Children's home run by Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council in Walsall

Inspection report children’s home: SC036551 1 SC036551 Registered provider: Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A local authority owns and operates the home.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff. They celebrate their achievements and receive verbal praise that enhances their self-esteem and confidence. Inspection report children’s home: SC036551 2  The registered manager has an excellent knowledge and understanding of young people’s needs. She ensures that meeting these is the focus of the service.  Managers and staff build strong and positive relationships with the local authority and other agencies. This means that young people receive integrated care.  Consultation with young people is a priority in the home. Their views, opinions and wishes shape the development of the service.  Staff support young people to make the most of all learning opportunities by challenging the barriers to education that they may face.  The registered manager continually reviews the quality of care provided by the service and takes appropriate action to address any areas for improvement.

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Staff do not always ensure that records of physical restraint are completed in sufficient detail to enable the registered manager to fully review these incidents.  Managers do not make sure that all risks assessments specify the strategies and actions for staff to follow to manage and reduce known risks. This potentially compromises young people’s safety.  Staff do not ensure that all sanctions are restorative in nature. This reduces young people’s ability to reflect their actions.

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/06/2016 Full Good 15/02/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 22/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC036551 3

p.2

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

p.3

Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i) 19/01/2018

p.3

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 child in the home, a record is made which includes details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure. (Regulation 35(a)(ii)) 19/01/2018

p.3

Recommendations

 Ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

p.3

Recommendations

 Review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. Providers should refer to the non-statutory advice about the location assessment process. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report children’s home: SC036551 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress because their day-to-day and overall experience of living in the home is very positive. Staff deliver personalised care and support that reflects young people’s individual needs and takes account of their vulnerabilities. Staff are motivated and have high aspirations for young people. Celebrating young people’s achievements and successes is the focus of day-to-day routines in the home. This constant and appropriate praise gives young people a sense of pride and enhances their self-esteem and confidence. One young person said, ‘It feels nice when staff tell me I’m doing good.’

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with young people and the placing authority to devise realistic and personalised internal care and support plans. These reflect young people’s individual needs and mirror the aims of the statutory placing authority plans. Staff monitor and review young people’s progress against well-defined targets and objectives. Furthermore, young people’s views and wishes are intrinsic to this internal care planning process. One young person said, ‘I feel that what I want and think really does matter. Staff are interested.’ Staff make sure that young people’s case files include all necessary information. This means that staff have all the relevant information that they need to support young people well. Young people benefit from inclusive and comprehensive care that supports their personal development.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have positive relationships with staff. The family atmosphere in the home helps young people to feel safe and secure. One young person said, ‘I sometimes moan about staff just like people moan about their families, but I know they care about me just like a family should.’ Staff use these relationships to help young people to reflect on their background experiences, both good and bad, and to start to move forward with their lives.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Promoting education is central to the ethos of the home. Some young people find it difficult to engage in education but staff continue to seek solutions to address the barriers to learning that these young people face. All young people have suitable school or college placements. Staff liaise with allocated teaching staff to monitor young people’s attendance and their achievements. This partnership working helps young people to prioritise their own learning and recognise the positive impact that education has on their development.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people to live a healthy lifestyle by encouraging them to take part in physical activities and to eat a healthy diet. When necessary, staff work with partner agencies to help young people to access specialist health services, such as counsellors or mental health professionals. As a result, young people make good progress in this area of their development.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Through regular group meetings, staff urge young people to express their views about the quality of care that they receive and the ongoing development of the home. Staff Inspection report children’s home: SC036551 5 also use these meetings to praise young people’s achievements, address any minor tensions caused by communal living and to plan future activities and social events. Young people have their own friendship groups outside of the home. Staff encourage these friendships to support young people to develop their social interaction skills, boost their self-confidence and expand their social circles. Furthermore, staff provide young people with practical and emotional support to help them to maintain regular contact with their families, and those who are important to them. This means that young people are not isolated from their families.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people take responsibility for keeping their bedrooms and some communal areas of the home clean and tidy. They help staff to prepare and cook meals for the group, and take pride in their role in this activity. One young person said, ‘I like doing the cooking with staff and I’m nearly as good as they are. Actually, I’m better than some!’ This means that young people begin to develop the practical skills that they need as they move towards adulthood and independence.

p.5

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people are safe in the home and say that they feel safe. Although there are some episodes of bullying, young people say that staff quickly address these incidents. In these circumstances, staff complete detailed one-to-one sessions with young people. This effective work helps young people to reflect on their behaviours, consider how their actions make others feel and look at ways of preventing any further incidents. Subsequently, young people are held to account for their actions. This means that young people start to take responsibility for their behaviour.

