Children's home run by Skyline Child Care Ltd

Inspection report children‟s home: 1265096 1 Registered provider: Skyline Child Care 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

The home is operated by a private company. It is the only home that this company currently operates. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since 22 September 2019. She is currently completing a level 5 diploma in leadership and management of residential childcare.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 30 September to 1 October 2019

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

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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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 25 February 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: 1265096 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children‟s home: 1265096 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 health and well-being standard is that the health and well- being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)) 01/12/2019

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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.

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe; and

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(ii)(v)) 01/11/2019

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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 children’s home that 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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; - ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; - 01/12/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: 1265096 4 demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(d)(e)(g)(ii)) The registered person must ensure that the privacy of children is appropriately protected. (Regulation 21 (a)) 01/11/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s 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)(3)(d)) 01/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction and that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)(4)(b)) 01/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. (Regulation 35 (1)) 01/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes the name of the child; details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”) has

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Requirement Due date

spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)) 01/12/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: 1265096 5 The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month. The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded; and the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions.

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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. 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)(5)) 01/11/2019

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improvement to be good

Children do not receive consistent care from a stable staff team. Managers have failed to employ enough staff to ensure that the home runs smoothly. Managers have become heavily reliant on using agency staff to address staff shortages. This means that children are not always clear who is caring for them.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from having a warm and stimulating environment. However, staff have failed to ensure that children’s dignity is respected. For example, when children refuse to have bedroom curtains fitted, managers have not considered a suitable alternative to ensure that a child’s privacy and dignity is protected.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to maintain good school attendance. This can include transporting children to and from school when necessary.

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improvement to be good

Managers do not always ensure that staff have access to essential information about children’s health. For example, staff still do not have a copy of one child’s health plan one month after the child moved into the home. This omission prevents staff from having essential information to help them to promote the child’s health.

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improvement to be good

Staff regularly consult each child by using a range of communication aids. This support helps children to express their views, wishes and feelings. However, staff do not apply the same level of support to enable children to raise complaints about their care. This compromises children’s abilities to raise concerns. Inspection report children‟s home: 1265096 6

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improvement to be good

The registered manager has made improvements to the risk management strategies that are used in the home. This has reduced the number of separate plans that staff are required to use to access information. However, the registered manager has not ensured that risk assessments always accurately reflect the level of risk that children face. This leaves staff without all the necessary information that they require to enable them to always keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently demonstrate good practice in their recording of incidents that happen in the home. Incident records are sometimes incomplete and lack the necessary detail to provide a clear understanding of the event. Staff do not always ensure that records relating to physical interventions are completed in line with regulation. For example, staff who have been involved in a physical restraint do not always sign the record. These omissions mean that records cannot be relied on in the case of an injury or an allegation.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not have clear arrangements in place to support children to behave positively. Individual work with children to help them understand the impact of their behaviour lacks focus. Staff do not consistently recognise and reward children’s progress. This means that children do not understand their positive achievements.

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improvement to be good

Managers have failed to give sufficient attention to the safe recruitment of the staff who work at the home. For example, managers have failed to secure the verification of the reasons why individuals who have previously worked with children or vulnerable adults left their posts. This means that managers are not assured that all people who work at the home are safe to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have made some improvements to the arrangements for conducting staff supervisions since the last full inspection. However, these have not been implemented consistently in line with the organisation’s policy. As a result, staff do not receive regular opportunities to reflect on and develop their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff still do not have all the necessary training to support their understanding of the needs of the children who live in the home. For example, despite a child having a planned move into the home, staff have not received training to support their understanding of managing sexualised behaviour or keeping children safe online. This gap in training leaves the staff without the essential skills and knowledge to help them to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have failed to ensure that there are effective systems in place to support their monitoring of the home. For example, the report of the independent person’s visit to the home does not challenge shortfalls. In addition, the manager’s quality of care review for Inspection report children‟s home: 1265096 7 the home fails to incorporate the views of children, staff or wider professionals. These omissions prevent managers within the organisation from understanding and responding to the shortfalls in the service.

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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: 1265096 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Skyline Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 29 Old Farm Drive, Codsall, Wolverhampton WV8 1GF

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Inspector

Tracey Coglan Greig, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1265096 9 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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