Children's Home run by SOLID GLOBAL LIMITED in Birmingham

Inspection report children‟s home: 1259178 1 Registered provider: Solid Global Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This private home provides care for up to two young people who have mental health needs. The registered manager has been in position since the home opened in April 2018 and is suitably qualified.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

N/A This is the home‟s first inspection since registration. Inspection report children‟s home: 1259178 2

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child‟s education and training targets, as recorded in the child‟s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; and

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Requirement Due date

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 development. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(vi)) 13/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child‟s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

understand the child‟s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child‟s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child‟s age and understanding. (Regulation 10(1)(a)(2)(a)(i)(ii)) 13/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are 13/07/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1259178 3 protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed/furnished and located so that children are effectively safeguarded. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(d)) The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‟s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact of 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; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)(f)(h)) 13/07/2018

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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.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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)(2)(a)) 13/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the 13/07/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1259178 4 handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children‟s home. (Regulation 23(1)) The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

each employee completes an appropriate induction; and

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Requirement Due date

all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(1)(a)(4)(b)) 10/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the missing child policy”) setting out—

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Requirement Due date

the steps taken, and to be taken, to prevent children from being absent without permission; and

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Requirement Due date

the procedures to be followed, and the roles and responsibilities of persons working at the home, in relation to a child who is, or has been, so absent.

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Requirement Due date

Before implementing, or making an amendment which the registered person considers to be substantive to, the missing child policy, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person; and

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Requirement Due date

have regard to any relevant local authority or police protocols on missing children. (Regulation 34(4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b)) 13/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (the behaviour management policy) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children‟s home; and

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the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. (Regulation 35(1)(a)(b)) 13/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and outcome to any investigation. (Regulation 39(3)) 13/07/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1259178 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

One young person resides in the home and receives one-to-one care from staff. Although the young person has made positive relationships with some staff, this is not consistent. Levels of engagement and interaction between the staff and the young person vary. As a result, the young person is frustrated that she spends time with staff who she does not get on with. This contributes to her feeling isolated at times.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

One complaint has been received by the home, in which a parent raised concerns about staff practice. This complaint has not been fully investigated by the manager. Consequently, there is insufficient information to show if the complaint has been resolved. Failing to thoroughly investigate complaints does not promote young people‟s welfare and safety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The young person enjoys going out to play pool with staff, which is a positive aspect of her care. However, staff do not offer the young person a wide variety of activities. As a result, the young person has limited opportunities to develop social skills and enjoy positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not provide the young person with well-coordinated care. This is because plans relating to key aspects of the young person‟s care, including her future, contact arrangements, education and health, are incomplete and unclear. Poor care planning and a failure to challenge the placing authority about this undermine the young person‟s progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The registered manager and staff do not have sufficient understanding about how to store and administer medication safely. Furthermore, they fail to keep adequate records. For example, when the staff have administered paracetamol to the young person, records fail to show how many tablets the young person has been given and who by. These failures have the potential to put young people‟s health at risk.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff are not equipped to have controlled medication in the home and showed a lack of awareness of what this would entail. Given the home is set up to care for young people who are likely to receive controlled medication, this shortfall is concerning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The young person has no personal education plan and records show that the young person‟s attendance with the tutor is sporadic. Furthermore, day-to-day routines do not support the young person‟s engagement in education. The young person regularly goes to bed late and stays in bed until lunchtime. As a result, staff fail to adequately support the young person‟s education and learning, and this may affect her future life chances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Managers and staff fail to provide the young person with sufficient money to provide for her personal needs. She is expected to purchase all her toiletries out of her pocket money. Furthermore, the young person receives no money to help her to personalise her room and so it is bare and unwelcoming. This shows that the home fails to meet the Inspection report children‟s home: 1259178 6 young person‟s basic care needs. This failure does not help the young person to feel valued or to develop a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The communal areas of the home offer a generally pleasant environment for the young person. However, some areas are not in line with those described within the statement of purpose. For example, the home has no garden furniture or sensory garden and a therapy room is ill equipped. This has the potential to mislead professionals, parents and young people who read the statement of purpose to gain information about the home.

