Children's Home run by The Spring Children‟s and Transitional Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report children’s home: 1253623 1 Registered provider: The Spring Children’s and Transitional Care Ltd

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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 service is operated by a private provider and is registered to provide care and accommodation for two children who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since the service opened in 2017, and has the required qualifications.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 19 to 20 February 2019

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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

Date of last inspection: 19 December 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/12/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1253623 2

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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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, implement systems to ensure that required documentation is sent to Ofsted, such as the home’s statement of purpose, regulation 44 reports and regulation 45 reports. In addition, monitor when annual fire inspections are due to be carried out. 21/03/2019

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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 helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff complete refresher training courses within the required time frame and the training matrix is kept up to date to reflect this. 21/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must ensure that the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25(1)(b)). 21/03/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1253623 3 In particular, ensure that the fire risk assessment is completed annually.

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Recommendations

 The children’s home must produce a children’s guide. The children’s guide must be made available to all children when their placement in the home is agreed (or on arrival at the home if the placement is made in an emergency) and must be age appropriate, provided in an accessible format and explained to each child to make sure they understand it. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a consistent and stable staff team. The staff are passionate and committed to their role, allowing children to build meaningful and positive relationships with them. This was observed during the inspection, when children presented as relaxed and happy. Both children told the inspector that they like living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff understand children’s needs well and talk positively about the progress that children make. Children make good progress, including making improvements in their cognitive ability, behaviour and sleep patterns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in activities that are relevant to their hobbies and interests. They have plenty of toys and games and children’s bedrooms are personalised. Staff celebrate children’s achievements and display certificates throughout the home. The home is clean, tidy and well furnished, creating a homely environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to children and continually seek their views and feelings. Staff advocate for children and ensure that their voice is heard. Consequently, children feel listened to and tell staff when they are worried or unhappy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are good at communicating with children and they make sure that children understand decisions that have been made, and how these will affect them. When children move into the home, staff spend time explaining what it will be like living in the home. However, the children’s guide is not easy for children to understand in its current format.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their independence skills and help staff with tasks around the house. This helps children to build their confidence and develop the skills that they will need in the future. Inspection report children’s home: 1253623 4

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

Children are settled. There are few incidents and children do not go missing.

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

Staff have not physically restrained a child since the home opened in 2017. This is because staff are skilled at managing incidents and use strategies to manage behaviour before it escalates. The last incident was in November 2018, when a child had recently moved into the home. During this settling period, staff showed empathy and patience, while clearly explaining their expectations. This was effective. The child remains happy and responds well to the guidance and boundaries.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs. Clear risk assessments and behaviour management plans provide guidance and strategies to support staff in their role.

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

Staff have a good knowledge of safeguarding and keep children safe. Staff use key-work sessions effectively to help children to understand risks, including stranger danger and road safety.

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

The home has had a fire risk assessment and the manager has taken swift action to meet the recommendations. However, this assessment needs to be renewed annually.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since 2017 and is supported by an experienced deputy manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular supervision and annual appraisals. Staff feel supported by the management team. They are well equipped for their roles and skilfully meet the children’s needs. Staff turnover is minimal, with very few staff leaving the company.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have a range of skills and knowledge which enhance children’s experiences. Some staff have the required level 3 qualification and other staff are working towards this. A range of training opportunities are available to staff. However, the training matrix is not up to date and some staff have not completed yearly refresher training within the required timescales. The registered manager is aware of this and was already taking action to rectify this at the time of the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good monitoring and review systems for some key areas, including measuring children’s progress and auditing their case records. However, other areas do not receive adequate attention. For example, required documentation is not always sent to Ofsted. This includes the independent visitor’s reports, the manager’s six- monthly review and the updated statement of purpose. The impact of this shortfall on children is minimal, but it does not give the regulator the opportunity to review and monitor the service prior to inspection. Inspection report children’s home: 1253623 5 The registered manager and staff strongly advocate for the children, and are committed to ensuring that children have a choice about the care that they receive. Children feel empowered because of this. While challenging and advocating for children, the registered manager and staff maintain positive relationships with professionals and

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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: 1253623 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Spring Children’s and Transitional Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 9 Grenville Drive, Birmingham, Warwickshire B23 7YX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Blessing Manyara

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Inspector

Lisa O’Donovan: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1253623 7 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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