Children's Home run by Nottingham City Council in Nottingham

Inspection report children‟s home: SC034969 1 SC034969 Registered provider: Nottingham 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

This is a local authority children‟s home. The home provides short-term placements for up to four children and young people. The home provides care for children who are placed in an emergency, as well as planned, respite, or remand placements, and placements for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

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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: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC034969 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/08/2017 Full Good 14/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/11/2016 Full Good 23/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC034969 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children‟s home‟s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children‟s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child; and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that there is a suitably homely environment and sufficient bedroom furniture. Enable children and young people to access all areas of the home. 16/05/2018

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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—

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Requirement Due date

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(1)(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that safeguarding practice and daily routines support diversion from risky/harmful behaviours. Update the fire safety risk assessment and put in measures to prevent young people 16/05/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC034969 4 from accessing harmful items, such as firelighters. Ensure that there is good hygiene throughout the home. The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, monitor emergency placements and the potential impact on children and young people who are currently resident. 16/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children‟s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home‟s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b)(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific regard to ensuring adherence to the revised statement of purpose. 16/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children‟s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must 16/05/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC034969 5 ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16(1)(3)(a)(b)(5))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically means undertaking a review of the statement of the purpose for the home, with a focus on achieving positive outcomes.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have 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 52, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person is responsible for deciding what each six-monthly monitoring report should focus on. This is based on the specific circumstances of the home at that particular time, in particular areas of high risk to the children. The purpose is to set actions and drive improvement. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 65, paragraph 15.4)  Staff must support children with home study by encouraging them to learn independent study skills and helping them to practice those skills. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 29, paragraph 5.18)

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, this home has accommodated a number of young people, some in quick succession. Some placements have been for very short periods of time and others for up to six months.

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improvement to be good

The staff team are trained to work with children and young people who present with disruptive and challenging behaviour. However, the poor dynamics of the group have had a negative impact on the quality of some young people‟s day-to-day experiences.

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improvement to be good

Some young people make good progress. However, staff struggle to make progress in addressing some young people‟s chaotic behaviour, and the associated risks.

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improvement to be good

Educational attendance is variable in this home. Some young people have very good school attendance, whereas other young people refuse to engage. This is often as a result of entrenched non-school attendance. When young people refuse to attend education, the home should ensure that there are suitable structured activities. This is not happening consistently. There is an identified room in the home for education. At the Inspection report children‟s home: SC034969 6 time of the inspection, this room was locked and was being used to store bikes.

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improvement to be good

Health outcomes for young people are mixed. Staff support young people to attend routine and specialist health appointments. However, some young people refuse to attend. Some young people compromise their health through smoking and cannabis use.

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improvement to be good

Some young people see improvement in their mental health while living at the home. This was confirmed by a practitioner from the child and adolescent mental health service.

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improvement to be good

On the whole, young people enjoy positive relationships with staff. Staff support young people in all aspects of their lives. Social workers confirmed that staff work hard to develop good relationships with young people.

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improvement to be good

This home has provided care for some young people who managers have assessed as being an unsuitable match for the home. This is due to safeguarding concerns. Decisions about placements have been made in the context of alternative placements not being available. The leadership team has ensured that extra resources and staffing are in place to support these placements.

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improvement to be good

One young person, assessed as being high risk, is often missing from the home. He goes missing from the home with another vulnerable young person. The management team ensures that there is good communication between professionals, and that relevant safeguarding meetings are held. However, managers and staff have not had effective strategies in place to prevent these incidents. There are no plans to divert young people from engaging in risk-taking behaviours and occupy them in other ways.

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improvement to be good

Relationships between young people have been variable. The dynamics between some young people have been of concern. Particularly, there are concerns about young people having a negative influence on each other. This has led to violence in the community and regular property damage.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are of a good quality, up to date and individualised. The exception to this is the home‟s fire risk assessment, which is not up to date and does not reflect the current risks.

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

The management team is determined to provide the best possible care for all young people. However, managers and staff have said that their work feels like crisis management. They feel undermined and frustrated about the pressures on the home. Inspection report children‟s home: SC034969 7 Staff are resilient and they work positively with all young people, despite some complex behaviours. Staff confirm that, throughout challenging times, managers have been supportive of their needs. Supervision, training and appraisals are consistent. A workforce development plan would be beneficial to provide an overview of these arrangements.

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

Managers track young people‟s behaviours. However, there is no method of monitoring the impact of emergency placements on current residents.

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

The home is currently poorly maintained in several areas. Property damage is very clear to see. Young people‟s bedrooms were of particular concern. They were unkempt, had inadequate furniture and showed a lack of care and attention.

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

The home‟s statement of purpose provides very broad specifications in terms of the range of needs that it can accommodate. This had led to young people with competing needs being placed there since the last inspection. The registered manager and the responsible individual acknowledge that they need to review the purpose of the home in order to manage placements more effectively and improve outcomes.

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

Partnership arrangements with social care professionals are very positive. Professionals report high levels of satisfaction with the quality of care. They say that communication is good.

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

The registered manager undertakes internal monitoring of the home. These reports are of a good standard, but fail to clearly report on the issues, risks and challenges in the home.

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

The responsible individual and senior managers recognise the difficulties within the home. They have provided a firm commitment to resolving the issues.

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

Managers have addressed the vast majority of the shortfalls from the last inspection. This shows a good capacity to drive forward improvement.

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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: SC034969 8 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: SC034969 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nottingham City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Nottingham City Council, Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, Nottingham NG2 3NG

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Inspector

Amanda Ellis: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC034969 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. 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

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Inspector

terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://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 .

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Inspector

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Inspector

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