Children's home run by Coventry City Council in Coventry

Inspection report children‟s home: SC033056 1 SC033056 Registered provider: Coventry City Council 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 owned and operated by a local authority. It provides a residential short-break service for up to four children or young people who have learning and/or physical disabilities. It currently provides this service for 26 children and young people. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2014 and holds a level 5 diploma in leadership for health, social care and children and young people‟s services.

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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: 12 February 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC033056 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2018 Full Good 14/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/06/2016 Full Good 19/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC033056 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)) 31/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that any person who works in a care home in a care role has the appropriate qualification by the relevant date. This is to ensure that individual staff have attained the level 3 diploma in childcare (England) (the level 3 diploma). The relevant date is in the case of a person who was working in a care role in a home on 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(5)(a)) 30/04/2019

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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 reference to raising staff awareness regarding safeguarding children with a disability and first aid training in administering medication. 31/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 31/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children‟s home from abuse or neglect. (Regulation 34 (1)(a)) 31/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”) has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 31/03/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC033056 4

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Recommendations

 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 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.  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 62, paragraph 14.4)  Commissioners and providers (organisations that directly provide health or social

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Recommendations

care services) should review their policies, processes and local governance arrangements, making sure that it is clear who is accountable and responsible for using medicines safely and effectively in care homes. („Managing medicines in care homes‟ (2014), paragraph 1.1.1)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Individualised and well-planned care helps children and young people to develop their skills and abilities. They benefit from a range of new experiences, including activity holidays and day trips. One child‟s carer told the inspector, „He accesses things with them that he couldn‟t access with us. On his own he is challenging. When he goes with a group of well-supported young people, he clearly has a great time.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work well with parents, carers and professionals. This joined-up approach means that children and young people are supported to make progress during their short stays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with schools. One teacher told the inspector, „I‟ve never experienced working with a team like this. It‟s fabulous. I know them personally. They come into the school.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The health needs of children and young people are met. A dedicated cook ensures that food is freshly prepared and that children‟s and young people‟s likes, dislikes and dietary needs are well catered for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good introductions to the service include tea visits to overnight stays. This gradual introduction helps children and young people to settle into the home at their own pace. Inspection report children‟s home: SC033056 5 Parents describe good communication. They value being able to see what their children have been doing via a private social media page.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff meetings are held at the beginning of each child‟s stay to ensure that their care plan is followed. For example, staff consult the dedicated cook about meals and plan activities to reflect the child‟s interests and hobbies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the home remains a warm and welcoming environment. It is clean and well kept, with ample indoor and outdoor space for children and young people to make use of during their stay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and parents are able to describe the progress that children and young people make. However, despite guidance from the registered manager, children‟s and young people‟s records do not consistently capture this progress in a child-friendly way. This reduces the opportunity for children and young people to easily see their achievements.

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

Children and young people enjoy their short breaks and feel safe at the home. One child told the inspector, „I like it. I feel OK here.‟

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

Attention to matching means that there have been no incidents of bullying, and children and young people enjoy their time together. A child‟s carer told the inspector, „They really respect each individual child. They are not just plonked together. They are respected and valued for who they are and what they bring. Staff are careful about how they group the children together and he gets on well with his peers.‟

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

Staff have received training to raise their awareness about online safety and the „Prevent‟ duty. Staff are confident about what to do if they are concerned that a child or young person has been harmed or is at risk of harm.

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

Staff are trained in behaviour management and encourage children and young people to behave positively by offering praise and gentle reminders about acceptable behaviour. As a result, children and young people routinely use good manners and willingly help with general tasks around the house. When consequences are used, staff record these and parents are informed. However, records do not show if the measure was effective in making a positive difference to the child‟s behaviour. In addition, children‟s and young people‟s views are not consistently sought when they have received a consequence or when staff have held them to support their safety. Shortfalls in securing the voice of children and young people reduce the opportunity for them to share concerns and opinions about their care.

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

Children and young people benefit from consistent care from a stable staff team. Staff enjoy their work and have a genuine desire to help the children and young people to have new experiences and to make the best progress that they can. A member of staff Inspection report children‟s home: SC033056 6 told the inspector, „I love it here. I love being with the children and helping them to achieve.‟

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

Staff are positive about their colleagues and report that managers have an open door policy, which they find helpful. However, managers do not give enough attention to the support and development of the workforce. Some staff still do not receive supervision at the frequency expected by the organisation. Four members of staff have not achieved a level 3 diploma in residential childcare in the regulatory timescale. In addition, training in safeguarding does not address the specific vulnerabilities of children and young people with a disability. Furthermore, refresher training in first aid and medication is not prompt. It is not clear if staff require specific training to administer one young person‟s emergency medication for the treatment of epilepsy. These shortfalls mean that staff do not have enough opportunities to develop their professional skills and knowledge.

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

Managers have taken some action to improve the safer recruitment of staff. However, shortfalls remain. For example, two members of staff‟s recruitment records do not hold details that show managers have verified the reasons why they left their previous jobs with children. For another member of staff there is no reference from their last employer.

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

Managers have failed to ensure that guidance for staff about their work is relevant or up to date. For example, the safeguarding policy makes no reference to safeguarding children and young people with a disability. Organisational guidance on the safe handling of medicines has not been reviewed in keeping with scheduled timescales. This leaves staff without current guidance necessary to inform their care of children and young people.

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

There have been two medication errors since the last inspection. These were noticed quickly, and appropriate action was taken to reduce further risk. There was no adverse impact to the health of the child. However, managers have not followed organisational guidance, which requires staff to have their competency in the handling of medicines assessed.

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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. Inspection report children‟s home: SC033056 7 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

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Information about this inspection

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: SC033056 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Alison Cooper: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC033056 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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