Children's Home run by Birmingham Children’s Trust Community Interest Company in Birmingham

Inspection report children‟s home: 1273663 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 provides care for 12 young people who have learning disabilities. Young people may stay beyond their 18th birthday while they complete their education.

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Information about this children’s home

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 children‟s 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

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspection: 20 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 requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people continue to make progress and benefit from positive experiences. However, there are continuous shortfalls in how the service helps and protects young people and in leadership and management.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Four young adults have moved out into adult care placements and three new young people have moved in. The new young people have quickly settled, following a well- Inspection report children‟s home: 1273663 2 managed move. One social worker told the inspector that their young person had „thrived‟ in the staff‟s care and that they have „made real attachments with some of the staff‟.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff are using more broad-range communication aids to help young people to communicate their wishes and feelings. Staff are increasingly creative in their direct work with young people, including making accessible booklets that capture photographs of young people‟s activities and record their discussions.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people now have a homelier environment that is better decorated and equipped to give young people greater privacy and comfort.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Fire safety arrangements and safe recruitment now safeguard young people.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young people‟s register now provides the information required about young people‟s addresses when they leave the home.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Physical intervention is rare and when it has taken place, its use has been necessary to keep everyone safe.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

However, despite all the positive progress, there are still significant shortfalls that mean the approach to safeguarding is still not effective. Risk assessments are still not good enough. Young people who can access social media online are still not being provided with adequate safeguards by having informed assessments that consider their vulnerabilities when online. Less than half of the staff team members have received training in internet safety and there is no written advice for staff about how they should monitor young people when they are online.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers do not ensure that risk management documentation is clear so that all staff can follow the same guidance. For example, guidance for staff about how they should support one young person when they go out alone is captured across three different documents. The document titled „risk assessment‟ gives the least information and does not address the young person‟s vulnerability to exploitation when out in the city centre.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers have not ensured that staff training records provide enough detail to evidence that staff have the required skills to meet young people‟s needs.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers have still not assessed the staff team‟s knowledge to ensure that staff have the necessary skills to care for young people who have a learning disability. Approximately half of the staff team members have now received training in attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. Less than a third of staff have completed training in reducing the risks of extremism. More than a quarter of the team is overdue refresher training in physical intervention, some staff by 18 months.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

There is still no cohesive record of complaints. For example, one complaint made by a social worker does not include the original issue, and/or the action taken in response to the concerns raised. Inspection report children‟s home: 1273663 3 Managerial monitoring and review of the quality of care do not review previous actions, identify timescales or show that there has been learning from safeguarding incidents or complaints. The formal six-monthly review of the quality of care does not offer evidence that staff, young people, their parents and the placing authority have been consulted. This is a missed opportunity to use consultation to improve practice. The review does not focus on the key regulatory areas for improvement to demonstrate how internal monitoring drives self-improvement. This is further hindered by the reports carried out by the monthly independent visitor that also do not help to drive improvement where it

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good

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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— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home‟s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(i)(iii)(e)) 31/05/2019

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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 31/05/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: 1273663 4 children‟s home that—

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received, and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(g)(ii)(h)) The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 31/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(5))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to implementing lessons learned and ensuring that continuous improvement, particularly of safeguarding practice. 31/07/2019

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Recommendations

Inspection report children‟s home: 1273663 5  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

This relates specifically to timely regulation 44 reporting and ensuring that key safeguarding information is shared with the visitor.

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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‟.

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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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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Angela King Inspection report children‟s home: 1273663 6

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Inspector(s)

Christy Wannop, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1273663 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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