Children's home run by Coventry City Council in Coventry

Inspection report children’s home: SC033056 1 SC033056 Registered provider: Coventry 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 operated by a local authority. It provides a residential short-break service for up to four children with learning and/or physical disabilities. Currently, 29 children access this service.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2014 and holds a level 5 diploma in leadership.

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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

Date of last inspection: 10 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC033056 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/02/2020 Full Inadequate 22/01/2019 Full Good 12/02/2018 Full Good 14/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC033056 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, the home was providing short-break visits for 27 children. The registered manager ensures that transitions into the home are well planned. Staff liaise with parents, carers and professionals before children come to the home. This ensures that children settle quickly and enjoy their visits.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and professionals are overwhelmingly positive about the care and support the staff provide to the children. A parent told the inspector that for her daughter the visits are like ‘teenage sleepovers with her friends and something that she would not otherwise experience’. Children were observed to be relaxed, happy and enjoying themselves at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the home offers a welcoming and warm environment. The home is bright and clean, and the children’s bedrooms are personalised for each child’s visit to the home. The home benefits from a large outdoor space that children can access safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the challenges around communication, staff know the children very well and communicate and engage positively with them. Staff understand children’s needs and because of this, children are happy and settled during their short breaks at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s records are child friendly, and staff capture children’s progress and experiences well. There are good systems in place to share information with parents, carers and professionals. Staff use creative methods to involve children in their plans, including social stories and pictorial aids.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has not ensured that consent for any restrictions placed on children is clearly recorded. In addition, there is some duplication in records and not all records are dated. Although this has had no impact on the quality of care provided, it is an area that can improve.

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

Staff are careful about how they group children together for their short breaks. This means that children are well matched and make meaningful relationships. As a result, there is no bullying and very few incidents occur between the children.

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

The children feel safe and have positive relationships with staff members. Parents and professionals confirmed this to be the case and this was observed on inspection.

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

Children receive help and support to manage their behaviours and feelings. The staff have a good understanding of de-escalation techniques that support children. Staff consider alternative strategies to support the individual needs of the child. As a result, the staff have not required the use of physical intervention. Inspection report children’s home: SC033056 4 Safeguarding practices within the home are good. The registered manager takes swift action when responding to any safeguarding incidents. Documentation is robust, and the manager communicates effectively with professionals and parents. As a result, children are safeguarded effectively.

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

The registered manager and staff have a clear understanding of children’s needs. Risk assessments are in place and provide clear information to staff on how to reduce risks. However, the registered manager has not ensured that risk assessments are in place to inform staff on what action they should take if children go missing from home. Although this has had no impact as children do not go missing from home, this has the potential to place children at risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children have continued to benefit from consistent care from a stable staff team. Staff are passionate about their work and the children they care for. This has a positive impact on the children who visit the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, managers took creative steps to offer alternative support to children and their families when overnight visits were not permitted. Staff supported children for days out and trips to the park. This provided invaluable support to children, and also maintained relationships and connections between staff and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and the staff team have developed strong relationships with all the relevant professionals, including social workers and school staff. As a result, there is good communication between them, which promotes children’s welfare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a strong feeling of teamworking at the home. Staff value one another and the management team. Staff access regular supervision and team meetings and feel supported in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff have achieved the level 3 diploma in residential childcare and have completed all relevant training for the role. However, a few members of the staff team have not completed all the mandatory training. As a result, not all staff have the relevant skills and knowledge for their roles. This has not impacted on the quality of care provided as staff work as a team and support each other.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring and oversight of all aspects of the home have significantly improved since the last full inspection. However, some shortfalls remain. For example, the registered manager has not provided Ofsted with an updated statement of purpose within the expected time frame. In addition, the registered manager has not ensured that there is an accurate roster in place that records the planned and actual hours worked for all staff. As a result, these documents cannot be relied on to identify when staff have been at work. Inspection report children’s home: SC033056 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 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, this relates to ensuring that risks associated with missing from care are assessed for all children and that strategies for staff to follow are put in place. 28 July 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to ensuring that all staff complete all training relevant to their roles in order to meet the needs of the children they care for. 28 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 28 July 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC033056 6 keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the home’s statement of purpose is updated and shared with Ofsted within the time frames.

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff rosters are up to date and maintained in line with regulatory requirements. 28 July 2021

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that relevant plans for children are kept up to date with key information, including consent for any restrictions. The registered person should ensure that staff maintain full and accurate records. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.1)

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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: SC033056 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coventry City Council, Council House, Earl Street, Coventry CV1 5RR

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Inspectors

Debbie Holder, Social Care Inspector Melanie Griffins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC033056 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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