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

Inspection report children’s home: SC066214 1 SC066214 Registered provider: Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a local authority. The home provides care and accommodation for up to seven young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The accommodation includes two placements in a semi-independent flat.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

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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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 17 October 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted inspected this service in October 2017. At that time the home was judged inadequate. Inspectors found significant shortfalls relating to the safety and protection of young people, the management of risks, the management of fire safety concerns, and the consistency of staff practice. Following this inspection, Ofsted issued a compliance notice. This notice concerned the provider’s failure to take sufficient action to manage and reduce known risks that placed young people at risk of serious and significant harm. Following a monitoring visit on 13 December 2017, the compliance notice was deemed Inspection report children’s home: SC066214 2 to be met.

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home requires improvement to be good because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Some members of staff do not consistently encourage young people to take responsibility for their inappropriate actions or behaviours. This gives young people mixed messages regarding what is acceptable behaviour.  Managers and senior staff do not ensure that temporary or agency staff employed to work in the home are subject to appropriate suitability vetting checks.  Staff do not ensure that they complete all required one-to-one sessions identified in young people’s risk assessments.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff work hard to establish positive partnership relationships with young people’s families. This means that young people do not feel isolated or separated from those who are important to them.  Staff participate in training sessions delivered by external and specialist agencies. As a result, they are able to develop the bespoke skills and knowledge required to meet young people’s needs.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/10/2017 Full Inadequate 14/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/06/2016 Full Requires improvement 24/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC066214 3

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on an understanding about acceptable behaviour and positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11(1)(b)(2)(a)(iii)) 02/03/2018

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— 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)) 02/03/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32(2)(a)(b)(3)(d)) 02/03/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC066214 4

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improvement to be good

Young people’s day-to-day and overall experiences are no longer inadequate. This is because managers and staff have taken the necessary action to better promote young people’s safety and protect them from harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff now ensure that young people’s written plans reflect the aims and objectives of the local authority. They devise internal care plans that match those that the placing authority provides. Staff implement these plans, and managers review them, so that they continue to reflect young people’s individual needs. As a result, young people now receive personalised care and support that better meets their needs. Furthermore, young people’s case files now include all necessary documentation. This means that staff now have access to the information that they need to ensure that young people benefit from integrated care.

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improvement to be good

Young people say that they have ‘alright’ relationships with staff. One young person said, ‘Some staff are good and I like them and some of the others are getting better.’ Since the last inspection, staff have taken action to ensure that they encourage young people to voice their views and opinions regarding the care that they receive. One young person said, ‘Staff ask me what I think about things. That didn’t happen before.’ Consequently, young people are involved in decisions about their care. In addition, young people confirm that they know how to make a complaint. During young people’s meetings, staff advise young people of how to raise any concerns that they may have and remind them how managers will address these concerns. The acting manager has reviewed this process to ensure that she now investigates all complaints in line with the local authority procedure.

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improvement to be good

Staff continue to support young people to further their education. When young people do not have suitable placements, the acting manager is tenacious in her challenge of other agencies. As a result, the need for young people to have access to suitable education provisions and services is a priority. This approach helps young people to understand the importance of education.

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improvement to be good

Some young people continue to take risks that are detrimental to their health and well- being. However, since the last inspection an external drug and alcohol misuse support agency has delivered training to staff relating to this specialist area. This means that staff are now able to conduct one-to-one health sessions with young people. These help young people to understand the negative impact that some life-style choices may have on their long-term development. As a result, staff provide young people with the information they need to make decisions about their health.

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improvement to be good

Young people say that they appreciate the support that they receive from staff to develop or maintain positive relationships with their families. One young person said, ‘I was with my family over Christmas and I know that the staff made that happen.’ As a Inspection report children’s home: SC066214 5 result of staff support, young people are not isolated from their families.

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improvement to be good

The service can accommodate up to two young people in a semi-independent flat. Staff continue to support young people to develop both the emotional and practical living skills that they need as they move towards independence.

