Children's home run by Sunfield Children’s Homes Limited in Bromsgrove

Inspection report children’s home: SC038435 1 SC038435 Registered provider: Sunfield Children’s Homes Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is part of a residential special school. Since May 2017 it has become a subsidiary of the Ruskin Mill Trust. The registered manager is qualified to level 5 in leadership and management and was registered with Ofsted in April 2018. The home is registered to accommodate up to 61 children who have severe and complex learning difficulties and behavioural needs, including seven placements for children who require short breaks. There are 12 houses within the grounds of the school. At the time of this inspection, six houses were open and were accommodating 19 children.

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Information about this children’s home

This inspection was aligned with an education inspection of the school attached to the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 26 to 27 September 2018

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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: SC038435 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/05/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/09/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/06/2017 Full Inadequate 22/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC038435 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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff 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)(2)(a)(i)) This is with specific reference to when young people arrive in the home. 31/10/2018

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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 promotes their welfare. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13(2)(d)) 31/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (Regulation 32(4)(5)) This relates to agency staff working in the home. 31/12/2018

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Recommendations

 The registered provider must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report children’s home: SC038435 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress because staff are managing their behaviours well. Staff are nurturing, and develop positive relationships with children. They ensure that children are actively engaged which, in turn, is resulting in children’s behaviours improving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For most of the time, children enjoy activities both on site and out in the wider community. They are involved in football clubs and are starting to participate in work experience. One child who has had significant anxiety about leaving their house has recently been able to enjoy an overnight break with staff away from the home. This is a significant achievement, and has been possible because of the dedication of the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in their health and development. Staff work well with children, their parents and professionals, to help improve the understanding of children’s health needs. Improvements in the administration of medication continue to be sustained. As a result, children’s health is promoted well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s attendance at school is almost at 100%. One young person who previously would not leave his house is now attending school daily. This is excellent progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to prepare for their future. Staff encourage children to get involved in day-to-day activities to support their independence skills, such as meal preparation, doing their own laundry and being involved in recycling.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide excellent support to children to enable them to stay in touch with their families. For example, one member of staff stayed with a child, so that he could sleep over with his family. This was a positive experience for both the child and his family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are now living in a home that is clean and allows for their free movement. Considerable progress has been made to ensure that all the houses are comfortable and child-friendly. Photographs, paintings and flowers are in communal areas, and children’s bedrooms are decorated to reflect their hobbies, wishes and needs.

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

Staff manage children’s behaviour well. Since the last inspection, there has been an overall reduction in the number of incidents in the home. Consistent boundaries contribute to a feeling of well-being and security for children.

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

Staff are more confident in taking children out. One parent told the inspectors, ‘They [staff] are now very clear of procedures. This is really reassuring. You can relax as parents because you know staff are going by the book.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC038435 5 Children do not regularly go missing from the home. When this does happen, staff are aware and respond appropriately. All staff receive regular training in safeguarding, which includes training in radicalisation and e-safety.

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

Staff generally identify and understand children’s presenting risks. However, on one occasion the risk assessment completed for a new admission was of poor quality and did not adequately inform staff about a child’s challenging behaviour. This resulted in a poor admission which had a negative impact on the new child and the other children in the house, and on the ability of members of staff to keep children safe. Since this admission lessons have been learned, and recent admissions have been well managed and resulted in positive experiences for all the children.

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

Safe recruitment practice ensures that anyone employed in the home is safe to work with children .

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have a clear vision for the home and have a good understanding of the progress children are making. Staff talk positively about the increased level of support and oversight in the home by managers. One member of staff commented, ‘We are listened to a lot more… Support has given everyone the confidence to work with young people.’ Another stated, ‘Managers have made positive changes through training and in their approach to staff.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of relationships between staff, parents and professionals is a strength of the service. This helps to ensure that good all-round support to children is given. One parent commented, ‘Partnership is excellent… the managers and staff are all singing from the same hymn sheet.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

However, the level of staffing in the home continues to be problematic. There is a lack of stability in the staff team, and there have been times when there have not been acceptable ratios of staff in line with children’s assessed needs. Consequently, children’s activities have had to be readjusted so that staff can focus on maintaining safe levels of care that meet children’s needs. Managers are putting measures in place to try to improve staffing. They have changed the way they are recruiting and, where possible, are using permanent agency staff who are paid to attend training, handovers and team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervisions and are provided with opportunities to attend ‘reflection’ meetings following incidents. However, the quality of these meetings is variable. As a result, not all staff can adequately reflect on their practice to improve the quality of their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a wide variety of training. There has been a concerted effort to ensure that all permanent staff achieve the level 3 qualification in residential childcare in the expected timeframes. However, this is not happening for agency staff. Although senior managers ensure that agency staff have adequate skills and experience to meet the Inspection report children’s home: SC038435 6 demands of the role, it is a statutory responsibility to ensure that all staff obtain the required qualification within expected timeframes.

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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: SC038435 7

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sunfield Children’s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Clent Grove, Clent, Stourbridge, Worcestershire DY9 9PB

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Inspectors

Sue Young, social care inspector Dawn Bennett, social care inspector Gareth Leckey, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC038435 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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