Children's Home run by Shropshire Council in Shropshire

Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2534215 1

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Shropshire Council

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority-run home offers care for one young person.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home was registered with Ofsted in October 2019 and holds the relevant level 5 qualification.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit is the home’s first inspection since registration in October 2019.

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This monitoring visit

The young person living at the home has complex needs that cross between having a social and emotional difficulty and a learning disability. During the inspection, it was identified that the young person’s primary need was his learning disability. As a result, managers immediately applied for a variation to include learning disabilities in the home’s category of registration.

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This monitoring visit

The young person is physically and emotionally thriving. The relationship between the young person and the staff is excellent. This relationship has enabled the young person to develop a sense of security and belonging, especially during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. The young person told the inspector that he likes living in the home and that all the staff help him.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have been creative in using technology to enable the young person to stay in touch with his family throughout the periods of national restrictions. When it has been safe, the young person has been able to see his family. This has included his family visiting for a meal. Consequently, the young person has been able to maintain important relationships.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have encouraged the young person to personalise areas of the home to his own taste. However, some areas of the home are looking tired, for example the Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2534215 2 kitchen and bathroom. In addition, a window on the staircase which overlooks the street does not have a blind or curtains.

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This monitoring visit

The young person is not in education or training. Despite the manager advocating for the young person, the impact of restrictions related to COVID-19 have resulted in a delay in securing the right educational provision.

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This monitoring visit

Managers and staff take their duty to safeguard the young person seriously. The manager works closely with the young person’s social worker and the police. This includes attending multi-agency risk management meetings. However, managers have not ensured that one specific risk is fully assessed. This means that staff do not have all the information they need to keep the young person safe.

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This monitoring visit

Staff use their strong relationships and knowledge of the young person to manage and de-escalate the young person’s complex and challenging behaviour. As a result, incidents are rare.

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This monitoring visit

Despite the young person having a known risk of throwing objects at staff and at property, staff have not picked up that there is a pile of bricks in the garden that can be easily accessed. This lack of oversight to the environment poses a potential risk to the young person and staff.

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This monitoring visit

Most of the staff have a level 3 diploma in residential childcare and despite the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have continued to access online training, including safeguarding training. However, staff have not received sufficient training to improve their knowledge and understanding of learning disabilities. This gap in knowledge means that staff have limited understanding about how the young person’s learning disability impacts on his everyday life.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has not completed a quality of care review since the home was registered or updated the home’s locality risk assessment. These are missed opportunities to better understand how to improve the quality of care and to understand more about the risks that the community can pose to the young person.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have not ensured that the statement of purpose is up to date. This means that the regulator and local authority commissioners do not have accurate information about staffing levels or the qualifications of staff working in the home. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2534215 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 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health.

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Requirement Due date

This refers to the need to assess all high-risk behaviours affecting the young person and being vigilant about the risks in the environment. 27 December 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 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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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. 27 December 2020 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2534215 4 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to all staff receiving training in understanding more about learning disabilities and managers making sure that they update the young person’s care plans and assessments with more information about the young person’s learning disability.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 27 December 2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45 (1) (3) (4)(a)) 27 December 2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). 27 December 2020 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2534215 5 When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s homes is a 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 13.9)

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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.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY2 6ND

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2534215 6 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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