Children's Home run by Coventry City Council in Coventry

Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 1 SC414347 Registered provider: Coventry City Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority operates this home. It is registered to provide care for up to four young people who have social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since December 2011. The registered manager holds a social work qualification and a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development certificate in management.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 17 January 2018

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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: SC414347 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/01/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/10/2016 Full Good 24/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 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 registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s home if full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (3)(d)) 31/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that any individual who works in the home in a care role has achieved the appropriate qualification by the relevant date. The relevant date is, in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (5)(a)(b)) 12/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)) This is with particular reference to restorative practice and e-safety. 12/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child that include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3. (Regulation 36 (a)) 12/11/2018

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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. (Regulation 45 (1)) 30/09/2018

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, in line with children’s individual health plans and the ethos of the home, children are offered advice, support and guidance on health and well-being to enhance and supplement that provided by their school through personal, social and health education (PSHE). Staff should have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to help children understand and, where necessary, work to change negative behaviours in key areas of health and well-being such as, but not limited to, nutrition and healthy diet, exercise, mental health, sexual relationships, sexual health, contraception and use of legal highs, drugs, alcohol and tobacco. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 4 including the quality standards’, p 34, paragraph 7.18)  The registered person must ensure that staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to respond to the health needs of children. (‘Guide to the

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Recommendations

children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.12) This is with specific reference to ensuring that staff are competent in administering medication.  Ensure that children are encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’ supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit from warm and supportive relationships with staff. Staff are patient, caring and sensitive to young people’s needs. This helps young people to make progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one young person has moved into the home. Good oversight by the registered manager made sure that the young person’s move was well planned. This helped the young person to feel reassured and comfortable. One social worker told the inspector, ‘They met with her, she spent time here. This is the most settled that she has ever been. They have listened to everything I have said and taken this into account in her care.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some young people have a history of poor school attendance. Consequently, they have found it difficult to engage in education. Despite this, staff have worked hard with young people and teachers to understand and overcome the individual barriers affecting attendance at school. For one young person this has enabled her to sit a GCSE. Teachers recognise the priority that staff have given to supporting young people attend school and achieve. One teacher shared with the inspector, ‘No parents could have done any more than they did. They worked really well with us.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work in partnership with a range of health professionals to help ensure that young people’s health needs are met. For example, one young person has difficulty attending health appointments, so health professionals visit her at the home. This means that she now has access to support to help improve her emotional well-being. However, there are missed opportunities for staff to support young people in promoting good health. For Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 5 example, staff lack essential knowledge in how to help young people to continue with substance misuse work started by external agencies. This means that young people are not sufficiently supported by staff to understand the impact of negative lifestyle choices and how they can make positive decisions to improve their health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy taking part in hobbies and activities, including baking, playing board games and going to the cinema. The encouragement of staff has helped one young person have a range of new experiences, including attending a performing arts workshop. This has helped to build on her talent for acting and has increased her confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work well with parents and are relentless in encouraging young people to take part in the daily life of the home. One parent told the inspector, ‘They have done everything that they can. They have involved me and we are working together. They have worked well with me to get her to health appointments. They are persistent with her. They haven’t given up. She is safe in the home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are diligent in making sure that young people live in a well-maintained, clean and welcoming home.

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

The registered manager ensures that young people have individualised risk management plans that are developed and reviewed with advice from other professionals. This ensures that staff understand the risks posed to young people and what they need to do to help reduce risk.

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

Staff know the young people well and boundaries and expectations are clear. Incentives and consequences are used to encourage young people to behave positively. Staff are skilful in defusing situations and managing behaviour that can be challenging. A good working relationship between staff and the police ensures that a restorative approach is used to help young people repair relationships where their behaviour has caused harm. This helps young people to avoid criminalisation.

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

When young people go missing from the home, staff respond promptly, in keeping with agreed protocols. Close working with partners, such as the police, helps to ensure that young people stay safe.

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

The registered manager has been involved in a review of the policy for the receipt, storage, administration and discharge of medication. However, the manager has not ensured that staff members’ competency in the safe handling of medication has been completed, in keeping with organisational protocols. In addition, some staff have not received prompt refresher training in the administration of medication. This heightens the risk of medication errors. Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 6

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

Managers are committed to helping young people make good progress in all areas of their development. Staff are complimentary about their managers and the support they receive from them. One member of staff told the inspector, ‘They work hard, you feel secure with their presence; they are here if you need them.’

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

Since the last inspection, the frequency of staff supervision has improved, and staff have received an annual appraisal. Supervision records are detailed and show that staff are supported to reflect on their practice.

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

Staff receive a range of training to support their understanding of the needs of young people. However, four staff have not achieved a level 3 award within the timescale required by regulation and progress in staff completing training in restorative approaches is slow. In addition, safeguarding training has not extended to helping staff understand the risks posed to young people by the internet. This means that staff are lacking in knowledge essential to their roles and for implementing the model of care.

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

Arrangements for working in partnership with others, including parents, social workers, police and health professionals, are particularly positive. The registered manager seeks advice and support from the team around the young person and advocates for young people when it is necessary to secure the support and service they need.

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

Despite guidance from the registered manager, staff are slow to ensure that recording in young people’s records is current, clear and young-people-focused. For example, when staff refresh young people’s plans, they do not take out information that is no longer relevant. In addition, young people are not routinely encouraged to comment on their plans. Furthermore, young people’s records do not hold copies of all the relevant information from the placing authority. Shortfalls in maintaining records limit young people from being able to easily understand their journey and the contribution they and others have made to their care.

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

Shortfalls in staff vetting continue. One member of staff continues to work with young people without the required references and without managers checking out gaps in employment. For two members of staff, the reasons why they left employment with children or vulnerable adults has not been verified by managers. These shortfalls show a continued failure by managers to improve practice so that recruitment is safe, and that young people are not subject to unnecessary risks.

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

The registered manager has started to regularly monitor the progress of each young person, which she shares with the team to help further develop practice. However, she has not completed a prompt review of the quality of care. This delays the ongoing development of the service. Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 7

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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: SC414347 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Coventry City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Council House, Earl Street, Coventry CV1 5RR

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Inspector

Alison Cooper, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC414347 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 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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