain. As a result, requirements regarding safeguarding, and leadership and management have been repeated.

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Information about this children’s home

This service is a children’s home that is registered with Ofsted. It is also a residential special school that is registered with the Department for Education. It is run by a charity. It provides a service to boys and girls aged 6 to 19 years who have severe and complex learning difficulties and behavioural needs. It offers flexible placements for 38 to 52 weeks a year, for up to 61 young people. Seven of these placements are for short breaks for current students who receive day placements or 38-week placements. There are 12 homes within the grounds of the school. Each house is different in terms of its design, the number of young people it can accommodate and the size of its staff team.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 11/05/2016 Full Requires improvement 04/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/08/2015 Full Requires improvement 18/03/2015 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) meet(s) 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

12.—(1) In order to meet the protection of children standard, children must be protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (b) that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe. 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

13.—(1) the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— (a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, that are set out in the home’s statement of purpose; (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; (e) ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that any restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. This relates specifically to staff holding doors shut in order to prevent young people from leaving a room (Regulation 20(2)) 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification and that, by the relevant date, the individual has attained the level 3 diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the level 3 diploma’); 31/05/2017 or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the level 3 diploma. (Regulation 32(4)(5)) The registered person must supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care report is completed. (Regulation 45(4)(a)) 31/05/2017

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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 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 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 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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