Children's home run by Ivory Cottage Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2525831 1 Registered provider: Ivory Cottage 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 was registered with Ofsted on 6 June 2019. It is registered to provide residential care for up to four children and young people, aged between eight and 17 years old. The home is owned by a private provider and offers medium- and long-term placements to young people who have complex emotional and/or behavioural needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has submitted his application for registration to Ofsted.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2525831 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/07/2019 Monitoring visit Not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2525831 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)) 21/02/2020

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 21/02/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2525831 4 The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 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.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

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”)— 21/02/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2525831 5 has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

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 (1)(a)(b)(2)(3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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improvement to be good

Not all children who have lived in this home have had positive experiences or made enough progress. Leaders have asked placing authorities to move children to other homes when their behaviour has placed themselves or others at risk. Children living in this home have felt sad when other children have left. Staff working in this home have also left. Although the care provided by staff in this home keeps children safe, children have felt unsettled at times when they have been unable to say goodbye to the children or staff who have left. This does not help children to feel secure.

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improvement to be good

The inspector observed improving outcomes for the children currently living in the home. Children’s social workers all gave examples of progress that the children have made during their time at the home. One social worker talked about staff ‘going above and beyond’ to ensure that a child was safe. Social workers stated that the progress made was due to the commitment of staff and the relationships between them and children. This shows that children can now build trust when there are consistent staff caring for them.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to attend school and celebrate their success. Staff help all children living in this home to buy things to personalise their bedrooms. This helps children to invest in the home. Inspection report children’s home: 2525831 6 Children enjoy spending time talking and playing board games with staff. Children also experience a range of opportunities, from trampolining and to visits to an indoor water park and a winter theme park’. Where children have friends, staff advocate for them spending time together. This helps children to maintain existing relationships as well as building new relationships.

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improvement to be good

Staff use physical interventions to keep children who are a risk to themselves or others safe. The manager has successfully reduced physical interventions by identifying patterns and actions to reduce escalation of behaviour. The manager debriefs staff afterwards. Staff talk to the children about the incident as a way of repairing relationships. However, the manager does not always talk to children about the use of physical intervention. This means that they are not able to discuss the incident with someone independent.

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improvement to be good

Staff have turned the Wi-Fi off on a limited number of occasions, to manage behaviour and keep children safe. Staff do not record the details of this or the manager’s debrief with children afterwards. This measure has an impact on all children, regardless of their involvement. The manager does not oversee the records nor review the effectiveness of the measure.

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improvement to be good

The manager reviews and assesses risks. This helps to keep children safe. Staff manage behaviour by promoting and recognising when children have achieved. This is measured using individualised reward charts. Staff use consequences that are restorative in approach. This helps children to learn from their behaviour and repair relationships with the other children and adults.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from the home, staff attempt to maintain contact and search the area to locate them. Police complete safe and well checks and children talk to the adults about their reasons for staying away from the home. However, children so far have not spoken independently to adults other than the adults who care for them. The manager has now linked with the missing team, which will be visiting the children and adults shortly. Children will then be able to speak to someone independent of the home, which will improve the adults’ understanding about the risks that children place themselves in as well as strategies that they can use to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

When children have made allegations, leaders have reported these to children’s social workers and the designated officer. The manager puts plans into place to keep children safe during investigations.

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improvement to be good

Staff are aware of how to protect children to keep them safe. The inspector observed an external consultant who was brought in by leaders to deliver online safety training. The children enjoyed the training and were able to talk about what they had learned. Inspection report children’s home: 2525831 7

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

There has been a high turnover of staff since this home opened. There are currently only two staff members who have worked in this home since it opened. The inspector spoke with staff on duty who had between four and one month’s experience of working within the home. Children have therefore developed relationships with their key-workers which have ended when staff have left. This interrupts the progress of work undertaken with children, as children and carers have to form new relationships with each other. Staff need time to understand children’s histories, behaviour management plans and risk assessments. Children have therefore experienced both a lack of continuity and consistency from the adults who care for them.

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

Staff changes have also been seen within the manager role at this home. This means that staff have not had consistent supervision, training and direction to develop their skill base and confidence working together as a team.

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

The manager has been in post for three months and has submitted his application for registration to Ofsted. He has previously demonstrated his ability to perform this role. The manager has updated the statement of purpose, which accurately describes the ethos of the home.

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

Leaders are actively recruiting and developing more robust recruitment processes. The director has created new posts dedicated to improving education outcomes and independent life skills such as cooking. The staff are in post and have relevant experience and qualifications but need time to transfer their existing skill base to this role and learn the additional skills required to meet the needs of children in placement. Staff receive supervision and are positive about their work with the children. Leaders have arranged external training in areas such as recording, allegations and the ‘Prevent’ duty. This will improve the knowledge and skills of this developing team.

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

The manager challenges social workers to ensure that referral information details the emotional and behavioural needs of children. This means that the manager can assess whether the staff can meet the child’s needs. The inspector observed an improvement in this process, which has resulted in better matching and placement stability.

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

The manager has implemented a monitoring and review system which shows patterns, trends, and progress of children. This provides a good evidence base from which the manager can improve outcomes for children further.

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

Children express themselves directly to staff and through children’s meetings. The manager acknowledges complaints and works with children and adults to find a resolution.

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

The manager demonstrated a good understanding of his role in protecting children from intolerance and increasing their exposure to diversity. He ensures that children living in this home have their cultural needs met. Inspection report children’s home: 2525831 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 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: 2525831 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Enterprise House, Philip Dix House, Corporation Street, Tamworth, Staffordshire B79 7DN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Caroline Wigmore

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Inspector

Joanna Warburton, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2525831 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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