Children's Home run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report children’s home: SC403895 1 SC403895 Registered provider: Stoke-on-Trent 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 run by the local authority. It offers care and accommodation for up to two children who have experienced early childhood instability that has led to trauma and/or associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2020.

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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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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 good

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good

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

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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: SC403895 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/07/2019 Full Good 18/09/2018 Full Good 12/09/2017 Full Good 15/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC403895 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, there was one child living at the home. The child is making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the staff have liaised with the child’s virtual school team, social worker and teaching staff to ensure that the impact of school absence on the child’s learning and development is minimal. Staff have continued to promote the child’s engagement in learning. As a result, the child’s teachers told the inspector that she is predicted to achieve academic qualifications.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to lead a healthy lifestyle. Staff work with health professionals to ensure that the child knows how to access support and advice in relation to her physical and emotional health. Staff support the child to attend routine medical appointments and specialist care. As a result, the child’s health needs are continually promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and the registered manager understand the importance of family relationships and promote these well. Staff have supported family relationships despite the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the staff have encouraged the child to bring her pet dog to the home. This has helped to improve the child’s mental health and her connection with her family. Staff have taken the time to get to know the child well. They have developed a bespoke care package that meets her specific emotional needs. This is managed in a sensitive manner that gives the child a sense of security and self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are able to access support from the in-house therapeutic service. This helps them to develop strategies that keep the child safe and enables them to have a better understanding of her vulnerabilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff hold important conversations and key-work sessions with the child about a range of topics, including equality and discrimination, sexual health, internet safety and how she manages her emotions and anxieties. These conversations are focused on the needs of the child and are used as opportunities to gather her wishes and feelings. Consequently, the child feels valued and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff have developed positive working relationships with a range of professionals and the child’s family. All those involved in the child’s care are pleased with the care that staff are providing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the positive progress the child is making, staff do not help her to maintain her bedroom to an acceptable standard. Although the inspector raised concerns about this during the inspection, staff and the registered manager did not take prompt action. A poorly maintained bedroom does not help the child to feel valued or promote her independence skills. Inspection report children’s home: SC403895 4 The home does not provide a homely environment. For example, not all risks have been adequately assessed. This includes potential ligature risks in the lounge and hazards in the garden.

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

The child is settled, feels safe and knows that staff care about her well-being. As a result, the child has developed positive relationships with most of the staff.

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

The registered manager and staff understand the child’s individual risk assessments. These documents are detailed and give clear guidance and advice for staff to follow to reduce risk. This means that staff are equipped with the necessary control measures needed to help to keep the child safe.

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

Staff have a good understanding of a wide range of de-escalation techniques that can help them to manage challenging behaviour. Consequently, physical intervention is rarely used. However, on the rare occasion when it is used, not all physical restraint records contain all the required information. For example, the child’s feelings are not sought following a restraint, and staff do not always receive a debrief. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that the child’s experience is recorded and that practice is proportionate and safe.

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

When the child goes missing from the home, staff act quickly and work closely with agencies and the police to reduce the risk to the child. They follow clear guidance from protocols for managing these situations and ensure that the child receives a return home interview with an appropriate professional.

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

Staff encourage the child to take part in regular fire drills to ensure that she knows what to do in an emergency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is enthusiastic and passionate about providing good-quality care. She works closely with the child’s family and professionals, and feedback is positive. This partnership means that the child feels safe and secure. She knows that everyone is working to promote her best interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Face-to-face training for staff has been impacted by the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the registered manager has used technology well to ensure that staff continue to receive up-to-date training to enable them to support the child in their care. This has included receiving specialised training in contextual safeguarding; emotional health, including managing self-harm; and child sexual exploitation awareness.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that new staff to the home are vetted thoroughly before they work with children. They also receive safeguarding and mandatory Inspection report children’s home: SC403895 5 training as part of their induction to ensure that the correct procedures are followed when there are concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the support of the registered manager. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most staff have continued to receive regular supervision. However, one member of staff has not received regular supervision. This creates a missed opportunity for the member of staff to reflect on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some staff have needed to work excessive hours due to a shortage of staff. This has had an impact on their well-being and has the potential to compromise the child’s safety and welfare. The registered manager has taken action to address the shortfalls in staffing through triggering a recruitment campaign.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager does not always use monitoring and review systems to support her oversight of the home. For example, the registered manager was not aware of information missing from the fire risk assessment and incorrect information in the home’s documentation. This prevents the registered manager from identifying areas for development and addressing shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager does not always notify Ofsted of all serious incidents that occur in the home. This compromises regulatory overview between inspections.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Sufficient action has been taken by the registered manager to address the requirements raised at the last inspection. For example, improvements have been made to the management oversight of medication. Inspection report children’s home: SC403895 6

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children.

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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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a) (2)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to potential ligature risks in the lounge and hazards in the garden. 18 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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 18 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC403895 7 child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of the care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that they have sufficient staff to provide consistent care to the child.

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Requirement Due date

Also, this relates to the registered manager ensuring that internal monitoring systems are used effectively.

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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

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the provider ensuring that prompt safeguarding notifications are sent to Ofsted. 18 June 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s feelings and views are recorded in restraint records. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)  The registered person should have systems in place to ensure that all staff receive supervision of their practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: SC403895 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City of Stoke-on-Trent, Swann House, Boothen Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 4SY

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Inspector

Patrick McIntosh, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC403895 9 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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