Children's Home run by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council in Dudley

Inspection report children’s home: SC038500 1 SC038500 Registered provider: Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council

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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 home is owned by a local authority. It is registered for four children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and presenting complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2007.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 18 September 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC038500 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/09/2018 Full Good 28/11/2017 Full Good 07/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/11/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC038500 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff protect and promote each child’s welfare; provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background; make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(ii)(iv)(ix)) 27/11/2019

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child; and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i)(ii)) 27/11/2019

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure 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 27/11/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC038500 4 to the child; help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and 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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h)) 27/11/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC038500 5

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Recommendations

 The behaviour management strategy should be understood and applied at all times by staff and must be kept under review and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)  For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a warm and nurturing environment. Staff offer them hugs and show signs of affection. Children say that they like living in the home and that they have trusted people who they can talk to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain links with people who are important to them. This includes staff supporting children to visit their families. This positive approach helps children to rebuild important relationships. One child’s plan has changed and is now to return to live with her family because of this excellent support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend school. Staff attend important education meetings and when the time is right they help children to choose appropriate college courses. This helps children to achieve their academic potential and to have aspirations for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each child receives individualised care and plans are in place to help staff to identify how to meet children’s needs. However, the most up-to-date documents are not always available. For example, one child’s personal education plan and looked-after child medical assessment are not on file. This leaves staff without access to essential information to support children with their ongoing needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff manage children’s moves into the home well and they encourage children who are new to the home to display family photographs and to personalise their bedrooms. This helps children to quickly settle. Preparation for children to become more independent is guided by plans that staff and children discuss together. Children are supported in key areas such as learning to budget their money, to have healthy food and to learn how to safely use public transport. This level of support means that children eventually develop essential life skills and build up their confidence in readiness for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to participate in the day-to-day running of the home. Regular Inspection report children’s home: SC038500 6 planned meetings enable children to discuss key aspects of their care. They discuss their progress and make decisions on activities, menus and the decoration of the home. This gives children a sense of ownership and responsibility for their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

However, the outside of the home looks uncared for. A wooden gazebo is in a poor state of repair and the garden has equipment that is not age-appropriate. Some internal areas of the home have an institutional feel. For instance, the children’s bathrooms have paper towel dispensers. Leaders and managers say that they are committed to making improvements to the home in consultation with children.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that risk management plans are in place for each child. However, staff do not always follow guidance. For example, when children are enjoying free time staff do not always know who they are with. They do not say what time children need to come home or ask to see children’s phones when there are known risks. This lack of vigilance leaves children vulnerable, at risk and unsure about boundaries.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from care, staff do not always follow children’s missing-from- care protocols. They do not follow children and talk to them or report them missing to the police within timescales agreed with children’s social workers. When children return home, staff do not exercise professional curiosity and talk with them about why they went missing and the risks they faced. This means that when children go missing from the home, their risks are not being managed in line with their plans and children are not being helped to become increasingly safe.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff who are new to the home are recruited using safe recruitment practices. They have not verified a reference for a member of staff who previously worked with vulnerable adults or ensured that the member of staff produced a certificate to verify his qualifications. This means that leaders and managers are not adequately assuring themselves of the suitability of staff to work with children.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to manage their behaviour. Sanctions are used sparingly, and children are praised for positive behaviour. The use of de-escalation techniques means that staff rarely need to use physical intervention. However, staff do not record details of children’s positive behaviour. The registered manager does not comment on the effectiveness of sanctions. This means that children are not being helped as much as they could be to develop socially acceptable behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they feel safe and that staff do not tolerate bullying or unkind behaviour in the home. Staff promote positive behaviour by talking to children in a way that encourages personal responsibility and understanding of the feelings of others. This means that children learn to understand the importance of tolerance and kindness in social relationships. Inspection report children’s home: SC038500 7

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection in September 2018, leaders and managers have worked hard to build a stable staff team. They have ensured that any additional staff working in the home are known to the children. Staff are knowledgeable about each child and genuinely care about them. Staff communicate with each other effectively to ensure that children receive consistent care. For example, staff handover and team meetings have a significant focus on children’s progress. This means that children experience consistent care from familiar members of staff who know how to meet their individual care needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals say that the registered manager and staff work positively with them. Good partnership working means that children get what they need to progress when they need it. This includes support with their physical and emotional health needs. As a result, children experience positive outcomes from their starting points.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have either achieved a level 3 diploma in residential childcare or are working towards the award. They receive regular supervision and an annual appraisal, and they are positive about the support that they receive from the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have developed strong links with key safeguarding agencies such as the police and the youth offending service. They use information and soft intelligence to inform their understanding of child sexual exploitation, county lines and gangs in the local area. However, this information is not included in the safe area risk assessment. This means that children’s risk assessments do not include key information to keep them safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite staff being very child-focused in their practice, and children thriving physically, emotionally and socially, this level of good progress is not captured in the home’s monitoring systems. Managers do not provide enough evidence to show how they use feedback from professionals, parents and carers and children to inform their six-monthly quality of care review. The team plan does not have specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) targets with clear methods to measure children’s progress. It does not include a plan to include children’s feedback.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that the regulator has the most up-to-date version of the statement of purpose. This means that the regulator does not have essential information such as the model of care and the experience and qualifications of the staff team.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC038500 8 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: SC038500 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Council House, Priory Road, Dudley DY1 1HF

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC038500 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 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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