p.5

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff create risk assessments for young people that identify their complex and often challenging behaviours. These risk assessments also highlight young people’s specific vulnerabilities, and note any potential for them to be at risk of child sexual exploitation or radicalisation. Staff use one-to-one sessions to help young people to understand how their behaviours may influence or increase their risks, and the impact their behaviours may have on their safety and welfare. However, risk management plans, specifically those relating to the actions staff should take if young people are missing, lack sufficient detail. For example, they do not clarify if or when staff will search the local area to try to locate a young person, or when they will seek support from the police. The adverse impact of this shortfall is lessened because staff work in partnership with allocated social workers. Furthermore, managers and staff confirm that they do search the local area for

p.5

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

young people. This is an administrative shortfall.

p.5

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The number of incidents of young people going missing from the home continues to reduce. This is because staff advocate for them to have more time with their friends in the community. This approach helps young people to form and maintain appropriate friendships with their peer group. It also supports young people to recognise their own risks and to start to take an age-appropriate responsibility for their own safety.

p.5

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Internal safeguarding and child protection procedures reflect statutory guidance. These enhance partnership working arrangements with other agencies and this helps to keep Inspection report children’s home: SC036551 6 children safe. Staff’s adherence to procedures keeps young people safe from harm.

p.5

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff complete regular training in the use of physical restraint and de-escalation techniques. They only use this measure of control to prevent young people from hurting themselves and/or others. Staff record incidents of physical restraint in bound books designed for this purpose. However, on a few occasions reports of these physical restraints lack sufficient detail. For example, some staff use non-specific terms such as ‘violent behaviour’. This means that the registered manager is not fully able to ascertain if the use of this measure of control is necessary or appropriate. This is because an accurate account of the young person’s behaviour is not available. However, the registered manager is aware of this shortfall and addresses this area of practice with staff during formal supervision sessions.

p.6

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff use incentives and rewards to encourage young people to behave appropriately. However, although the use of sanctions is rare, with less than three given each month, these are sometimes punitive and are not always restorative in nature. This approach potentially reduces the effectiveness of these consequences to help young people learn to better manage their own behaviours.

p.6

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The registered manager adheres to robust internal staff recruitment policies and procedures. All staff are subject to employment checks and vetting processes before they start to work directly with young people in the home. This ensures that staff are suitable to help and support young people.

p.6

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff complete regular fire checks and health and safety checks, and any necessary repairs are quickly completed. The home is well maintained, homely and welcoming. This means that young people live in an appropriate and safe environment.

p.6

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The registered manager reviews the suitability of the location of the home. However, when potential risks are evident the registered manager does not clearly identify strategies to reduce these risks. This potentially compromises young people’s safety in the community.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a number of years of experience of working in and managing residential service for young people. She holds a range of relevant qualifications for this role including the level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people make excellent progress because the registered manager prioritises their needs. She makes sure that meeting these needs is the focus of routines in the home, and embeds this ethos in the culture of the home. The registered manager retains an exceptional overview of young people’s behaviours and risks. She reviews these against their individual progress and achievements. This ensures that the internal care plans that staff devise remain appropriate and relevant. As a result the care that young people receive continues to evolve to meet their needs. Inspection report children’s home: SC036551 7 The registered manager listens to young people and takes account of their views and opinions. One young person said, ‘Sharon always asks what we think and listens to us. I can talk to her and tell her if I’m not happy.’ The registered manager uses this feedback, along with both qualitative and quantitative data, to evaluate and review the service.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

She uses this evidence to inform the continuing development of the home and to make sure that young people consistently receive good quality care that meets their needs.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working arrangements between the service, the local authority and external agencies are positive. One professional said, ‘This is a really good service that makes a real difference to young people’s lives. It helps them to have a better chance of a positive future.’ The registered manager holds others to account should they fail to support young people or provide them with a service that meets their needs. This means that young people benefit from integrated care and support.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. During these formal sessions, managers encourage staff to review their own practice, reflect on their learning needs and examine their skills. This means that managers sufficiently scrutinise staff performance to make sure that they are competent in their role. All staff hold the qualifications necessary for their role. Internal training programmes offer staff a mix of face-to-face and online courses. These reflect young people’s individual needs and ensure that staff have the skills and knowledge that they need to help and support young people as they move towards adulthood and independence.

p.7

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

p.7

Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC036551 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, Civic Centre, Darwall Street, Walsall WS1 1TP

p.8

Inspector

Jo Stephenson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC036551 9 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, 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, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9