Children's Home run by Coventry City Council in Coventry

Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 1 SC414347 Registered provider: Coventry City 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 registered to provide care for four young people. The home offers care for young people who have behavioural and/or emotional needs. The home is operated by a local authority.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 2

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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

 Managers have not ensured that young people living at the home are matched appropriately.  Managers have not ensured that safe care arrangements are in place for young people throughout the night.  Managers have not gained written agreement from placing social workers in relation to using alarms on young people’s bedroom doors.  Staff do not have the necessary qualifications in residential childcare and are missing some areas of training.  Young people who are not in full-time education are not engaged in suitable structured activities to help them overcome barriers that impact on their learning.  Staff do not receive regular supervision.  Managers have not ensured that employment histories and references are in place prior to staff commencing work with young people.  The staff rota does not always consider the diverse needs of young people.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Managers and staff work effectively with other agencies to promote the well-being of young people.  Young people benefit from building trusting relationships with committed staff.  Young people speak positively about the home and the care and support they receive.  Staff engage young people in reflective conversations following significant incidents.  Young people live in an inviting and well-maintained home.  Contact with family is encouraged and supported.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/10/2016 Full Good 24/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 22/10/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 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 protection of children standard is that the registered person must ensure that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm (Regulation 12(2)(b)). This is with specific reference to appropriate arrangements being in place to ensure young people’s safety and welfare throughout the night. 01/04/18

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b)) 01/04/18

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring and surveillance of children if the monitoring and surveillance are for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned or other children, and the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance. (Regulation 24(1)(a)(b)) 01/04/18

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s home if full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32(3)(d)) 01/04/18

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that any individual who works in the home in a care role has achieved the appropriate qualification by the relevant date. The relevant date is, in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32(5)(a)) 01/06/18

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development (Regulation 33(4)(a)). This is with particular reference to restorative practice, food hygiene and ‘Prevent’ duty training. 01/05/18

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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)) 01/04/18 Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 4

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Recommendations

 Ensure that where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full- time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should plan staffing levels to ensure that they meet the needs of children and can respond flexibly to unexpected events or opportunities. Staffing structures should promote continuity of care from the child’s perspective. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.15)

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improvement to be good

This home closed temporarily over the summer months for refurbishment and re-opened in September. The home has changed the nature of the service from short-term care to long-term care. The statement of purpose has been updated to reflect this change.

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improvement to be good

Since the home has re-opened, three young people have come to live at the home and one young person has left. Young people moved in shortly after the home re-opened. This happened quickly, and planning for these placements was weak. One decision to place a young person when against the registered manager’s matching assessment. Once the young person was admitted, the dynamics in the group changed and incidents increased. For example, on two occasions, young people barricaded themselves into the dining area and, on one occasion, young people were able to gain access to an external roof through a skylight. The rise in challenging behaviour also resulted in significant damage to the fabric of the home. During their period, the progress of young people who had previously begun to build positive relationships with staff stalled, and, instead, staff experienced an increase in young people’s behaviours that extended to physical

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improvement to be good

and verbal aggression and bullying. This unsettled period resulted in one young person leaving the home without appropriate planning.

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improvement to be good

When significant damage occurred, managers ensured that swift repairs were made. Re- decoration, new furniture and accessories throughout the home mean that young people are now benefiting from living in an inviting, warm and homely environment. Young people have valued the opportunity to choose their bedrooms and personalise them to their own tastes. One young person shared with the inspector, ‘I like my bedroom. I got to choose it and the wallpaper.’ This helps young people to feel that they are valued and that they matter. Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 5 Young people said that they feel staff are genuinely interested in helping them do the best that they can. A young person told the inspector, ‘I think the staff care about me and want me to do well.’

