Children's home run by Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council in Walsall

Inspection report children’s home: SC063815 1 SC063815 Registered provider: Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a local authority. The home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people with complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager registered with Ofsted in March 2007 and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC063815 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/09/2017 Full Outstanding 29/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/12/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC063815 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people receive exceptional care from staff who are passionate about them and are committed to understanding their individual needs. As a result, young people make significant progress from their starting points. All the young people have previously experienced multiple placement moves in their early lives, and this is their first experience of placement stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people experience excellent continuity of care from staff. Consequently, young people settle well, develop trusting relationships with staff and have a strong sense of belonging in the home. One parent told the inspector, ‘The home is totally different from what I expected. They’re one big family, and have now become my extended family.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The staff provide a wonderful atmosphere that is warm and welcoming. Young people enjoy living in a well-maintained, comfortable and homely environment. Staff support young people’s emotional development by promoting care based on a secure attachment model. Routines in the home are led by young people’s need for attention at specific times. For example, when the young people return from school the staff ensure that their complete focus is on the young people. Consequently, young people feel valued and thrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The staff develop exceptionally positive working relationships with education professionals. This collaboration means that young people are supported to access appropriate learning opportunities. Staff help young people to address any issues that arise in school. When young people are not in school, the manager and staff are persistent in ensuring that they have access to alternative education provisions. This approach enables young people to overcome barriers to their learning so that they can achieve academic success. One young person’s contribution to school life has been recognised by his school, and he has been selected by his teachers to go on a trip to Florida in the half-term holiday.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff promote each young person’s physical, emotional and psychological health extremely well. Staff work closely with each young person and health professionals to ensure that they meet young people’s needs. For one young person who has a specific health condition, a collaborative approach between him, dieticians and staff has successfully improved his well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff work closely with young people to help them to understand their emotions and behaviour. Staff use the skills and knowledge that they acquire from weekly consultations with practitioners at the child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) to develop their therapeutic practice and reflect on their interventions with young people. Furthermore, staff encourage young people effectively to engage with specialist therapeutic support. As a result, young people become more self-aware and able to make significant changes to their lives. Inspection report children’s home: SC063815 4 Young people’s voices are strongly evident in every aspect of the running of this home. This approach contributes significantly to their sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people learn the skills that they require to become independent. They take responsibility for tasks around the house. As they become older, they learn to budget, shop and cook. They learn to take responsibility for both their own care and well-being and those of others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support young people to keep in touch with their family and friends. They work closely with parents and others to enable young people to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. One parent told the inspector, ‘I feel totally confident with all the staff. I know that they are there because they want to be, and they are totally committed to the care of the children.’

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

Young people are happy and feel safe living in the home. Young people who have previously displayed extremely complex and challenging behaviour are engaging positively with staff. They understand and are accepting of the boundaries that are placed around them to keep them safe. This contributes to a feeling of well-being and security for young people.

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

All young people have made remarkable progress in improving their ability to regulate their emotions. As a result, incidents when young people become heightened and challenging have reduced in number.

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

Staff understand risk exceptionally well and they keep detailed and accurate records about safeguarding issues. Detailed risk assessments identify specific actions for staff to take to manage and reduce young people’s risk-taking behaviour. Staff follow the guidance set out in these documents rigorously. They are highly vigilant and work hard to ensure young people’s safety.

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

The close and trusting relationships between staff and young people allow the young people to share their worries and concerns. This contributes to young people feeling safe and reduces their risk-taking behaviours.

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

Staff focus on praising and rewarding positive behaviour, which motivates young people to respect rules and boundaries and to keep themselves safe. Staff promote restorative approaches and encourage young people to reflect on their actions and make amends for their behaviours.

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

Staff receive a wide range of training to enable them to keep young people safe. This has included recent training on the issues of human trafficking and modern slavery. This ensures that staff understand fully the risks that young people face. Inspection report children’s home: SC063815 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is passionate and inspirational. She evaluates the quality of care provided to ensure that every young person is making progress and that the care provided makes a positive difference to their lives. Her enthusiasm influences the staff, who share her passion and drive for achieving the best possible outcomes for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager develops the staff’s consultation with CAMHS to drive continuous improvement and to help them to fully understand the young people’s individualised needs. For example, staff have developed their practice and the way that they communicate with young people to allow them to work with young people in a restorative and enabling way. This has helped staff to support young people to reflect on their behaviour and achieve their goals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff report that they are very well supported by managers. Regular supervision and reflective practice sessions enable them to discuss the care of young people, as well as their own development. Staff have a comprehensive and relevant range of training opportunities, including restorative approaches and key working.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Most staff have the minimum level 3 qualification, and the one staff member undertaking the award is expected to complete this within the required timescale. Consequently, young people receive support from suitably qualified and experienced staff. The manager understands the home’s strengths and the areas for further development. She continues to ensure that the staff achieve the aims set out in the Statement of Purpose. The manager scrutinises all aspects of the service to ensure that it continues to meet young people’s needs well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A key strength of the manager is the relationships that she develops with other professionals. The manager is quick to forge excellent partnership working arrangements to meet young people’s needs. This close partnership working ensures that young people make and sustain progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager advocates strongly on behalf of the young people in her care and constructively challenges services when she considers that they are not meeting young people’s needs. All professionals speak highly of the manager and her work in helping young people to achieve better outcomes. Inspection report children’s home: SC063815 6

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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 difference 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: SC063815 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, Darwall Street, Walsall WS1 1TP

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Inspector

Anne Daly, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC063815 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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