Children's Home run by Clouds Children’s Care Ltd in Derbyshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC489610 1 SC489610 Registered provider: Clouds Children’s Care Ltd

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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 privately owned. It provides care and accommodation for up to three children or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 27 to 28 November 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: 22 January 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC489610 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/01/2019 Full Good 08/11/2017 Full Outstanding 21/02/2017 Full Outstanding 16/06/2016 Interim Not judged Inspection report children’s home: SC489610 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 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 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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(f)) 31/01/2020

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (b)(c)) 31/01/2020

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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— 31/01/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC489610 4 have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a) (iii)(v)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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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 staff help each child to develop the child’s interests and hobbies; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1)(2)(a)(i)(b)) 31/01/2020

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Recommendations

 Any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity to express their feelings about the experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable. Children should be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.60)

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improvement to be good

Children living in this home have had mixed experiences and outcomes. One child has moved on from the home in an unplanned way, following a decision by the provider that they could not meet the child’s needs. Another child initially made good progress but stopped attending education. The child also stopped responding to staff support and interventions. A decision was made for the child to move on from the home in a planned way. Inspection report children’s home: SC489610 5 There has not been enough reflection on the recent experiences of children in order to learn lessons and inform future practice.

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improvement to be good

A current resident has not been in full-time education since the start of this term. Although managers have liaised with the relevant virtual schools headteacher and social worker, there is no evidence of the issue being escalated to senior professionals. This means that this child is receiving home tutoring on a part-time basis and does not have the opportunity to socialise with peers.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not robustly and creatively promoting participation in informal educational and social activities. This means that children are not given enough opportunities to develop their confidence and self-esteem. There is information in one child’s education, health and care plan about strengths and preferences that would help to inform education and activity choices. This has not been fully considered in the child’s placement plan.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are generally being met. A parent reports that one child’s diet has definitely improved while living in the home. However, there has been significant delay in assessing and meeting a child’s therapeutic needs. This is having a negative impact on the child’s behaviours and progress. Although the local authority has the responsibility to identify and commission an appropriate resource, the manager should be proactively advocating for the child and escalating concerns, as a good parent would, to limit delay.

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improvement to be good

A strength of this home is excellent partnership working with families to support contact arrangements. As a result, positive relationships are developed and sustained. A parent reported: ‘We work as a team. I am confident staff share information with me and they are reliable when we make arrangements.’

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improvement to be good

There have been a low number of incidents such as children going missing from the home. There are also relatively few physical restraints, given the complexities of children’s needs and behaviours. This indicates that staff are able to improve children’s safety.

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improvement to be good

However, when physical restraints have been used, records are not consistently capturing a debrief with the children involved in which they are given an opportunity to raise concerns or reflect on the incident. One child’s risk and behaviour management plan had not been updated following a small number of signficant incidents leading to the use of physical interventions.

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improvement to be good

One child spends a lot of time using digital technology. There are effective systems in place to monitor this and support the child to use the internet safely. These include an explicit contract with the child regarding use of their mobile phone. The child has also Inspection report children’s home: SC489610 6 completed an online e-safety training course. Staff, however, are not proactive enough in encouraging a wider variety of activities for this child.

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improvement to be good

To meet the needs of children placed in the home, staff require more robust training in how to respond to self-harming behaviours, including the use of ligatures.

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improvement to be good

Allegation management procedures are not wholly effective because there has been a lack of clarity about the appropriate response to some complaints made by children, particularly those complaints that could also be treated as allegations against staff.

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

Although there is a stable, experienced management team, managers do not have an accurate, realistic understanding of the progress and outcomes for children living in this home. The registered manager has not undertaken a review of the quality of care in the home in a timely way. The independent visitor has not been sufficiently robust or specific in their recommendations when they have identified shortfalls in the practice of staff and managers.

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

As a result of shortfalls in the monitoring of the quality of care, managers are not developing a culture of high expectations and aspirations for children living in the home, and are not driving progress of care plans.

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

Managers have monitored physical restraint records but have not identified shortfalls in recording that would support learning and improve practice.

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

One child has experienced a significant delay in accessing a full-time education placement, and a delay in an assessment of his therapeutic needs. This has had an impact on his behaviours and progress. Managers have not sufficiently escalated concerns about these delays.

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

Staff benefit from monthly team meetings. These meetings include a discussion about children’s needs and consultation with a therapist to inform staff skills and knowledge. However, the records do not consistently or effectively capture this information. There is a risk that valuable advice and information is lost, and is not used in learning following incidents.

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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: SC489610 7 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: SC489610 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Clouds Children’s Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 73 Francis Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B16 8SP

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Inspector(s)

Cathey Moriarty, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC489610 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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