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

Young people‟s safety is put at risk because staff do not receive guidance about how to manage known risks. Risk assessments do not contain sufficient information. The registered manager and staff have not taken steps to ensure that the young person can use her new mobile phone safely. This is despite known risks relating to the young person‟s phone and internet use, including vulnerability to child sexual exploitation.

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

Staff work primarily with the young person on a one-to-one basis. However, the registered manager has not undertaken a lone working risk assessment to support the young person‟s safety and that of staff. Consequently, risks relating to lone working are not fully understood and managed.

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

The registered manager and staff have a poor awareness of going missing from home procedures. Furthermore, they have not considered local police protocols to inform their knowledge and practice. The young person has not gone missing since moving into the home three months ago. However, the registered manager and staff are ill prepared to respond appropriately if a young person does go missing from the home.

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

Records relating to behaviour management are overly complex. As a result, they do not give a clear understanding of sanctions imposed. The registered manager does not monitor records and so does not evaluate whether sanctions are effective.

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

The young person has no individual behaviour management plan and procedures contain inaccurate information about the behaviour management approach used at the home. This does not support the staff to help the young person to manage their behaviour appropriately and safely.

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

Poor recruitment practice puts young people at risk of harm. The registered manager does not scrutinise applications sufficiently. Gaps in employees‟ work histories remain unaccounted for, not all staff have two written references and when references are received, managers do not verify them. The recruitment of therapists who work at the home and directly with the young person is also poor.

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

The registered manager and staff do not provide young people with a safe physical environment to live in. For example, a large shed at the rear of the building was not locked and contained corrosive and inflammable materials, causing a health and safety risk. A missing handle on the front door also raises concerns about the ability to exit the Inspection report children‟s home: 1259178 7 home in the case of a fire. Steps were taken during the inspection to address these concerns. The risks posed by easy access to the garage roof have not been considered and so preventative measures have not been taken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager is appropriately qualified and has been in post since the home opened. She lacks awareness of her responsibilities to provide clear oversight. As a result, she has failed to develop monitoring systems that keep young people safe and promote their welfare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

External monitoring is poor. An independent person visits the home monthly and consults with the young person and professionals involved with the home. However, the visitor has failed to recognise the widespread shortfalls identified on this inspection. A lack of effective monitoring does not help the manager and staff to improve the quality of care provided to young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The young person‟s social worker is positive about the care provided to the young person. They said, „At the moment, the staff are keeping the young person settled and safe, giving breathing space to find [an] additional placement.‟ However, the inspector found that the young person‟s reduced risk-taking behaviour has resulted from high staff supervision and containment rather than a quality of care that empowers and enables the young person to change and make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager does not keep the home‟s statement of purpose up to date. The statement of purpose does not accurately reflect the number of young people who the home can care for, the behaviour management approach used and the staff employed to work at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive regular supervision, considering that most team members are in probation. Those providing supervision have not undertaken relevant training to be able to deliver quality supervision to staff. This contributes to the registered manager failing to adequately support staff. It is not clear what the supervision arrangements are for therapists who work directly with young people at the home. This is not safe practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager does not ensure that staff receive sufficient training or a good induction into the home and its purpose. Some staff have not undertaken mandatory courses such as first aid, food hygiene or fire safety. This does not support either the young person‟s or the staff‟s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

No staff have undertaken training in mental health, despite the home being registered to provide care for young people with mental health needs. Therefore, the staff are unable to work effectively to meet young people‟s needs and in line with the home‟s statement of purpose. Inspection report children‟s home: 1259178 8

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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: 1259178 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solid Global Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Solid Global Limited, Suite G, Eldon House, 24 Central Square High Street, Erdington, Birmingham B23 6RY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Octovus Muchemenye

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Inspector

Andrew Hewston: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1259178 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 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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