Children's Home run by Progress Children’s Services Ltd in Wolverhampton

Inspection report children’s home: 1266267 1 Registered provider: Progress Children’s Services

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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 offers short breaks for up to six young people. The service is available to young people who have learning disabilities, physical disabilities and/or sensory impairment. A large private provider operates this service. The registered manager holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 21 to 22 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: This is the home’s first inspection since registration.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1266267 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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)) 09/04/2019

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Recommendations

 All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely whilst they remain in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) In particular, ensure that internal plans fully reflect the progress of each child.  The registered person 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)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This new service offers young people short breaks in a purpose-built centre. The majority of the staff transferred from another short-break service. The environment is well designed, bright, warm and welcoming. Young people enjoy access to a large lounge, a garden and a sensory room.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know young people well and invest in them. They ensure that young people’s complex healthcare needs are fully understood. In addition, staff take the time to learn Inspection report children’s home: 1266267 3 about young people’s personalities, including their likes and dislikes. This helps them to tailor their approach to each individual young person. As a result, young people develop trusting relationships with staff and enjoy their short breaks. A parent told the inspector, ‘The service is a godsend. He [the young person] loves coming. He has his favourite members of staff.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people to participate in the day-to-day running of the home. They use a range of communication aids to help young people to express their views. Young people’s meetings and key-work sessions offer an opportunity to decide activities, menus and future events.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy a range of activities in the home and the community. These include trips to bowling alleys, local parks, a young person’s disco and the cinema. Young people also enjoy watching DVDs and relaxing in the home. Impromptu singing sessions and frequent laughter add to the home’s vibrant atmosphere. Recently, young people prepared food for their visit to a local homeless shelter. These activities provide young people with experiences that they may not otherwise have access to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with teachers to provide young people with well-informed care. They visit schools to observe young people and gather important information about their needs. In addition, staff and teachers complete communication diaries and share information daily when young people arrive at and leave school. This collaborative approach provides young people with consistent care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s physical and learning disabilities are not seen as a barrier to independence. Staff use independence targets to help young people build important skills for the future. These include improving personal hygiene and care, and completing cleaning tasks. During the inspection, staff supported a young person to attend his hair appointment and took great joy in how well he managed this activity. In addition, young people’s meetings and key-work sessions focus on issues such as community safety.

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

Staff assess young people’s behaviours as they present. They use team meetings and staff handovers to develop new strategies for managing risk. The registered manager updates risk assessments accordingly. However, risk assessments are not fully in line with young people’s progress. For example, some young people’s behaviours have not been seen in the home for a significant period. Unfortunately, risk assessments do not reflect this progress. This lack of oversight results in a lost opportunity to reflect on patterns of behaviour and develop staff practice.

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

Medication processes are safe and robust. All medicines are safely locked away. A shift leader and member of staff take responsibility for recording and overseeing the administration of medication. The registered manager regularly completes audits to review the effectiveness of these procedures. By using the information gained from previous medication errors, she has been able to devise and implement new processes Inspection report children’s home: 1266267 4 and develop staff practice. For example, staff now undergo external and internal medication assessments to assess their competency.

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

The home environment is safe and secure. Each young person has a fire safety risk assessment in place. Young people regularly take part in fire drills. Staff also offer young people high levels of supervision to keep them safe. They assess young people’s vulnerabilities, compatibility and behaviours when planning community activities. This allows young people to enjoy new experiences safely.

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

Staff use communication aids and rely on their knowledge of young people to manage challenging incidents. For example, pictorial aids help young people to communicate when they are anxious or unsettled. Staff read young people’s body language to establish their mood. This helps them to de-escalate challenging incidents. On occasions, staff use restraint as a last resort to keep young people safe. Restraint records are clear and demonstrate that staff and young people learn from incidents.

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

Young people receive support to help them to understand how to keep safe. Staff use key-work sessions and young people’s meetings to focus on a range of safeguarding issues. For example, young people learn about appropriate touch, community safety and the impact of their behaviours on others. Staff are proactive and offer sensitive solutions to challenging behaviour. For example, one young person regularly takes clothing from staff and peers. Staff introduced a ‘take box’ which gives the young person an opportunity to return the items. They share this good practice with families and partner agencies. This helps young people to sustain their progress across a number of environments.

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

Staff reward young people for positive behaviour. They work in partnership with parents to set joint targets for young people. For example, one young person is reluctant to attend community activities. Staff use his reward chart to encourage his attendance at events. Other young people receive frequent praise and occasional monetary rewards for positive behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager receives support from two team leaders. The recruitment of a third team leader is imminent. The management team is proactive and committed to young people. The team is working hard to embed the necessary processes and procedures for this new service. The staff team has a mix of experienced and relatively new staff. The staff are adequately resourced and offer young people consistent and nurturing care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is keen to develop the staff team. Her leadership style strikes a healthy balance between effective challenge and support. For example, she completes unannounced ‘spot checks’ in the home to assess the quality of staff practice. In addition, she regularly completes audits on young people’s files and addresses any shortfalls in their care. The registered manager and team leaders continue to develop a Inspection report children’s home: 1266267 5 strong team dynamic. They use staff meetings to forge strong working relationships across the team. This proactive approach improves the quality of care that young people receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager continues to embed the social pedagogy model. For example, recently introduced key-work forms help staff to link theories to practice. Staff team meetings often include workshops that focus on key aspects of the staff’s role. Staff take the lead in organising these learning events. Staff benefit from a comprehensive training programme. This equips them with the knowledge and skills that they need to meet young people’s complex care needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has strong working relationships with a number of agencies. She regularly meets with foster carers and social workers to share important information about young people. This coordinated approach offers young people consistent care and helps them to make progress. Feedback from social workers about the home is generally complimentary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff ensure that young people’s transitions to the home are well managed. They work closely with key agencies and families to gather important information on young people’s needs prior to their admission. Staff use this information to carefully match young people with their peers. In addition, they visit young people’s homes and schools to observe their behaviour. They establish approaches that work best for young people and use these to inform individualised internal plans. This careful and considered planning helps young people to settle and make progress. A parent told the inspector, ‘I’ve absolutely seen progress with him [the young person]. He is more independent. He enjoys building relationships with other adults. He is overjoyed when he sees the staff.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the management team. They receive good-quality inductions and appraisals. Staff have regular supervision. However, the quality of these sessions is variable. For example, some sessions allow staff to reflect on the demands of the role and young people’s progress, while others do not. The impact of this is lessened because staff feel able to seek support from managers when necessary. Staff team meetings also reflect on young people’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people’s internal plans do not capture their progress. This shortfall is in part due to a new electronic recording system. The registered manager has plans to address this issue with senior management.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1266267 6 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: 1266267 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Progress Children’s Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Progress House, 127 Millfields Road, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire WV4 6JG

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Inspector

Gareth Leckey: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1266267 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 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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