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improvement to be good

The acting manager has taken sufficient action since the last inspection to ensure that young people are now safe in the home. In partnership with other agencies, including the fire and rescue service, she has reviewed and revised internal fire risk assessments. These assessments now detail the increased risk of fire due to young people smoking in their bedrooms. They also include the strategies in place to reduce these risks. For example, in response to young people continuing to smoke in their bedrooms, fixtures and furnishings have been replaced with fire retardant versions. Staff undertake one-to- one sessions with young people regarding the dangers of smoking and the dangers of smoking in their bedrooms. They also regularly search young people’s bedrooms and remove any flammable items. As a result, incidents of young people smoking in their bedrooms continue to reduce.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour support plans now include young people’s known risks. This improvement better promotes young people’s safety. Staff now assess young people’s individual risks. They devise suitable strategies to both manage and reduce these risks. However, staff do not consistently implement all of these strategies. For example, the risk assessment for one young person requires staff to complete one-to-one sessions relating to safe social interactions and respecting people’s personal space. Staff have not undertaken these sessions as required. This shortfall limits the effectiveness of risk management strategies and does not fully support young people to make progress in all the areas that they need help with.

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improvement to be good

Young people participate in some one-to-one sessions with staff. These sessions help young people to recognise how their actions may place themselves and others at risk of harm. Staff now focus their work with young people on preventing incidents of unacceptable or anti-social behaviours. The positive impact of this improvement is reduced because staff practice in this area is inconsistent. Some staff ensure that when young people’s behaviours are unacceptable, they hold reflective debrief sessions. However, not all staff conduct these sessions to a good standard. This means that young people receive mixed messages, and are not always motivated to change their behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Young people continue to go missing from the home, although the frequency of these events is reducing. The acting manager has reviewed partnership working arrangements with local police teams and other agencies. This ensures that when young people are missing from the home, all agencies are aware of their vulnerabilities and any increased risk of child sexual exploitation. Managers and staff have rewritten young people’s individual missing-from-home risk assessments. These documents now specify the Inspection report children’s home: SC066214 6 actions for staff to follow when young people are away from the home without permission. These actions include searching the local area to locate young people. Staff talk to the young people about the risks they may face when they are missing from the home. This approach better protects young people from harm and promotes their safety and welfare.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, it has been necessary for the acting manager and senior staff to employ temporary agency staff to cover some shifts. Managers do not ensure that they hold adequate vetting checks to verify the suitability of these staff to work with young people. This potentially compromises young people’s safety.

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improvement to be good

The acting manager continues to review the suitability of the location of the home. The location risk assessment now includes strategies and control measures to reduce known risks, and actions for staff to follow. This increases young people’s safety in the community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

An acting interim manager remains in day-to-day charge of the home. The previous registered manager has now resigned from this service. At this time, the local authority is seeking to recruit a full-time manager to register with Ofsted, and has strengthened current management arrangements. This has improved stability within the management team. Senior local authority managers accept that the absence of stable management arrangements for this service has had a negative impact on staff morale and teamwork. This means that young people have not always benefited from consistent staff practice or support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, all managers have completed additional leadership skills training courses and management skills workshops. The focus of these sessions is to develop a key focus on ensuring that young people received good quality and consistent care and support. As a result of this improvement, managers now have a collective vision for this service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The acting manager and responsible individual now provide staff with regular team development sessions and workshops. Staff and managers use these meetings to review practice, discuss areas of concern, and reflect on the impact that staff actions and inactions have on young people’s individual progress and the development of the service. Staff say that they feel ‘more involved’ in the home. One member of staff said, ‘I think we are coming together better as team. We’ve had some good meetings lately.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff continue to receive regular formal supervision. Since the last inspection, the acting manager has amended recording templates. These now include a clear overview of what actions staff need to complete before their next supervision session. Consequently, managers can now better monitor and review staff practice and performance to ensure that these meet young people’s needs and protect them from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The acting manager has made improvements to internal monitoring systems. These now Inspection report children’s home: SC066214 7 enable managers and senior staff to consider the frequency of events, such as how often young people go missing from the home, and the impact these have on their development. The acting manager is able to identify patterns and trends, and use this information to devise service improvement action plans. This ensures that the service delivers the aims and objectives that are detailed in the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Relationships between the service and external agencies remain positive. Feedback from other professionals is consistently complimentary. A social worker said, ‘The reports that I get from the home are of a very high standard and I think the manager is excellent.’ These positive relationships mean that young people benefit from integrated care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The acting manager and newly formed management team have taken sufficient action to address the majority of the requirements raised at the last inspection. Although the progress made to date is mostly positive, these improvements are yet to be fully embedded into practice.

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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.

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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: SC066214 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Jo Stephenson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC066214 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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