Children's Home run by N H Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report children’s home: 1276111 1 Registered provider: Nh Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for five children and young people who have learning disabilities. It is privately owned. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2018. He is qualified to level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 29 January 2019

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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: 1276111 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1276111 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children continue to receive good-quality care and support. They receive care from a staff team that knows the children’s needs well, and that develops positive, warm and nurturing relationships with them. Parents are unanimous in saying that their children receive good care and support. Parents identify the positive outcomes for their children as a result of living here. A parent said, ‘He is learning independent skills, he is dressing, doing chores around the house and making his bed.’ This was echoed by a social worker who said, ‘The children are reaching lots of development milestones.’ Regardless of the children’s communication needs, staff ensure that children’s views are sought and that they are involved in the planning of their day. For example, staff use signs and symbols in a variety of documents such as meeting with children and menu planning. A parent said that their child’s communication skills have

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

significantly improved. This was echoed by a teacher. Since the previous inspection, a child has left the home and moved to adult care and three children have moved in. The registered manager ensured that the children experienced a very supportive and sensitive move. However, when completing the assessment of children’s compatibility to live together before they move in, the registered manager has not always recorded how he came to this decision. Staff ensure that children enjoy a wide range of leisure and social activities. At the time of this inspection, the inspector went to the local park with two children. The children thoroughly enjoyed their visit and demonstrated this with lots of laughter and smiles. Children are healthy. Staff ensure that if there are any concerns in relation to children’s health then medical support and advice is gained. Parents say that they are regularly kept informed of their children’s health needs and are advised if there

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

are any concerns. From their starting points, children are making good progress at school. Staff regularly attend children’s reviews, meetings and parents’ evenings. Teachers speak highly of the support that they receive from the staff in relation to advice on how to support children to manage their emotions and their specific health needs. This again demonstrates good working together for improved outcomes for children.

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

The arrangements for safeguarding the children are good. The registered manager responds effectively to safeguarding concerns and works in partnership with safeguarding agencies. Parents and social workers say that they consider that the children are safe. Staff receive regular safeguarding training and demonstrate a good awareness of safeguarding processes. The registered manager ensures that there is an effective recruitment and selection process that safeguards children. Inspection report children’s home: 1276111 4 Children’s behaviour is managed well, and boundaries and expectations are maintained. Since the previous inspection, restraint and sanctions have not been used. The registered manager closely scrutinises incidents and staff reflect on their practice to ascertain if they could have managed the situation differently. This demonstrates good reflective practice. Children live in a safe environment. Regular checks are undertaken on the home’s

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

utility services. The recently reviewed locality assessment is comprehensive and identifies the known risks and social and leisure opportunities.

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good

The home is well managed by an experienced and qualified registered manager. He is committed to ensuring that children make good progress and have positive outcomes. Staff have high aspirations for the children and place the children’s needs at the centre of their practice. Social workers, parents and teachers speak exceptionally well of the effective communication between them and the staff. They said that they receive regular updates in relation to the children’s needs and achievements and if there are any concerns these are shared and acted on. This demonstrates good partnership working. However, this inspection has identified some shortfalls in the monitoring and evaluation of some records. The registered manager has not fully scrutinised and evaluated all documents in relation to the completion of body maps. To date, this has not had a negative impact on the safety and well-being of children. This was

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good

discussed in detail with the registered manager and responsible individual who said that the use of and the format of recording will be reviewed without delay. Staff speak highly of the effective support that they receive from leaders and managers. The registered manager ensures that staff receive regular mandatory training and specialised training to meet the needs of the children. Since the previous inspection, some staff have received specific training in epilepsy and the use of alternative and augmentative communication. However, some staff who have recently been appointed have not received the specialised training and dates have not been set for these training events to take place. Staff are provided with comprehensive placement plans, risk assessments and children’s personal targets that give them clear guidance about how to meet the needs of the children. However, some documents are not always dated, and some

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good

contain institutional-type language. Regular visits by the independent visitor continue to take place. The registered manager responds effectively to recommendations made in the independent visitor’s report. Inspection report children’s home: 1276111 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that promotes children’s welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(h)) In particular, ensure that the registered manager has good effective oversight and scrutiny of children’s body maps. 31/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) In particular, that all staff receive specific training to meet the needs of the children. 07/06/2020

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  Ensure that all staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report children’s home: 1276111 6

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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: 1276111 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Shetland Close, Birmingham, Warwickshire B16 0RF

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Inspector

David Kidner, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1276111 8 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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