Children's home run by Nisa Care Home Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2519919 1 Registered provider: Nisa Care Home Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered for three children. The home provides care for children aged eight to 18 years with learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager holds her Children’s Care Learning and Development level 3 qualification, and level 5 in leadership and management.

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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 26 November 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on our website.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2519919 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

No children have moved in or out of the home since the last monitoring visit. One child continues to live in the home. The child is making progress because of the support and help he receives from the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A key strength of the home is the way in which staff are nurturing and patient towards the child. Staff praise the child regularly and take an interest in his successes. As a result of this caring practice, the child has developed positive relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure that the child has lots of fun experiences. For example, the staff and child have created a pretend drive-thru restaurant in the garden and use this as part of their role play games. The child is supported to take part in football, boxing and karate, and goes to the gym. This is helping the child to make positive childhood memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child shared with the inspector that he likes living in the home because it is fun. He said, ‘Staff keep me safe and I know staff will listen to me if I was worried about something.’ Staff provide strategies to the child to manage his feelings of worry. This includes speaking to staff when he is anxious. This has reduced aggression towards adults during periods in which the child is struggling.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One social worker shared that staff are role models in supporting the child to understand their identity. For example, staff have helped the child to celebrate Eid. Staff took the child to purchase specific clothing for these celebrations. This opportunity gave the child a better understanding of his identity and has developed his self-confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in their approach to education and its value for the child’s future. The registered manager is not afraid to challenge the local authority and school if she feels that the child is not getting the best opportunities to succeed educationally. She is aware of the challenges that the child faces at school and is proactive in communicating with teachers if concerns are emerging. One teacher shared that staff come to the school and support the teachers when there are concerns. This joint working has reduced incidents at school and improved the child’s attainment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child receives good support to learn basic life skills, including developing his independence skills. The child regularly helps with household chores and is encouraged to cook. These experiences raise his self-esteem and prepare him well for later life. Inspection report children’s home: 2519919 3

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

The registered manager and her team are good at keeping the child safe. There have been no safeguarding incidents since the last monitoring visit. All staff are up to date with safeguarding training and can confidently describe the actions they would take if they had any safeguarding concerns.

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

The registered manager is effective in ensuring that risk assessments are purposeful, up to date and of good quality. This helps staff to work consistently and have an in-depth knowledge of the potential triggers to a child’s risk-taking behaviours. Due to this, staff act proactively and swiftly to respond to emerging situations. However, staff do not always sign to confirm that they have read these plans.

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

There is meaningful direct work provided by staff. The registered manager looks at the effectiveness this has had on the child’s progress. For example, the child is supported through role play, where staff show the child how to be kind and what happens when you are not kind. As a result, the child has developed friendships at school and has a network of friends. This has enabled the child to understand that he can have meaningful relationships.

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

The registered manager ensures that the home is well maintained. The home is clean, warm and well furnished. Regular daily health and safety checks are completed by the staff. This means that the home continues to provide a safe environment for the child.

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

The registered manager received a concern from the designated officer regarding the conduct of a staff member outside of work. The registered manager took effective action to manage this situation and reduce any potential harm to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is creative, child centred and effective in managing the home. She is supported by an equally competent staff team that shares her vision and passion for improving the life of the child. The staff are child focused in their approach and have been successful in providing the child with a routine and structure with clear boundaries. This provides the child with consistent responses from staff who care for him.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager works hard to improve practice in the home and achieve the best possible outcomes for the child. Staff speak positively about the manager. One staff member told the inspector that their goal as a team is to ensure that the child achieves his full potential whilst living at the home, where this is supported by the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager uses supervision sessions to support staff to understand the needs of children and focus on making improvements. However, the registered manager does not always receive supervision in line with the home’s statement of Inspection report children’s home: 2519919 4 purpose. This is a missed opportunity to support the continuous professional development of the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent person visits do not provide an accurate assessment of the care provided to the children. In part, this is because the independent person reports are not shared with the provider in a timely manner. This limits the usefulness of these visits. Furthermore, the independent visitor does not consult with the child or relevant professionals as part of her visit. This disorganised approach by the independent visitor does not help the registered manager and responsible individual to take immediate action on any identified shortfalls. Inspection report children’s home: 2519919 5

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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 registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

A visit by the independent person to the home may be unannounced.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

upon request, the local authority for the area in which the home is located; 31 July 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2519919 6 the placing authorities of children;

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Requirement Due date

the registered provider and, if applicable, the registered manager; and

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Requirement Due date

the responsible individual (if one is nominated). (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5) (7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered provider ensuring that the independent visitor completes a written report about their visit in a timely manner. A copy of this report should be shared with Ofsted and the child’s placing authority. The independent visitor assessment of the quality of care provided to children should be informed by discussion with the child and other relevant individuals.

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should ensure that the home’s systems to check that staff have read care placement plans, risk assessments and behaviour management plans and documents are adhered to. Specifically, that where required, staff sign to say that they have read these documents. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered provider should ensure that the registered manager and staff receive regular supervision in accordance with the organisation’s supervision policy. (‘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: 2519919 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nisa Care Home Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 64 Francis Road, Stechford, Birmingham, Worcestershire B33 8SN

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Inspector

Sam Dulay-Kainth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2519919 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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