Children's home run by Coventry City Council

Inspection report children’s home: 2529639 1 Registered provider: Coventry City Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to care for up to four children/young people, aged from 10 to 18, who may display a range of social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 6 August 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

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: 2529639 2

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improvement to be good

The registered manager does not always ensure that all relevant information is received prior to young people’s admission to the home. In one example, a young person was admitted to the home without an assessment that this home was appropriate to meet his needs. This contributed to a disorganised approach to the care planning for this young person.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always provide young people with a homely and well-maintained environment to live in. For example, the inspector found that one young person’s bedroom was messy and had an unpleasant smell. Staff confirmed that there were no arrangements in place to monitor the cleanliness of young people’s rooms. This does not demonstrate a caring and proactive approach to meeting young people’s needs.

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improvement to be good

One young person is accessing full-time education. However, despite encouragement and support from staff, the other two young people are not meaningfully accessing education or training. Because of this, not all young people are making measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential.

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improvement to be good

Young people can identify individual members of staff who they like. Staff spend time with the young people that helps relationship building. This contributes to young people feeling happy to live at the home.

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improvement to be good

Young people are given the opportunity to contribute to the care they receive. For example, young people are involved in regular meetings about the operation of the home. Young people routinely influence food choices and activities. Young people complete questionnaires to help staff understand what they do and don’t like about their care.

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improvement to be good

Young people benefit from being cared for by a diverse team of staff, some of whom have a similar cultural background to the young people. This diversity supports the young people to explore their own heritage while also gaining an appreciation of different cultures. This helps young people to develop their sense of personal identity.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager does not ensure that staff understand how to respond to young people’s known vulnerabilities. For example, risk management plans for young people who go missing lack details such as when staff should report them missing or where staff should look for the young people. As a result, staff’s responses to young people who go missing from the home are inconsistent. Inspection report children’s home: 2529639 3 In another example, a risk assessment did not include information about a young person’s potential association with gangs and their risk of exploitation. Because of this, there are missed opportunities to identify effective strategies to keep this young person safe. Despite this, staff are able to identify potential signs of exploitation and they understand what action they should take.

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improvement to be good

Staff use bedroom door alarms to monitor young people’s movements in the home at night time. However, the registered manager has not ensured that the use of such monitoring systems is reviewed. This means that there has been no assessment of whether it is proportionate and appropriate to use these alarms.

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improvement to be good

Staff’s lack of professional curiosity in relation to young people’s use of personal gaming equipment has contributed to young people being able to access unsuitable content. This is a further example of the poor safeguarding culture within the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff are typically good at managing young people’s behaviours. Staff are patient and considered in their approach. Staff use incentive schemes successfully to encourage positive behaviour. As a result, the use of physical interventions is low.

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improvement to be good

Despite this, when physical interventions are used, the staff’s recording is poor. This has an impact on the registered manager’s ability to review the use of such measures of control. Furthermore, the registered manager does not always ensure that staff involved in restraints are debriefed. Because of this, there are missed chances to learn from such incidents and improve the care provided to young people.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager does not always ensure that the employment history of new staff is established. This has the potential to result in staff working in the home who are not suitable to do so.

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good

The registered manager does not ensure that the home is managed in a way that is consistent with the home’s statement of purpose. For example, staff have not been trained in the use of social pedagogy, which is identified in the statement of purpose as the home’s model of practice.

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good

The team is new and developing. Agency staff are not used. Any gaps in the rotas are covered by overtime or staff within the wider residential service. New staff benefit from a good induction.

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good

Not all staff, including new starters, receive supervision in line with the organisation’s policies. This means that staff do not always receive the support and guidance required to support them in their role. Inspection report children’s home: 2529639 4 The registered manager’s monitoring systems are not effective. Because of this, the quality of documentation is inconsistent. For example, the young people’s guide does not include details of the children’s commissioner.

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good

Staff have established active relationships with education providers, police, local authorities and other specialist services. These relationships are helping to develop practice. For example, staff are working with the virtual school’s team to develop the staff’s understanding of how to support young people’s educational needs. Inspection report children’s home: 2529639 5

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible; help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(viii)(ix)) 01/04/2020

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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. 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 to the child; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(v)(b)) 01/04/2020

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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— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 01/04/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2529639 6 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)) The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 01/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(b)) 01/04/2020

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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— a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure. (Regulation 35 (a)(iv)(v)(viii)) 01/04/2020

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Recommendations

 A child’s bedroom should not generally be entered without their permission, though it may be necessary to establish routines to allow for rooms to be cleaned regularly. Usually, rooms should only be searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Immediate searching may be necessary where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)  The children’s guide should help children to understand: - what the day to day routines of the home are (‘what happens in the home’); - the Statement of Purpose of the home (the care they can expect to receive while living there); - how to make a complaint in line with the home’s complaints procedure; - how they can access advocacy support or independent advocacy if eligible; and

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Recommendations

- how to contact the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)  As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) Inspection report children’s home: 2529639 7

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: 2529639 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coventry City Council, Council House, Earl Street, Coventry CV1 5RR

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Inspector

Alison Cooper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2529639 9 to 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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