Children's home run by Wolverhampton City Council

Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 1 Registered provider: Wolverhampton City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a local authority. The home provides care and accommodation for up to four children with complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been appointed permanently but has not yet submitted their application for registration with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 11 and 12 March 2021 to carry out a remote monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Two compliance notices relating to safeguarding children and leadership and management were issued under Regulation 12 and Regulation 13 of The Children’s Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 2 Homes (England) Regulations 2015, following a monitoring visit on 2 and 3 February 2021. Due to the limitations imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the visit was carried out remotely, using video and other technology. Neither compliance notice was met by the time of the follow-up monitoring visit on 11 and 12 March 2021 and so both notices were reissued following that visit. Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 3

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 4

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inadequate

This is the home’s first full inspection since registration in June 2019. The home received an assurance visit in November 2020. Following escalating concerns about the home, Ofsted also completed monitoring visits in February and March 2021. Ofsted took compliance action after these visits, due to concerns about the safety of children and the leadership and management arrangements. Since the assurance visit, one child has moved into the home and there are three children currently living there.

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inadequate

Children have experienced significant difficulties in recent months. This is due to the provider’s poor assessment of children’s needs before they move into the home. Staff are ill-equipped to support children who have recently arrived. This has harmed the progress and experiences of all children.

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inadequate

Staff carry out work with children linked to their statutory plans and objectives. However, staff do not record the difference this makes for children. This means that managers do not know whether children are making progress. Children’s lack of progress is worrying to external professionals, who are also concerned about poor communication with staff and managers. These factors mean that if children need more help it is not forthcoming.

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inadequate

Staff do not have the necessary training and skills to support children. At times, this has resulted in staff using the police to manage children’s behaviour. This means that children have varying day-to-day experiences of care and are not always safe.

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inadequate

Staff have tried to make the home more homely for children. For example, there has been some decoration and artwork added to walls. However, corridors remain echoey, there are large banks of electric sockets high on walls, and fire-extinguisher cupboards are not securely fixed to the walls. Although it is acknowledged that there are limitations given the design of the building, this means that children still do not live in a homely or safe place.

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inadequate

Core staff work hard to build relationships with children, and children appreciate this. Children talk about staff being forgiving and not giving up on them. As a result, there are times when children have the opportunity to learn from difficult experiences.

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inadequate

Staff support children to develop their independence. This involves a clear programme of work with the aim that, when children are ready to move to live on their own, they can do so. Staff have failed to support one child to address their behaviour related to going missing from the home, sometimes overnight. This has put her future plan to live on her own in jeopardy.

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inadequate

Staff help children to see the people who are important to them. Staff are flexible about this, as they understand how much it means to the children they care for. Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 5 Children attend education and mostly engage well with their learning. Although there remains a variable offer for children and improvements could be made, this is leading to qualifications for some children and helps to widen their future opportunities.

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

Managers have not ensured that there is clear safeguarding guidance for staff. For example, one child informed staff that they had self-harmed and were going to harm themselves again. They also stated that they felt suicidal. Following this, staff did not complete a room search and did not remain with the child. This meant that the child was able to harm themselves further and they were taken to hospital. The lack of guidance from managers and the lack of action by staff resulted in this child being left at risk of significant harm.

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

Staff responses to children who are missing from the home are inadequate. Managers have not updated risk and behaviour management plans and missing-from-care protocols in a timely way. Staff also do not go out to look for children when they are missing, as a responsible parent would. This failure to act means that children are at increased risk of harm, including child sexual and criminal exploitation.

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

Managers do not ensure that risk and behaviour management plans include all known risks or that these documents provide enough guidance for staff to follow. Where guidance is provided, staff do not always follow this. For example, on a recent trip out, staff did not adhere to the required staffing ratios. This shortfall means that children cannot rely on a consistent response from staff and they are not kept safe.

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

Staff do not always physically intervene with children when necessary. As a result, staff have involved the police to manage children’s behaviour on several occasions. On two such times, this has worsened the situation, resulting in children being arrested and spending a night in custody. Managers have not ensured that staff respond better in these situations, and so this continues to happen.

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

On occasion, staff have put in place rewards that link to children’s interests. For example, staff completed a piece of work with a child about how music can help to manage emotions. This child was then offered a music player to work towards to help their behaviour improve. This led to a period without any incidents and the child is rightly proud of themselves. This indicates that, when staff find the right incentive, they can help children understand their own behaviour.

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

Managers have now ensured that the administration of medication is safe. This has involved them taking formal action as needed to improve staff’s practice in this area. As a result, staff now meet children’s health and medication needs.

