Children's home run by Birmingham Children’s Trust Community Interest Company

Interim inspection report children’s home: 1273485 1 Registered provider: Birmingham Children’s Trust Community Interest Company Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is a short-break service for seven young people who have learning disabilities. The home has been operated for several years by a local authority. The service and the existing manager were registered again under a newly created local authority trust in March 2018. The registered manager has extensive experience and knowledge.

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Information about this children’s home

It is one of four homes operated by this local authority children’s trust.

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Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspection: 5 September 2018

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager and staff have worked hard and have met all requirements raised at the last full inspection. Staff have extensive experience and have worked at the home for several years. As a result, staff know young people’s areas of strength and specific needs well. They treat young people with respect and dignity and give them individualised care, which meets all their daily needs. Staff are nurturing, patient and have positive relationships with young people. Subsequently, young people continue to make progress in their lives.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff communicate well with young people using words and pictures and Makaton. Interim inspection report children’s home: 1273485 2 Young people’s wishes and feelings are captured in key-worker sessions, weekly meetings and the local authority’s looked-after children’s forum. They make decisions about their day-to-day care. Young people feel listened to and valued.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people take part in a range of activities inside the home and in the local community. This provides them with opportunities to have fun and enjoyment and build confidence and self-esteem. Examples of activities include going to the cinema, joining in walks to the park, playing in the sensory garden and going on trips to places of interest.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff continue to manage young people’s moves into the home and out of the home well. Young people feel settled and happy. Young people’s bedrooms and communal areas have been redecorated and are cosier and more welcoming.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff team responds appropriately to safeguarding concerns. Records show what actions have been taken and who has been informed. Serious incidents and updates are reported appropriately to Ofsted.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff use restraint only as a last resort, and incident records are completed in line with regulations. This enables the registered manager to have effective oversight.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager has good working relationships with partner agencies. This partnership approach means that young people and staff are benefiting from the full range of support and guidance provided by other professionals within the community. For example, staff had extra training from a speech and language therapist to enable them to effectively support a young person who was struggling to settle in.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Complaints are rare, and when they are raised, the registered manager responds to them quickly. Despite the good progress, some records require improvement. This is because they lack all the relevant chronological information. Staff do not always update short-break plans following review meetings to reflect whether there has been any changes to the young person’s existing care plan. This has the potential to impact on the quality of care provided.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/09/2018 Full Good Interim inspection report children’s home: 1273485 3

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Recommendations

 Regulations 35–39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely whilst they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. Children’s case records must be kept for 75 years from the date of birth of the child, or if the child dies before the age of 18, for 15 years from the date of his or her death. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  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 the child.

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Recommendations

(‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraphs 14.3 and 14.4)

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’. Interim inspection report children’s home: 1273485 4

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Birmingham Children’s Trust Community Interest Company

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Third Floor Zone 16, 1 Lancaster Circus Birmingham B4 7DJ

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Inspector

Rumbi Mangoma, social care inspector Interim inspection report children’s home: 1273485 5 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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