Children's home run by YCPG Services Ltd in Walsall

Assurance visit report: SC063813 1 SC063813

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned. It provides accommodation for up to six young people who have experienced childhood instability leading to trauma and associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager was registered with Ofsted in November 2010.

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection judgement: Requires improvement to be good

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Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:

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Information about this visit

 children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership.

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Information about this visit

This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Findings from the visit

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit. Assurance visit report: SC063813 2

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The care of children

There are currently three children living in the home.

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The care of children

Children enjoy positive relationships with staff. One child informed the inspector the best thing about living in the home was ‘the staff, they really care about me’. Staff advocate and represent children’s views and wishes effectively. As a result, children feel supported and are settled in the home.

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The care of children

Staff promote the importance of education for children. Two of the children have full-time school placements. Staff have worked hard to secure a place in education for the third child and he is awaiting confirmation of a start date. Staff work well with education support networks. This helps to remove barriers to learning for children.

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The care of children

Staff support children to understand the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications for them. Staff supported young people to keep in touch with family and friends when face-to-face visits could not take place due to restrictions.

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The care of children

Children benefit from having access to a self-contained flat within the home which they can use to help prepare them for leaving the home. This allows children to build their confidence and independence skills with staff support. One child has successfully moved into independent living, having spent three years living at the home.

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The care of children

Staff work effectively with health professionals to support the needs of children. This means children are supported to take prescribed medication relating to their medical needs. However, there are concerns in the way medication for children is stored and recorded. During an incident, one child was able to access medication which had not been locked away securely. This shortfall had an impact on the safety of the child.

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The care of children

Since the last inspection, staff have made improvements to the décor of the home to make it a homely environment for children. There are still some areas of the property that would benefit from further maintenance and redecoration.

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The safety of children

The home’s risk assessments and behaviour management plans for children are clear and easy for staff to follow. They assess children’s behaviour effectively and use summary sheets to capture the key risks. As a result, staff have up-to-date information and can keep children safe.

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The safety of children

Children are encouraged to complete their own safety plans. One child has completed a safety plan which provides guidance to staff on how to manage his behaviour safely. Overall, this allows the child to feel secure and his relationships with staff are positive. However, on one occasion, staff have not followed the safety plan, and this led to a significant incident. This incident has had an impact on the child’s progress. Assurance visit report: SC063813 3 The behaviour management and response to significant incidents for children is mixed. Some incidents have been managed effectively, evaluated by the manager and follow-up key work sessions completed with children. This reflection allows children to learn from their experiences. Other incidents have been poorly managed and have resulted in police being called to the home. A shortfall in the management oversight and follow-up work meant one child harmed another on two separate

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The safety of children

occasions. In addition, managers have not always notified Ofsted when significant incidents have taken place. This prevents the regulator having oversight of the home.

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The safety of children

While incidents involving the use of physical restraint with children are low, there have been shortfalls in the recording of these. During one incident, the record did not indicate whether the child had sustained any injuries or what follow-up action had taken place. Furthermore, the record had not been signed to confirm accuracy.

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The safety of children

Staff are well prepared to respond appropriately to children who may go missing from the home. As a result, missing from home incidents are very low. On an occasion where one child did go missing, staff took immediate action to return the child safely. Staff ensured the child was spoken to by an independent person and completed key-work sessions. These actions prevented further incidents and maintained the child’s safety.

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Leaders and managers

There is a registered manager in the home who is suitably qualified and experienced. At the time of the assurance visit, she was absent from the home. The deputy manager and education support manager are currently providing the leadership and management in the home with support from senior managers.

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Leaders and managers

Staff receive regular supervision from the deputy manager. He has put systems in place for staff to learn and develop their practice with children. This ensures staff feel supported and are listened to.

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Leaders and managers

Monitoring systems in the home have improved since the last inspection. External monitoring from the independent visitor has had a positive impact on the management team. The manager responds well to the advice received and has made improvements to the recording of risk assessments and placement plans.

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Leaders and managers

Staff receive a wide range of training which is specific and relevant to the needs of the children in the home. This means that children are cared for by staff who understand their needs and have the skills to support them.

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Leaders and managers

The deputy manager has completed a review of the quality of care provided by the home and submitted this to Ofsted. This gives some insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the home. However, he has failed to consider or include the views of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff in his report. Assurance visit report: SC063813 4 The home works well with other professionals and develops good relationships with them. One professional commented that the manager ‘is an excellent advocate for children’, and in relation to one child, ‘She really pushed for the school to take him and give him an opportunity.’ This approach ensures that children make progress in their lives.

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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 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—

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

(Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(iv)(v)) 17/11/2020

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) 17/11/2020 Assurance visit report: SC063813 5 The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child.

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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

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")—

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (3)(a)(viii)(b)(ii)) 17/11/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45 (2)(5)) 01/12/2020 Assurance visit report: SC063813 6

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 15, paragraph 3.9) This is in relation to maintaining a good quality of decoration and maintenance across the home.

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Recommendations

 Staff should be 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)

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: DMR Services, 102 Queslett Road, Streetley, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham B74 2EZ

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Inspector

Dean Wilton, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC063813 7 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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