Children's Home run by Care and Management Services Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 1 SC470457 Registered provider: Care and Management Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home for up to three children or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 31 January to 1 February 2018

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 7 September 2016

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people enjoy living at the home and have developed positive relationships with staff.  The home is well maintained, and young people have decorated their own rooms to reflect their individual styles.  The quality of safeguarding is good. Staff make detailed records outlining the prompt actions taken in response to concerns.  Incidents of self-harming behaviour by young people have reduced.  The home’s manager uses monitoring systems to keep up to date with young people’s progress.  Staff are eager to respond to the young people’s needs, and have developed good skills and knowledge by undertaking relevant training.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people’s case files do not contain up-to-date plans from the placing authority.  Some aspects of young people’s healthcare require improvement.  Some restraint records do not clearly show why the restraint was necessary.  Not all staff receive regular supervision.  The workforce plan requires development to ensure that it contains all necessary information.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/09/2016 Full Good 08/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 24/08/2015 Full Good 03/02/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 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

Ensure that records are maintained for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36 1(a)(schedule 3)(19)) Specifically, a copy of any plan for the care of the child prepared by the child’s placing authority and a copy of the placement plan. 30/03/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the health of looked-after children must be assessed at regular intervals and the child’s care plan must include an individual health plan setting out the approach that the placing authority will follow, and the desired outcomes required to meet the child’s health needs. These outcomes, recorded in the health plan, will be the basis on which the registered person will be expected to meet regulation in the health and well-being standard for each looked-after child in their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.4)  Ensure that records of restraint enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the

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Recommendations

needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  Ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  Ensure that there is a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20) (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8 ) Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are positive about their experience of living at the home. They recognise the progress that they have made. Furthermore, young people are positive about the relationships that they have developed with staff. One young person said, ‘I think that the staff are amazing. They always try their best and they are so caring.’ Staff undertake meaningful key-work sessions with young people, during which they discuss a range of topics that aid young people’s development. Staff listen to young people’s views, and young people influence decisions about their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy a wide range of activities, either with staff or with their friends. Staff undertake good risk assessments so that young people can enjoy age-appropriate free time safely. Staff encourage young people to keep themselves fit at the new local gym. One young person has passed her driving test with support from the staff and their parent. This is an excellent achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Contact arrangements are well organised. Staff fully support young people to keep in touch with their families and people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage young people to keep healthy. Young people eat balanced meals and attend all necessary health appointments. Arrangements for administering medication are mostly good. However, the arrangements for medication which is administered ‘as needed’ are not sufficiently clear. The manager took action to address this shortfall during the inspection. Some information contained in health plans is not up to date. For example, information regarding the safe storage of ligature cutters needs to be updated to show current practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consistently support young people’s education Some young people have found school a difficult experience, while others have successfully completed GCSEs and aspire to go to university. When young people experience difficulties, the staff provide support and encouragement. A headteacher said, ‘We get on well with the home. The staff have been very supportive of [name of young person]. They try to get him in on time, even though it’s an uphill challenge at times.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a pleasant environment for young people to live in. Communal areas are well maintained and homely. Young people personalise their rooms well, and each bedroom reflects young people’s individual style.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people know how to complain. When they do raise concerns staff respond to these swiftly. This shows that staff take young people’s concerns seriously, and this helps young people to feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people learn new skills to help them to live independently. These include doing Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 5 laundry, budgeting and cooking meals.

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

Young people feel safe and are safe. Staff understand and manage risk well.

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

A good safeguarding culture is in place. Safeguarding incidents, procedures and processes are reviewed by staff in team meetings and supervision sessions. When young people make allegations, the staff follow clear guidance. They know what to report, when and to whom. Safeguarding records have improved and now contain more detail. Staff readily share information with social workers and the designated officer. This allows allegations to be fully investigated. This thorough and well-organised approach to managing allegations keeps young people and others safe.

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

Young people do go missing from the home. Staff respond to missing incidents promptly, searching the local area and trying to make contact with young people. Staff ensure that young people have the opportunity to speak to someone independent of the home, when they return. Consequently, staff encourage young people to talk about why they went missing and what happened while they were away from the home.

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

Young people who self-harm receive good support. Staff know the triggers for this behaviour and know what to do when a young person self-harms or they are at an increased risk of doing so. Staff respond consistently. As a result of the good care young people receive, incidents of self-harming behaviour have reduced.

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

Incentives are used to encourage young people to make progress with the things that they find difficult, such as attending school or keeping their rooms tidy. Sometimes, staff implement sanctions to discourage inappropriate behaviour and help young people to understand that what they have done is unacceptable. For example, if young people damage things, they pay towards the cost of the repair. The manager monitors the use of sanctions to ensure that they are appropriate. Occasionally, staff use physical intervention to keep young people and others safe from harm. Some incident records do not contain enough details about why the restraint was necessary.

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

Recruitment practice is safe. Consequently, only safe adults are employed to care for young people. Young people are involved in interviewing new staff and their views form an important part of the decision process. This shows that young people are listened to and that they participate in the running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, a new registered manager has been appointed. She is suitably experienced and is undertaking her level 5 qualification in management. The new manager has started to identify the home’s strengths and weaknesses, and she has plans to develop the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager monitors the care provided. She reviews records, talks to staff and Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 6 consults with young people. As a result, she has a very good awareness of how young people are progressing. External monitoring is largely thorough, and the independent visitor talks to young people and professionals to inform his view of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Not all young people’s care plans written by the placing authority are up to date, and some include inaccurate information. The manager has not taken sufficient steps to challenge the placing authority to rectify this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is appropriately staffed, although two thirds of the staff team have changed since the last full inspection. The manager has worked hard to create stability for the young people, despite these changes. She shares information effectively to make sure that the staff know how to meet young people’s needs consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A training coordinator monitors staff training. Staff have undertaken all mandatory training. Although there is a workforce development plan, this document lacks some relevant information. For example, it does not outline all training courses available to staff and timescales for completion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that they are well supported by the manager and senior staff. Regular staff meetings enable the team to reflect on what is working well and what needs to improve. Staff receive appraisals, which enable them to discuss their performance and development. Not all staff receive supervision regularly, with some staff having gaps of three months between meetings. This does not provide staff with the opportunity to reflect on their practice with their line manager regularly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff work in line with the home’s statement of purpose. All admissions are thoroughly assessed. As a result, new young people are well matched with those already living at the home, and the manager ensures that staff can meet each young person’s needs effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager notifies Ofsted, and other professionals involved with the home, about significant events that have occurred. Reports are pertinent and show that the staff respond appropriately to such incidents.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 7 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: SC470457 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care and Management Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Park Business Centre, Hastingwood Industrial Park, Wood Lane, Birmingham B24 9QR

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Inspector

Andrew Hewston, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 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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