Children's Home run by Care and Management Services Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 1 SC470457 Registered provider: Care and Management Services Limited

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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 privately owned children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to three young people. The home cares for young people who exhibit complex behaviours as a result of their childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager was appointed to the home in February 2019. She holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management. She has made an application to register with Ofsted.

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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: 10 December 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This children’s home was judged inadequate at the last full inspection carried out on 10 and 11 December 2018. As a result of this inspection, two compliance notices were issued. Ofsted also issued a notice restricting accommodation on 20 December 2018 to prevent any new young people from being admitted to the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 2 Monitoring inspections took place on 28 January 2019 and 12 March 2019. These inspections evidenced that the compliance notices had been met. As a result of this progress, the restriction of accommodation ended on 14 March 2019.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/12/2018 Full Inadequate 31/01/2018 Full Good 07/09/2016 Full Good 08/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers have made significant progress, in recent months, in securing a stable staff team. This has had a positive impact on the young people who live at the home. One young person told the inspector, ‘They [staff] genuinely care about us. They go out of their way to show us how much they care and how proud they are of us.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people to achieve educationally. For example, staff travel to and from college with one young person daily, using public transport, to ensure that the young person can travel safely. This high level of staff commitment has supported the young person to achieve 100% college attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has implemented a therapeutic model of care in the home. A monthly review of each young person’s progress is carried out with the full involvement of the organisation’s clinical team. This joined-up work helps to inform the young person’s care plan and the pace of progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people to develop skills in readiness for adulthood. This includes the young people receiving help from staff in a range of matters from developing self-care skills to planning for future careers. This support has helped one young person to achieve an apprenticeship.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work in partnership with the family and friends of young people. One parent told the inspector that the family is involved in their daughter’s care and that they find staff flexible and approachable. These positive working relationships enable young people to maintain positive links with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are involved in influencing changes to their home environment. At the time of the inspection, young people were choosing furniture and schemes for redecoration. However, staff oversight of the young people’s bedrooms does not always reflect a nurturing environment. For example, staff had not noticed that a young person’s bedroom curtains needed re-hanging or that the young person did not have sufficient clothes’ hangers to hang up their clothes. Staff acted to remedy these shortfalls immediately during the inspection.

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

Staff implement clear risk management strategies that reflect the individual risks that each young person is subject to. Consistent application of these strategies results in low levels of incidents in the home.

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

There have not been any incidents of young people going missing from the home. Despite this, staff make sure that each young person has an individual response plan, ensuring that, in the case of incident, staff know how to respond and can take swift action. Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 4 Staff support young people to understand and manage risks. This includes young people receiving training and conducting work with the police regarding knife crime and online safety. This proactive approach ensures that young people understand how to keep themselves safe. Young people are open with staff about areas of concern without feeling that they will be judged. One young person told the inspector, ‘They help you see that you can make a mistake and move on from it.’

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

Young people each have their own incentive scheme to encourage positive behaviour. This is designed to reflect their personal goals, and rewards are specific to the individual. This focus helps to ensure that young people are keen to achieve and can self-regulate their emotions.

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

The acting manager has implemented a series of checks to ensure that young people live in a safe home environment.

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

Managers have reviewed the organisation’s safe recruitment processes in response to the findings of the last inspection. Despite this, managers have not ensured that all necessary checks are in place for staff employed before the systems were improved. This places young people at potential risk from adults who may be unsuitable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has implemented a range of auditing systems that support her oversight of the service. This enables her to demonstrate a high level of understanding of the home and the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff told the inspector that they are well supported by the manager and the deputy manager. New systems and checks in the home provide staff with clear expectations. New staff who join the home receive a good induction, which includes carrying out a number of competence assessments. For example, staff are assessed on their understanding of safeguarding procedures and administration of medication. This level of oversight ensures that only staff who achieve an acceptable level of safe practice work with young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has ensured that every staff member has an individual training plan, which includes specific training to help them meet the individual needs of young people. This ensures that staff are competent in their understanding of the needs of the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One member of staff has exceeded the timescale for finishing the level 3 qualification in residential childcare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and areas for development in the home. She has completed a quality of care review which carefully reflects stakeholder feedback. Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 5

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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 must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(d)) 14/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. The relevant date is in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. 14/06/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 6 (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(3)(b)(4)(5))

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Recommendations

 Many children placed in homes may undergo a difficult transition and what should be simple aspects of their care take on a substantial significance in this context. Staff should provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming, supportive, and which provides appropriate boundaries in relation to their behaviour. Homes must also meet children’s basic day-to-day needs and physical necessities. Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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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: SC470457 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care and Management Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Park Business Centre, Hastingwood Industrial Park, Wood Lane, Birmingham B24 9QR

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Inspector

Tracey Coglan Greig, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC470457 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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