Children's Home run by Platinum Services for Children (Residential Care) Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC378187 1 SC378187 Registered provider: Platinum Services for Children (Residential Care) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is one of four homes owned by an independent provider. The home cares for up to two children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home has a registered manager who holds a level 5 diploma in leadership, health and social care. He manages both this home and another home within the organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 26 to 27 November 2019

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC378187 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/10/2018 Full Good 07/12/2017 Full Good 22/08/2017 Full Inadequate 26/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC378187 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;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i)(ii)) 10/01/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(e)) 10/01/2020

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and 10/01/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC378187 4 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) In particular, to ensure the completion of records.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make significant progress living in this home. Staff provide individualised care that helps to keep them safe from previous risks, including gang membership and antisocial behaviour. A parent, a social worker and a headteacher all described one young person as calmer since living in this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people to improve their relationships with family and friends. Young people also engage in activities such as horse riding or employment, which improve their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage young people to attend school, college and employment. When young people need to travel a long way to school or work, staff drive them to ensure positive starts and ends of the day for young people. As a result, young people feel less anxious and their engagement with school and work improves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help young people to develop the skills needed be able to look after themselves. The registered manager proudly told the inspector about one young person’s ability to meal plan, shop and cook. Young people also attend events such as pony club camps. These opportunities help young people to learn valuable practical and social skills for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When one young person complained about another young person’s behaviour, the registered manager reassured her and acted to make her feel safe. Staff helped to make the other young person aware of how his voice, which was loud when he was angry, made the young person feel. This helped young people to know that when they complain, staff listen and respond.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals and parents state that they receive good levels of communication from staff. Staff work together with families and schools or employers to reduce risk and to keep young people safe. This helps to achieve the best opportunities for positive experiences and success. Professionals describe young people as very happy living in this home. Inspection report children’s home: SC378187 5 The home is clean and tidy. It has recently had some new carpets and staff are redecorating in some areas. Young people personalise their bedrooms with artwork, photos of family and for one young person horse riding rosettes. This reinforces her achievements. There is damage to the inside of the front door caused during an incident in the home which is taking a long time to repair. This looks unhomely and serves as a reminder to the young people of the incident.

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

Staff help to protect young people and keep them safe. Young people and staff participate in regular fire drills. The registered manager ensures that he recruits staff safely and those who have the relevant skills and experience to work with young people.

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

When staff became aware that a young person was experiencing bullying, they worked in partnership with agencies and parents to investigate. This resulted in agreed joint action to reduce further distress and reoccurrence. The registered manager raised awareness of the increased risk of self-harm to the young person because of the emotional impact of the bullying behaviour. Staff support young people through innovative key-worker sessions, which help the young person to improve their coping strategies.

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

Staff respond sensitively when young people are low in mood. Young people in this home engage in infrequent acts of self-harm. However, staff acknowledge the risks to young people and access local and specialist services. This helps young people to receive assessments and support to remain safe.

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

Staff respond promptly when a young person goes missing. They attempt to make contact with them, report them as missing to the police and complete local area searches. When staff are aware of where a young person is, they complete safe and well checks and encourage the young person to return home. The registered manager advocated on behalf of one young person to ensure that time spent with family and friends was recognised as a positive experience. This reduced the risks associated with the young person going missing.

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

Staff manage behaviour through positive reinforcement, using praise and rewards which motivate young people. Staff manage inappropriate behaviour through short-term consequences. This is often the removal of a phone or device. Staff record all behaviours and consequences but do not always remember to record the length of the consequence. The registered manager, when overseeing records, is therefore unable to always monitor the appropriateness and effectiveness of the consequence. Staff rarely use physical intervention to keep young people safe while managing their behaviours. This shows that young people trust and respond to staff when regulating their behaviour and emotions.

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

Unfortunately, young people have, on isolated occasions, been assaulted when out in the community. Staff have responded well to help young people to feel safe and receive Inspection report children’s home: SC378187 6 medical attention. This has included staff responding to information received from the police. The registered manager usually notifies Ofsted of serious incidents and ensures that he provides regular updates. On one occasion, the registered manager did not notify Ofsted of an assault because the young person did not want to make a complaint to the police. The regulator was therefore unable to monitor the effectiveness of the care provided to keep a young person safe who was at risk of gang involvement.

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

When a young person makes an allegation of abuse against a staff member, the provider responds appropriately to complete an independent investigation. Staff are aware of safeguarding procedures and report allegations to the required agencies. The investigation of one allegation impacted on the management of this home. At this time, the provider did not update Ofsted that was therefore unaware of management arrangements until the investigation concluded. This prevents the regulator from having up-to-date information about the management arrangements of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This is the registered manager’s first post and he demonstrates enthusiasm and motivation to improve the home and achieve best outcomes for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is working with a commissioned mental health charity delivering training to leaders so that they can monitor the mental well-being of staff. Staff have completed baseline questionnaires and are excited at the prospect of targeted support and opportunities to practise techniques such as mindfulness. This will improve the awareness of mental well-being in the workplace and support staff who are managing complex and stressful situations with young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is also establishing a mentoring scheme, which will structure the shadowing learning opportunities that less experienced staff find beneficial. Staff state that they feel supported in their roles. The mentoring scheme will develop further the team working that staff spoke highly of to the inspector.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular and effective supervision, which allows for professional and personal reflection. Once staff have completed their probation, the registered manager creates a personal development plan that he reviews as part of the appraisal process. Staff are eager to learn and progress. Staff are completing their level 3 diplomas in a timely way and recognise the personal development and professional commitment that the qualification brings. Staff also access independent learning to meet their personal development interests, which is shared with colleagues. This leads to improved staff practice that benefits the young people living in this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has enough staff to meet the needs of the service. He does not currently use agency staff as he is able to use staff from other homes within the organisation to cover unplanned staff changes. This provides consistency of care for the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager addresses areas of shortfall identified through independent Inspection report children’s home: SC378187 7 reporting. This means that the registered manager develops the service to improve the experience of young people living in the home. Generally, he monitors and reviews the quality of care provided. However, shortfalls were identified in recording, for example staff had recorded that they had reported an assault in the community to the police. However, a written record of the discussion was not available. This prevents a clear and coherent record of events that informs young people’s care.

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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: SC378187 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Platinum Services for Children (Residential Care) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Platinum Services for Children (Residential Care) Limited, 2 Sheriffs Orchard, Coventry, Warwickshire CV1 3PP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Leonard Pattinson

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Inspector

Joanna Warburton: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC378187 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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