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improvement to be good

Young people have a history of poor school attendance. Staff recognise the importance of school and work hard with young people and teachers to promote attendance and achievement. For one young person, getting to school and staying in school are difficult, and staff are working closely with the school to establish a routine. A teacher shared with the inspector, ‘They support her well. When we need a home visit, they are here within 20 minutes. The door is open for us. They are open to strategies, which I find helpful as not the same thing works.’ Another young person has been out of school for a significant period, and staff have been active in working with the virtual school to identify a school placement to suit his needs. However, during this time a lack of structure to the young person’s day means that he has spent much of the morning in his bedroom. Consequently, he has lost an opportunity to prepare for taking part in the

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improvement to be good

Young people generally enjoy good health. Some young people find it difficult to attend appointments, and staff work gently with them to increase their confidence and dispel their fears of health services. When more specialist services are required, staff are active in sourcing these additional services. For example, a dentist who treated nervous patients was identified for a young person who had concerns about dental treatment. Prompt referrals to services such as the child and adolescent mental health services happen as young people’s needs require them. When young people take medication, they understand why. Appropriate arrangements are in place for the self-administration of medication to suit young people’s individual needs. Young people continue to be encouraged by staff to be active and to have hobbies. One young person told the inspector, ‘I’ve been to the cinema and I’ve also enjoyed watching a play but I don’t

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improvement to be good

want a plan every week.’ Attention to the physical and emotional health of young people helps them to feel positive about themselves. One young person told the inspector, ‘I feel good about myself.’

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improvement to be good

Individualised planning takes account of cultural needs and work has commenced to support one young person to explore her culture and identity. However, planning does not always take account of whether a young person has any specific gender-related needs or preferences. For example, there has been no consideration of how a female young person might view receiving care from male staff when there are no females available.

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improvement to be good

Young people are encouraged to take good care of their bedrooms and to develop their independence skills. They regularly help with household tasks such as vacuuming, laundry and preparing food and drinks. One young person has had the opportunity to help with choosing and hanging the wallpaper in his bedroom. This helps young people to gain necessary skills for adulthood.

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improvement to be good

In keeping with plans, staff help young people to stay in contact with their families and Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 6 friends. Staff foster positive relationships with family members, which helps young people feel connected to those that matter to them most. One young person’s grandmother shared with the inspector, ‘They communicated well with me.’ The impact of this has been significant for one young person who now rarely goes missing from care.

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improvement to be good

Good oversight from managers ensures that young people’s records are well maintained and include all of the necessary statutory documentation. This helps young people’s keyworkers to ensure that bespoke behaviour support plans and risk assessments are up to date and that staff have current information to support them in meeting young people’s needs and managing risks. However, since the home re-opened, a decision was made to stop using waking night staff and instead to use two members of staff to sleep in overnight. Young people’s risk assessments identify the risk of their accessing each other’s bedrooms during the night. This has been able to occur. Staff concerns about this include young people engaging in intimate contact with each other, using the wi-fi inappropriately, smoking and not receiving sufficient rest. None of the various risk management strategies attempted have been effective in reducing the risk of this

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improvement to be good

occurring. A member of staff told the inspector, ‘We think they know that we do not have the staff on at night to deal with it and they can’t help themselves. We tried putting the alarms on their bedroom doors, which didn’t work. We can’t be sure if they stay in each other’s bedrooms.’ The lack of effective monitoring during night hours leaves young people vulnerable to harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff receive training in behaviour management. The behaviour management approach is young people focused and is rooted in positive reinforcement and de-escalation. Appropriate consequences reinforce acceptable behaviour. Physical intervention is rare and has appropriate management oversight. Staff have a strong relationship with the local police and work hard with them to develop the home’s restorative approach. Staff avoid criminalising young people and, when young people’s behaviour has been challenging or destructive, staff have encouraged them to reflect on their behaviour and to do something different next time. Staff trained in the restorative approach are skilled in applying the model in practice. However, some staff have not had the opportunity of training in restorative approaches. This limits their understanding of the underlying principles of the approach and the skills necessary for it to be effective.

