Children's Home run by Staffordshire County Council in Staffordshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC028905 1 SC028905 Registered provider: Staffordshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children‟s home is owned by a local authority. It is registered to provide short breaks for up to five children who have experienced childhood instability resulting in trauma and associated complex behaviours. The home also offers children care on an emergency basis until an alternative placement is found.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The children‟s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

Date of last inspection: 16 November 2018

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This children‟s home was judged on 16 November 2018 as declined in effectiveness. As a result, compliance notices and a restriction of accommodation notice were issued. After monitoring inspections on 20 December 2018 and 14 February 2019, the compliance notices were met and the restriction of accommodation notice was lifted. Inspection report children‟s home: SC028905 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/11/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 04/07/2018 Full Good 26/04/2017 Full Good 18/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC028905 3

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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

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)) 08/07/2019

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children–

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children‟s home.

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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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home‟s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14(1)(a), (2)(a)) 08/07/2019

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Recommendations

 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)  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. („Guide to the children‟s homes Inspection report children‟s home: SC028905 4 regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.3) In particular, ensure that key-work sessions are of consistent quality and in line with children‟s needs. Inspection report children‟s home: SC028905 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The two young people living in the home at the time of the last inspection moved on in January 2019. Their frequent episodes of going missing and involvement in criminality placed them at a high level of risk. Shortfalls in staff practice meant that these risks were not managed or addressed. As a result, the interim inspection in November 2018 raised a number of requirements. Since that time, there have been a number of improvements in staff practice and internal procedures. These have resulted in improved experiences and positive outcomes for children placed at the home since January.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to build secure and trusting relationships. They enable children to settle and make sense of their new surroundings. Staff invest in children and know them well. The registered manager now ensures that children‟s internal plans are well informed and focused. This helps children to make good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to make decisions about their day-to-day care. Children attend a weekly meeting to make decisions about activities and menus. They also complete consultations on the quality of their care upon leaving the home. When appropriate, staff involve children in making more complex decisions. For example, children‟s views are central in planning their next placement and arranging time with those who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager has improved children‟s education arrangements. As a result, children maintain and improve their school attendance and progress. Some children refused to attend school or did not have a provision in place upon arrival at the home. In the interim, the in-house tutor and staff provided these children with educational activities. For example, the child currently living in the home enjoys educational board games, gardening and learning how to budget. The registered manager escalates her concerns when children do not have an education provision. Staff are ambitious for children, and support them in their education. Recently, a staff member offered a highly anxious child emotional and academic support to enable her to complete an exam.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children‟s physical and emotional health. They make sure that they have access to specialist advice and support when required. Recently, the registered manager initiated the involvement of a range of health experts to ensure that a child received a specialist assessment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend safe and positive time with those who are important to them. Families and carers are welcomed to the home to spend valuable time with their children. This helps children to rebuild fractured family relationships and develop improved support networks for their future. Inspection report children‟s home: SC028905 6

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

The registered manager and staff have embedded new procedures to keep children safe. For example, staff now consistently follow children when they abscond, and continue to engage with them until they are returned home safely. In addition, staff offer children targeted key-work sessions which focus on the risks of going missing. This provides children with the knowledge required to keep themselves safe.

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

Staff use rewards and sanctions to encourage children to make positive choices, to keep them safe. Children respond well to this practice and enjoy receiving rewards for positive behaviour.

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

Staff work alongside children to develop strategies to de-escalate challenging situations. They use their knowledge of children and a range of skills, such as active listening and humour, to defuse challenging situations. As a result, children can self-regulate when they are distressed and unsettled. This positive and child-centred ethos means that incidents of restraint rarely occur.

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

Staff receive specialised safeguarding training. This helps to equip them with specialised knowledge and skills to manage risk. For example, recent training focused both on the risks posed by gangs and on ensuring that risk assessments are clear and updated. The registered manager and staff have reflected significantly on the safeguarding shortfalls identified at previous inspections.

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

The registered manager is developing a stronger working relationship with local police. She has plans to offer them a more proactive and structured role in the home. In addition, staff recently reviewed the joint police protocol for missing children. As a result, staff are clear about their role in keeping children safe. This is demonstrated by their robust actions when children go missing from the home.

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

Children feel able to seek support from trusted members of staff. This helps them to feel secure. In addition, staff support children to learn from their risk-taking and challenging behaviours. Recently, staff supported a child to reflect on the impact of using racist language. Key-work sessions help children to learn from other risk-taking behaviours, such as absconding and using substances.

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

The registered manager has developed risk assessments in response to previous shortfalls. However, the quality of impact and general risk assessments remains variable. For example, although some are detailed and of good quality, others are missing key information, and some impact assessments do not show a clear rationale why children are being admitted to the home. This lack of informed decision-making has the potential to unsettle children and increase their level of risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some aspects of care planning have improved. For example, the registered manager has more autonomy when making decisions to admit children. As a result, recent admissions Inspection report children‟s home: SC028905 7 to the home are well planned and reviewed. This allows children to settle, make progress and move on in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager recently admitted on an emergency basis a child with complex needs. She acknowledges that staff cannot meet his needs in the long term, and is working with the local authority to identify an alternative specialist provision. The registered manager has taken steps to mitigate the risks associated with this placement. For example, the child will be the only placement in the home during his stay. There is a high level of staff supervision and support in place. This has helped the child to settle and establish positive relationships with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The experienced and skilled staff offer children consistent and nurturing care. They work well together, sharing communication about children‟s day-to-day progress. Staff are innovative and offer children spontaneous and individualised care. For example, children enjoy impromptu football games, baking, board games and gardening.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are reflective and keen to develop their practice. They benefit from a healthy learning environment and feel able to challenge shortfalls in children‟s care. Staff are passionate about children and keen to offer them good-quality care. They are central to ongoing improvements in practice. A member of staff told the inspector: „We [staff] have changed a lot of things for the better. The home seems much more positive. We have hit the “reset” button and are back to doing what we do best.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is keen to develop staff, and empowers them to take on additional responsibility and roles. Staff receive regular supervision and appraisal. However, the quality of some supervision sessions is poor, with little focus on staff development and welfare. As a result, staff receive inconsistent support from managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has effective monitoring systems in place. She compiles monthly reports to track children‟s progress and identify strengths and areas to develop. The registered manager has introduced a number of new processes to address previous shortfalls in staff practice. For example, children‟s internal plans are better informed and have clear plans of action. Children‟s placements are monitored and reviewed in a timely manner to avoid drift. Some shortfalls in staff practice remain. For example, the quality of some key-work sessions is variable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Family members feel involved in their children‟s care. The registered manager promotes an inclusive environment and provides family members with regular updates on children‟s progress. She encourages family members to visit the home and spend valuable time with their children. This joined-up care helps children to settle and make progress. A child‟s grandparent told the inspector: „Staff were always in touch with us. We visited the home a lot. They [staff] made a massive difference to her [child]. She was calmer; her whole outlook on life changed. Staff cared about her‟. Inspection report children‟s home: SC028905 8

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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 difference 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: SC028905 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Staffordshire County Council, Wedgwood Buildings, Tipping Street, Stafford, Staffordshire ST16 2DH

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Inspector

Gareth Leckey, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC028905 10 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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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