Children's home run by Nottinghamshire County Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC044692 1 SC044692 Registered provider: Nottinghamshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a local authority and provides care for up to four children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, and/or learning disabilities.

p.1

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.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 22 September 2020, to complete an assurance visit. The report is published on our website

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 18 December 2018

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC044692 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/12/2018 Full Inadequate 08/02/2018 Full Outstanding 21/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/12/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC044692 3

p.2

improvement to be good

Children are making progress. However, the safeguarding arrangements for children and the leadership and management of the home are not yet good.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children form positive relationships with staff. The relationships between the staff and children are noted to be a particular strength of the home. One child said, ‘Staff saved me, I don’t know where I would be without them.’

p.3

improvement to be good

Children receive appropriate healthcare. Children have improved health because the staff ensure that they attend health appointments. The manager and staff are working closely with health professionals to ensure that children receive the support and services they need. Staff advocate for children when there are delays in services. Staff maintain detailed records about treatment and advice, which supports the children’s physical and emotional well-being.

p.3

improvement to be good

All children have education provisions in place. Older children have now secured placements at college for the autumn term. Staff liaise with education staff, and essential information is shared to support children’s educational experience and their progress. This represents good progress for these children from when they first moved to the home.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to seek part-time jobs or volunteering opportunities. This enables them to develop skills and interests. One child has just completed a trial in a café. Another child is participating in a four-week motor mechanics course ahead of studying this subject at college.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children receive structured care from staff who provide consistent boundaries and have clear expectations of children’s behaviour. These are explained to each child during the admissions process. The children guide also sets this out in detail. Children benefit from daily routines and individual planners. Staff use activity planners to encourage children to have hobbies and attend clubs, and to promote children’s interests.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children are prepared for independence. They gain skills relevant to their age and understanding, using individualised independence training. One child is preparing to move to a semi-independent provision. Staff have recently introduced a life-skills programme for her, to ensure that she gains the necessary skills and knowledge in preparation for this next step. Inspection report children’s home: SC044692 4

p.3

improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments do not identify all known risks. This prevents staff from having a clear understanding of children’s vulnerabilities, including previously identified risks. The risk assessments do not provide staff with clear guidance on how to keep children safe. For example, one child’s assessment referred to not only their risk but also that of another child. As a result, children are placed at increased risk.

p.4

improvement to be good

Children are not being effectively safeguarded when using their mobile phones or portable devices, or when they are online. The staff’s monitoring of children’s mobile phone usage is not recorded, and is not shared across the staff team. This has the potential to place children at increased risk when using mobile technology and when online.

p.4

improvement to be good

Staff work in accordance with missing-from-care protocols. They are proactive in working alongside agencies to locate children in a timely manner. When children have gone missing, staff have maintained contact with them and ensured that they are returned home without delay. When back home, children are offered interviews to explore where they have been and any risks they may have been exposed to. This helps managers and staff to learn valuable lessons.

p.4

improvement to be good

Children have trusting relationships with staff. Children say they are able to talk about their feelings and emotions with staff. This has resulted in a reduction in self- harming behaviours for some children.

p.4

improvement to be good

Staff manage children’s behaviour well. Staff de-escalate difficult situations effectively, and as a result there have been no physical interventions. Records of physical intervention are well maintained, ensuring that the children and staff involved receive thorough debriefs, and that important lessons are learned in order to reduce reoccurrences.

p.4

good

The manager has failed to embed effective monitoring systems. This has led to several shortfalls, as identified at this inspection, which relate to the day-to-day running of the home. The manager has not consistently signed off important documents. There has been a lack of oversight, evaluation and review by the manager. This has included the independent visitor reports not being received by Ofsted in a timely manner. The manager was unaware of these problems.

p.4

good

Managers have not routinely scrutinised the sanctions records. Additionally, they have not reviewed approaches to behaviour management to improve effectiveness. For example, when sanctions are given to children in response to poor behaviour, they are not restorative. This does not help children to learn from their mistakes or make amends. This is a missed opportunity for managers to ensure that any Inspection report children’s home: SC044692 5 patterns or trends are noted, and that children are provided with the opportunity to learn from mistakes.

p.4

good

The manager has not responded to concerns raised by children in a house meeting. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that the child’s voice is heard and acted upon, so as to support them to influence the day-to-day running of the home.

p.5

good

The language used in children’s daily records is not child centred and does not reflect the child’s journey. Records are not written in a manner that will enable the child to reflect positively on the progress that they have made.

p.5

good

Supervision arrangements for staff have improved. Staff receive meaningful supervision that provides clear support and guidance. Supervision sessions are now more reflective, and support the staff to develop their care practice. Inspection report children’s home: SC044692 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

p.6

Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affective the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iii)(iv))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that views and concerns raised by the children are explored with them, and responded to. 9 August 2021

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

that staff— 9 August 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC044692 7 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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to ensuring that risk assessments reflect the needs and identified risks of the child, and include guidance on how staff should respond to risks.

p.7

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers embedding monitoring systems in the home, to improve the quality of care. 9 August 2021

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

This is in relation to the delay in reports being received by Ofsted. 9 August 2021

p.7

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understanding the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will Inspection report children’s home: SC044692 8 be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4).

p.7

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: SC044692 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nottinghamshire County Council

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 7QP

p.9

Inspector

Zoey Lee, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC044692 10 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10