Children's Home run by Cove Care – Residential Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection report children‟s home: 1231311 1 Registered provider: Cove Care - Residential Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people with complex needs. The organisation states that it „offers particular expertise in looking after young people with suspected and enduring mental health needs‟. The organisation offers young people support from a variety of therapeutic staff. A private company runs this home. A new manager registered with Ofsted in July 2018.

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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: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: 1231311 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/09/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/02/2017 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: 1231311 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 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 in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

understanding the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers. (Regulation 8 (1) and (2)(a)(iii)) 30/09/2018

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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 that staff—

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, check any hazards in the garden and home, and make sure that all staff are clear about the home‟s procedure on reporting allegations. 30/09/2018

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Requirement Due date

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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child 30/09/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1231311 4 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) and (2)(f)(h)) The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children‟s home‟s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children and 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 ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (2)(c)(i)) 30/09/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)) 30/09/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 30/09/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 30/09/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1231311 5 supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)(4)(a)(b)(5))

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home is reviewed at least every year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home‟s location and strategies for managing these, in particular when new young people arrive, and upon receipt of information from police or other agencies. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  The responsible individual is responsible for ensuring that each child‟s day-to-day health and well-being needs are met. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 33, paragraph 7.3) In particular, ensure that food in the fridge is labelled with the opening date.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, one young person has left the home and one new young person has recently been admitted.

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improvement to be good

Young people‟s educational progress remains mixed. Since the last inspection, one young person has continued to attend college and has taken end of year exams. However, one young person has still not started school or college. Staff have tried to encourage her with various choices, but she has not pursued them. As a result, the young person has missed another term of education and her chances to follow possible areas of interest. As a result, shortfalls in young people making measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential, which were raised as a requirement at the last inspection, continue to be unmet. Inspection report children‟s home: 1231311 6 More positively, staff promote young people‟s emotional and physical health. They make sure that young people have access to all health services, including therapeutic services.

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improvement to be good

Young people enjoy different activities such as days out, going shopping and going to the cinema. Two young people recently enjoyed a holiday to Wales with staff.

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improvement to be good

Young people continue to develop their semi-independence skills. They learn how to cook, to manage a budget and how to keep their bedrooms clean. This assists their progress in getting ready for adulthood. One young person told the inspector, „It is good so far. I like most of the staff.‟

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improvement to be good

Young people develop skills to keep themselves safe, to think about others and to express their views and opinions in a constructive way. This is achieved by being able to participate in monthly house meetings and from regular discussions with their key workers about important topics, including staying safe, relationships, behaviour and other issues that are important to them.

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improvement to be good

One social worker for a young person who had recently left the home said, „What stands out for me is the staff relationship with young people, their understanding of trauma and its impact on young people and tolerance when working with residents. I was very pleased with the service.‟

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improvement to be good

There are health and safety shortfalls in the home and garden. A barrel of glue was left in the garden and was accessible to young people. Parts of the garden have an uneven surface, potentially leading to trip hazards. Safety checks on the home‟s car are two weeks out of date. The carpet in the living room is dirty and frayed and one door requires replacing. These shortfalls compromise young people‟s safety.

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improvement to be good

Some staff are unfamiliar with the organisation‟s procedure for managing allegations by young people. This can place both staff and young people at risk.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always remember to label food in the fridge once it has been opened. This leaves staff unsure of when the food will need to be disposed of.

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improvement to be good

Young people do not put themselves at risk by going missing from the home. Furthermore, the positive relationship between staff and young people means that behaviour is well managed and that there has been no necessity for staff to use any form of physical restraint.

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improvement to be good

Since the interim inspection, staff have worked hard to improve the recording of risk assessments. Consequently, risk assessments now include strategies to manage and minimise identified risks. Inspection report children‟s home: 1231311 7

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

A new manager has recently registered with Ofsted. The registered manager has a level 3 diploma in residential childcare and is completing her level 5 diploma in leadership and management of residential services.

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

There are some shortfalls in training. For example, one member of staff has not completed equality and diversity training or refreshed her care of medicines training.

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

Young people‟s files do not contain all information required by regulation. The looked after children‟s health assessments are not available. This means that staff do not have access to all the information that they need to understand young people‟s health needs.

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

The home‟s location risk assessment has not been updated since the last young person moved in. Consequently, risks pertinent to the needs of the young person have not been assessed against the community.

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

The regulator has not received the home‟s self-evaluation of the service, which is required every six months. This leaves the regulator without an informed assessment by the manager about the quality of care between inspections.

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

Staff are complimentary about the support that they receive from the managers. One staff member told the inspector that, „Someone is always available to listen and help.‟

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

The registered manager works well with other professionals. One social worker told the inspector, „Communication with the manager and staff has always been very good.‟

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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: 1231311 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cove Care - Residential Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 4BL

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Colleen Davies Jones

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Inspector

Julia Wright: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1231311 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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