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improvement to be good

Staff are trained and knowledgeable about the signs that may indicate that a young person is at increasing risk of child sexual exploitation. Staff speak confidently about the action that they take when a young person’s whereabouts becomes unknown. On the rare occasions when a young person has been missing from home, the staff have taken the appropriate action to help secure the young person’s safe return. On return, young people receive a warm welcome and the opportunity of an independent return home interview. This helps staff to understand why the young person went missing and how to reduce further occurrence. Staff have received safeguarding training, including in e-safety, and are aware of how to Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 7 report safeguarding concerns. However, staff have not had the opportunity of ‘Prevent’ duty training, which means they are less informed about how to identify the signs and

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improvement to be good

reduce the risks of young people becoming involved in radicalisation.

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improvement to be good

Young people are encouraged to have a say about their care and to attend meetings that are about them so that they can be involved in making decisions. An advocate visits the home regularly, which ensures that young people have access to a person external to the home, should they have any concerns or complaints. Young people have taken responsibility for chairing and writing up their young people’s meeting, which they have called ‘the summit’. Meetings were not held during the period of disruption. However, staff are encouraging young people to re-convene.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not given sufficient attention to the safe recruitment of staff. Consequently, some staff have started working at the home before managers have ensured that the new member of staff has provided all the required information about their employment history, including any gaps in their employment. The manager was unable to find references for one member of staff. This compromises organisational policies regarding safe recruitment and means that young people could be exposed to unsuitable adults.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments in relation to potential hazards on the premises are maintained and reviewed by managers. Regular safety checks are undertaken on gas, electrical and fire safety systems, which ensure that they are and remain in good working order.

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improvement to be good

The manager is in the process of re-installing bedroom door alarm to help safeguard young people at night. However, the manager has not ensured that young people’s social workers are aware of the use of surveillance or made the request for written consent.

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

The registered manager has been in post for six years and is a qualified social worker. She has the support of an appropriately qualified assistant manager. In addition to the managers, there are 10 permanent members of staff. All have over two years’ experience of working in residential childcare. The home has the support of a pool of bank staff to cover staffing gaps. This helps maintain consistency of care for young people. Of the permanent staff, six members of staff are qualified to the level 3 diploma in residential childcare. Progress has been slow for other members of staff, and this has meant that staff have failed to complete their training within the timeframe required by regulation. This delay means that staff are not yet equipped with the full range of knowledge required to support them in meeting the young people’s needs.

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

The registered manager has a child-centred and enthusiastic leadership style. She is passionate about providing the best service for young people and actively advocates on their behalf. She receives supervision and support from the operational lead. This gives her an opportunity to reflect with senior managers on how well they are delivering the vision for the service. Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 8 Managers and staff acknowledge that they are working through a time of change. The home now provides long-term care for young people, some staff have joined the home from another team and there is a reduced staffing structure. One member of staff shared with the inspector, ‘It’s a learning curve for us at the moment, which is what we expected.’ Staff said that they enjoy their work, they feel supported and they have had the opportunity of an appraisal. One member of staff told the inspector, ‘I’m happy. I

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

have a good staff team around me. I couldn’t ask for better managers.’ However, not all staff have had the benefit of regular supervision. This means that staff have not had the opportunity of dedicated time to discuss and reflect on their practice and confirm how their development needs will be met. The registered manager has a workforce plan. However, this has not identified the training needs of staff or that some staff do not have current training in food hygiene. A lack of attention to the formal support and development of the workforce hinders the opportunity for staff to review their practice and ensure that they are appropriately trained and skilled to undertake their roles.

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

The registered manager has established good working relationships with a range of professionals, including substance misuse services, specialist child sexual exploitation services, social workers and youth offending services. Without exception, other professionals spoke positively about the home and the support given to young people. One social worker shared with the inspector, ‘I can only sing praise. They are good at informing you what’s happening. They have been up front and pressed us for him to go into education. They are keen to get children to reach their goals. They email regularly. I rely more on them as they seem right on the ball. He feels more secure in himself and is starting to adhere to boundaries.’

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

The registered manager has a reflective approach and she has a developing understanding of the strengths and development areas for the home. An appropriately experienced independent person makes regular visits to monitor the quality of care. The registered manager responds to recommendations in a timely way to improve the quality of care for young people.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 9 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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coventry City Council, Council House, Earl Street, Coventry CV1 5RR

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Inspector

Alison Cooper, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 10 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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