Children's Home run by Aston Children’s Care Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC453726 1 SC453726

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Aston Children’s Care Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people, aged between eight and 18, who have complex behaviours due to childhood trauma. The home is privately owned.

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Information about this children’s home

The home does not have a registered manager. A service manager is in day-to-day charge of the home.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit took place following a complaint to Ofsted that senior managers were not ensuring that appropriate assessment and planning were taking place prior to young people moving into the home.

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This monitoring visit

The inspector found that managers complete compatibility risk assessments before young people move into the home. There have only been two admissions to the home since the last full inspection in May 2019. Young people are appropriately matched.

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This monitoring visit

The home has been without a registered manager since April 2019. Five managers have taken up post since this time, but all have left or been dismissed prior to registration with Ofsted. The provider’s failure to recruit and retain suitable managers means that the home has had a protracted period without stable leadership.

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This monitoring visit

The service manager is identified as the person in day-to-day charge. However, the hours they work are not recorded on the home’s roster. This makes it difficult for staff to tell young people when the service manager will be in the home and available for them to speak to. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC453726 2 The statement of purpose does not include all required information, such as the age range of young people who can be admitted to the home. Further, changes to the use of a bedroom to a games room and the replacement of soft tarmac with a grassed area are not included in the statement of purpose. This means that the information shared with local authorities, young people and families is inaccurate and incomplete.

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This monitoring visit

The independent visitor has not always completed visits and reports in required timescales. To address this, the provider has recruited a new independent visitor. Despite this, in the month of June, no visit to the home was completed. The lack of consistent external scrutiny limits the opportunity to review and improve the quality of care provided to young people.

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This monitoring visit

In response to this inspection, four requirements have been raised. The 12 requirements and two recommendations raised at the last full inspection were not reviewed at this visit.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 15/05/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/01/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/06/2018 Full Good 12/09/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC453726 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that an explanation is given to each child as soon as reasonably practicable after the child’s arrival about— how to make a complaint or representations in relation to the home or the care the child receives and how any such complaint or representations will be dealt with. (Regulation 7(1)(c)(2)(d)(ii)) 28/06/2019

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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— 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; and understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(v)) 28/06/2019

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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 their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and 28/06/2019 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC453726 4 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(b)(2)(c)(h))

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(e)) 30/09/2020

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that arrangements are in place to— plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(2)(b)(iii)) 28/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16(3)(a)(b)) 30/09/2020

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of— the name of the person so appointed; and the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27(2)(a)(b)) 28/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

A person may only manage a children’s home if— full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the person in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 28(1)(c)) 28/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only— employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or 28/06/2019 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC453726 5 if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that— full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32(2)(a)(b)(3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep under review and, as necessary, revise the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 34(6))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to ensuring that internal child protection policies take account of statutory guidance. 28/06/2019

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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— details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and 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’) has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(ii)(iv)(v)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)) 28/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 35(2)) 28/06/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which— include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36(1)(a)) 28/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. 28/06/2019 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC453726 6 (Regulation 37(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to admission and discharge information and staff rotas.

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home. The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; and ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37(1)(2)(a)(b)) 30/09/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month. The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to HMCI. (Regulation 44(1)(7)(a)) 30/09/2020

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Recommendations

 The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. Reviews should be underpinned by the quality standards as described in regulations 5 to 14. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.2)  The registered person is responsible for deciding what each review should focus on, based on the specific circumstances of the home at that particular time. The registered persons should use their professional judgement to decide which factors to focus on. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next 6 months of delivery within the

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Recommendations

home and how those actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC453726 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aston Children’s Home Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 181 Penn Road, Wolverhampton WV3 0EQ

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Inspector

Michelle Spruce, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC453726 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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