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

Managers quickly respond to children’s allegations about staff. They work well with the designated officer. Employment practice, including necessary checks on staff’s previous employment, has also improved. These factors mean that the adults who support children are considered suitable by managers and leaders. Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management arrangements are inconsistently effective. The current manager has now been permanently appointed to the role and is submitting her application to register with Ofsted. However, during a period of unavoidable absence, the management arrangements did not ensure that children received a good quality of care. Improvement work has not continued at the required pace and children continue to experience poor and unsafe care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have failed to consider children’s compatibility to the home. This has resulted in children living together who have competing complex needs that staff are not equipped to manage. As a result of escalating concerns about the home, Ofsted carried out a monitoring visit in February 2021. After this visit, Ofsted took compliance action for a second time in less than a year, due to these concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children have experienced poor care which has been exacerbated by the number of different staff who have cared for them. There has been an exceptionally high use of agency staff due to there not being sufficient permanent staff to meet children’s specific needs. This was compounded by the impact of Covid-19. This means that children have often been unsure of who was going to be caring for them. This leaves them unsettled and, at times, unsafe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management monitoring is poor and does not identify and address shortfalls in practice. Managers do not challenge staff’s recording in a way that provokes change. For example, when staff physically intervene with children, records of these incidents do not include all the required details. Staff also use judgemental comments that place blame for incidents with children, rather than considering how they can better support them. This means that children are not given the respect they deserve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have failed to notify Ofsted about serious incidents in the home. This includes occasions when staff have called the police to support them to manage children’s behaviour. This reduces the oversight of the regulator, which is a safeguard for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have not ensured that staff have the necessary training to meet children’s needs. Managers do not hold staff to account to ensure that they complete the required training. Staff training records are confusing, which means that managers do not have oversight of staff’s skills. Managers have also not ensured that all staff complete the required qualification to work in the home. This means that not all staff who care for children are trained or qualified to do this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

More recently, managers have amended the staff rota to include all necessary details. This means that they now know which staff are working and when, and whether there are first-aid trained staff in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Supervision records have improved and there is now some evidence of reflection. However, supervisors do not use this time to check staff’s understanding of risks. Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 7 Supervisors also do not consistently challenge staff to improve their work or put required actions in place. This is a missed opportunity to drive improvement in the care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager of the home role models warm, attuned relationships. Managers and leaders recognise that there is a need for a change in culture. They are seeking to model a reflective approach to care. This is not yet embedded and so does not yet truly underpin practice. Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 8

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children’s risk assessments must include all relevant known information about the risks to children and must be updated in a timely and responsive way.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last monitoring visit and is restated. 20 June 2021

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. 20 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 9 (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff must be able to recognise the signs of children at immediate risk of harm due to self-injurious behaviour, act to safeguard the children’s welfare, and understand their roles in relation to this duty. In addition, staff must also understand their responsibilities in safeguarding children who are missing from the home and act accordingly to ensure their safe return.

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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

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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, there must be management arrangements in place to support the home at all times. 20 June 2021

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; 20 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 10 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers must ensure that staff complete core and specific training for their roles. Managers must also have clear monitoring and review systems in place to improve practice and understand children’s progress.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last monitoring visit and is restated.

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers must stabilise the staffing of the home to provide consistent care for children. 20 June 2021

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and 20 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 11 that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b)(ii)(c)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children’s compatibility to the home must be considered effectively to ensure that good decisions are made about children moving into the home. In addition, children’s plans must be regularly reviewed, and managers must ensure that staff adhere to these plans.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last monitoring visit and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma").

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (3)(b) (4)(a) (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last monitoring visit and is restated. 20 June 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the missing child policy") setting out—

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Requirement Due date

the steps taken, and to be taken, to prevent children from being absent without permission; and

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Requirement Due date

the procedures to be followed, and the roles and responsibilities of persons working at the home, in relation to a child who is, or has been, so absent. (Regulation 34 (4)(a)(b)) 20 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 12 In particular, the manager must put in place a missing child policy and procedure with clear instructions for staff to follow in the respect of individual children.

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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

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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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 spoken to the user about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(ii)(iii)(v)(vii)(viii) (b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers must ensure that records meet regulation and show how staff practice is challenged as needed. 20 June 2021

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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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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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

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(e)) 20 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 13 In particular, managers must ensure that notifications are made to the regulator accurately and in a timely manner.

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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

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 quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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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. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers must ensure that the views of all relevant persons are included in reviews of the quality of care and clear actions are devised that drive improvements to the quality of care that children receive.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last monitoring visit and is restated. 20 June 2021

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should seek to develop the physical environment of the home so that there is a homely rather than an ‘institutional’ environment. This recommendation was made at the last monitoring visit and is restated. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff supervision is used to reflect on and challenge staff’s views of their practice, includes clear actions and targets and is fully recorded. This recommendation was made at the last monitoring visit and Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 14 is restated. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand when they are to complete records and how to complete these clearly and professionally. This recommendation was made at the last monitoring visit and is restated. (‘Guide to

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Recommendations

the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2496288 15

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, St. Peters Square, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 1SH

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Inspector

Karol Keenan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2496288 16 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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