Children's Home run by Adecyn Children’s Homes Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report children’s home: SC423617 1 SC423617 Registered provider: Adecyn Children’s Home Ltd

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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 provides care and accommodation for up to three young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a private company.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC423617 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/06/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 22/08/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC423617 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must ensure that— if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5(c)) 31/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement; raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 8(1) and (2)(a)(vi)(vii)) 31/05/2018

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress because of their positive relationships with staff. They invest in these relationships and enjoy the rewards and praise that they receive. Young people appreciate the strong male role models within the staff team. Young men have a stronger and more positive male identity and now hold female staff in high regard. This improvement has also had a positive impact on young people’s self-esteem, as well as their relationships with family members and female friends. Inspection report children’s home: SC423617 4 Young people are confident in the registered manager’s and staff’s ability to listen to and resolve any concerns and complaints that they may have. Young people appreciate their individual monthly meal out with the manager to have one-to-one time. Their views are further canvassed in monthly house meetings, key-working sessions and monthly feedback forms. Staff encouragement and support have significantly improved one young person’s view

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

about the importance of education. This young person has engaged with education to a far greater extent than in previous placements. The registered manager and staff work hard to address young people’s educational needs, despite poor provision by local authority education services. This includes the lack of an up-to-date personal education plan for one young person. In addition, a young person’s education placement does not meet his urgent need for a behavioural assessment. Exclusions are frequent and result in the young person not accessing full- time education. While the registered manager and staff strive to work in partnership with, and have challenged, individual education providers, this challenge has not been effective and they have not escalated their concerns adequately to the placing authority. Young people enjoy a range of activities. One young person’s need to play on the computer games console has significantly diminished. He now thoroughly enjoys beating

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

the staff at a range of card and board games, going to football training and going out to eat with staff. These new experiences mean that the young person grows in confidence, develops good social skills and understands the importance of fairness and gamesmanship. Young people receive good support to develop their independence skills. They enjoy budgeting and shopping for food with staff and complete a range of worksheets to help their understanding of employment, banking, using public services and the challenges that they will face when living independently. Young people benefit from good health as staff support them to eat healthily and take exercise. One young person manages a medical condition effectively with good insight and support from staff. Young people live in a well-presented and comfortable home. They appreciate the improvements and invest in the physical environment because they have been involved

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

in choosing colours and themes for each room.

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

Young people are safer due to a strong and consistently reinforced safeguarding framework. Staff are well trained and have easy access to clear guidance about how to identify, respond to, report and record any safeguarding concerns. Management oversight is robust and partnership working is strong. One young person is no longer involved in gang activity and drug exploitation. Historic periods when the young person went missing have been addressed. This is because the young person enjoys positive relationships with staff, listens to their guidance and accepts boundaries for returning to the home on time. Inspection report children’s home: SC423617 5 Social workers hold the manager and staff in high regard as staff consistently implement agreed missing from care protocols. Staff are proactive and spend time following and looking for young people and demonstrate effective partnership working with the police.

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

There are no concerns about child sexual exploitation. The manager has been quick to respond to concerns about the potential exploitation of young people in terms of drug dealing. However, the registered manager has not always challenged the police adequately when this has been required. Young people are progressively more accepting of staff guidance. Young people’s behaviour improves and they take more responsibility for their own behaviour and safety. Young people are protected with a thorough and quick response to any concerns about bullying. Staff challenge is in-depth, with focused key-working sessions about the consequences of potentially hurting and threatening others. Staff work well with young people and support them to make positive attempts to resolve their differences and live together harmoniously.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager successfully leads his team. The core staff appreciate clear benchmarks for staff performance and conduct. New staff are motivated and well inducted. The staff team embraces the management team’s vision for the home. Staff have high aspirations for the young people and themselves. Young people are looked after by well-trained staff. Staff induction is well organised. Performance and progress is closely monitored with good-quality staff supervision. Training is focused to meet the needs of the young people, including scheduled training in caring for young people who display sexually harmful behaviours. The statutory requirement from the last inspection is met. As a result, admissions processes have improved. Records are factual, accurate and there is excellent cross referencing. Recording is child centred and young people can meaningfully understand their experiences while at the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

home. The registered manager has a clear understanding of his monitoring responsibilities. Ongoing monthly audits by the registered manager are consistently carried out according to the regulatory framework. Independent monitoring reports are comprehensive, positive and any recommendations are quickly addressed by the management and staff teams.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC423617 6 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: SC423617 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Adecyn Children’s Home Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Avenue Industrial Estate, Southend Arterial Road, Harold Wood, Romford RM3 0BY

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Inspector

Elaine Cray, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC423617 8 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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