Children's Home run by DMR Services Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 1 Registered provider: DMR Services Limited Full inspection

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to four children aged between 11 and 17 who have had adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager holds a level 5 qualification.

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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: 11 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/02/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 25/07/2019 Full Good 22/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children are currently living at the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a stable staff team. This promotes consistent care for the children. The staff are positive about their roles and have worked hard to develop meaningful relationships with the children. Children and staff are affectionate towards each other. This gives children the emotional warmth and reassurance that are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know children well and are therefore able to provide personalised care to meet their individual needs. One child’s social worker informed inspectors that staff are very committed to meeting their child’s needs. This contributes to children making progress in many aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to children and seek their views. Staff advocate for children and ensure that their voice is heard. Therefore, some children feel listened to and will talk to staff when they feel worried.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has an in-house education officer. She provides good oversight of the education that children receive. The education officer attends all school meetings and plays an active role in the children’s education and encourages their progress. This has improved children’s motivation and attitude towards their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met. Staff understand children’s additional health needs and support them to attend specialist appointments. This ensures that children receive the help and support that they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are involved in various activities, for example trips to theme parks and visits to the local park. Staff support children to develop their interests. One child is a member of the sea cadets, and another child enjoys playing football and is now part of a local football team. These experiences provide children with a sense of achievement and enjoyment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and there are areas of the home which are decorated to a satisfactory standard. However, some children’s bedrooms and bathrooms need improvement. For example, one bedroom has a broken wardrobe, and another has a broken blind. This does not encourage children to invest in their home environment.

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

Staff work hard to keep children safe. They have good safeguarding knowledge and follow child protection procedures when safeguarding incidents occur. As a result, risks to children are reduced. Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 4 For one child, there has been an increase in incidents of them going missing from care. When they do go missing, staff and the registered manager respond swiftly. They follow joint missing-from-care protocols and ensure that return home interviews are completed. This ensures that the levels of risk are reduced when children go missing.

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

There have been incidents of bullying between the children. Staff have implemented different strategies to prevent children from harming each other. These have helped children to understand the impact of their behaviours and learn from incidents. This approach has ensured that incidents between the children have reduced.

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

Staff reward and acknowledge children’s positive behaviours. Furthermore, staff are effective in de-escalating negative behaviours. However, some consequences enforced by staff are not always effective and do not support children to recognise the impact of their behaviours on themselves, other children and the staff caring for them.

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

Physical intervention by staff is used as a last resort to keep children safe. Inspectors found that physical interventions are proportionate and appropriate.

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

Staff encourage children to take age-appropriate risks, for example having free time away from the home without staff and spending time with peers. This supports children’s independence.

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

Children know how to make a complaint. The manager responds to complaints promptly and ensures that children are involved in this process. This helps children to feel confident and reassured.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since 2019 and is skilled and experienced. He is supported by a competent deputy manager. The staff team feels supported by the management team. One member of staff said that the managers are very approachable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular supervision sessions and annual appraisals. These are beneficial and support the staff to develop their skills. The registered manager is also well supported by senior managers and receives regular supervision. This supportive culture helps to continually improve the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has effective relationships with other professionals. He is committed to partnership working and makes joint decisions to get the best outcomes for children. This collaborative approach means that children’s needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager gives children the opportunity to provide feedback about the home and the care they receive. The registered manager provides individual Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 5 feedback to children’s responses. This leaves children feeling that their views are listened to and acted on.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In addition to staff’s mandatory training, the registered manager has identified additional training for staff that is tailored to children’s specific behaviours and needs. One member of staff informed inspectors that the additional training has helped her to better understand how to support children. Staff’s skills and knowledge ensure that they can deal with incidents safely and effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good monitoring system in place. This means that he has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. Despite this, some of the children’s records are not updated or reflective of their current risks or behaviours. This administrative shortfall has not affected children’s care or safety. Furthermore, the registered manager has taken steps to rectify this shortfall. Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 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

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s bedrooms and bathrooms are maintained to an appropriate standard. 11 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s records are kept up to date. 11 August 2021

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38) Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 7

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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: 1278421 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: DMR Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: DMR Services, 102 Queslett Road, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham B74 2EZ

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Inspectors

Lydia Isaac, Social Care Inspector Paul Robinson, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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