Children's home run by YCPG Services Ltd in Walsall

Inspection report children’s home: SC063813 1 SC063813 Registered provider: DMR Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned. It provides accommodation for up to six children who have experienced childhood instability leading to trauma and associated complex behaviours. The registered manager has completed their level 5 qualification.

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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: 1 November 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC063813 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/11/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 25/05/2016 Full Good 09/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC063813 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 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) and (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, risk assessments will give clear guidance on staff monitoring of children within the home. 13/08/2018

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Recommendations

 Homes must also meet children’s basic day-to-day needs and physical necessities. Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7) In particular, that children’s bedrooms and corridors within the home are decorated and maintained to create a comfortable and homely environment throughout the home.  The registered person should support staff to be ambitious for every child in the home and to gain skills and experience that enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the

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Recommendations

quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5) In particular, the registered manager should ensure that staff training focuses on the specific needs of each child. Inspection report children’s home: SC063813 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a friendly and nurturing home. Staff invest in children and know them well. This helps children to build trusting relationships with staff and to develop a sense of belonging in their home. A child told the inspector, ‘It’s great here. You can tell that staff care. I feel that they (staff) are there for me. The staff know everything about me. I trust them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff treat children with dignity and respect and offer sensitive care. This helps children to deal with difficult emotions and feelings and to develop a positive view of themselves. As a result, children feel increasingly confident and develop aspirations. A child told the inspector, ‘I’m applying for a provisional driving licence, joining a local football team and looking for a part-time job. I’d have never done that before living here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children well to prepare for independence. For example, children learn important life skills such as budgeting, cooking and exploring different leisure opportunities. As a result, children feel increasingly prepared for their next steps.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three of the four children living at the home are in education settings and make good progress with their learning. Staff are ambitious for children and support them with their education. One child is still waiting for a school place after several months. Staff continue to advocate for this child to secure an appropriate education setting. In the interim, the registered manager has organised home tutoring for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s views are regularly captured. Internal placement plans are personalised and use child-friendly language. This encourages children to express their wishes and feelings and to influence day-to-day and more complex decisions about their lives. Furthermore, children understand their plans and have a sense of ownership over them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend positive and safe time with their families. When necessary, staff travel with children to facilitate contact. The registered manager ensures that staff maintain and develop positive relationships with family members. A parent told the inspector, ‘The staff communication is excellent. It felt like a home from home for my child.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children receive specialist support when necessary. For example, in- house services support children to learn about the risks associated with substance misuse and gang culture. As a result, children receive care that responds to their needs.

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

Children feel safe in their home and are able to seek out members of staff to discuss concerns. Furthermore, children feel confident that staff will take their concerns seriously and address any risk. A child told the inspector, ‘It’s really rare for issues to happen Inspection report children’s home: SC063813 5 here. Staff are on top of things. They deal with our problems.’

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

Staff understand the risks that each child is exposed to. Risk assessments are up to date and respond to the needs of children. In most cases, risk assessments give staff clear guidance about how to manage risk. However, some risk assessments do not contain clear guidance on what is expected of staff when supervising children in the home.

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

Staff support children to manage and understand their risk-taking behaviour. For example, key-work sessions and children’s meetings focus on harmful behaviours such as physical aggression, smoking and substance misuse.

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

Collaborative working relationships with key agencies keep children safe. For example, staff arrange for the local police and fire service to visit and offer guidance to children. This reduces the need for formal police intervention.

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

Staff respond to challenging situations in a calm and measured manner. This role modelling helps children to regulate their emotions and learn from incidents. Staff also ensure that consistent boundaries and consequences are in place to manage the challenging behaviour of children. As a result, incidents of restraint have significantly reduced over time and now rarely occur.

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

The registered manager ensures that all new employees are properly vetted. This ensures that children are not exposed to unsafe adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is passionate about the children in her care. This ethos inspires staff to nurture children and be ambitious for them. For example, a child recently undertook GCSE exams and has plans to attend college. This is significant progress from his starting point. The child told the inspector, ‘There is no way I would have done that (sat exams) before living here. The staff have opened my eyes to better things.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The established, diverse staff team has a range of experience and expertise. The staff team members provide children with consistent and well-thought-out care that responds to their needs. Staff practice strikes a good balance between enforcing boundaries and helping children to experience joy and happiness. A child told the inspector, ‘I feel so relaxed here. We have funny moments, but we also know the rules.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a healthy learning environment. Regular staff supervision sessions focus on children’s progress and staff development. Staff also benefit from a good- quality training programme. However, training lacks a focus on the specific needs of some children, for example those with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The registered manager is making plans to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has effective monitoring systems in place. This helps her to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the home and to track children’s behaviour patterns. The registered manager uses this information to address concerns and improve Inspection report children’s home: SC063813 6 children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff know children well and offer care that responds to their individual needs. Internal care plans are in line with the progress of each child. Staff have strong and proactive relationships with a range of agencies and family members. As a result, children benefit from good, collaborative care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Shared areas of the home are generally well presented and appear homely. However, corridors, and some children’s bedrooms, appear clinical and are in need of decoration. This is at odds with the home’s otherwise nurturing ethos. The registered manager has recently consulted children about the design of their bedrooms and intends to decorate them soon. A recommendation is raised to ensure that these plans are implemented in a timely way.

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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: SC063813 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: DMR Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: DMR Services, 102 Queslett Road East, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham B74 2EZ

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Inspector

Gareth Leckey: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC063813 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 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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