Children's home run by YCPG Services Ltd in Walsall

Inspection report children’s home: SC392492 1 SC392492 Registered provider: DMR Services 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 to provide care and accommodation for children aged between 11 and 17 years.

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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 24 September 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about this children’s home

There is now a registered manager in post who holds a level 5 qualification.

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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: 21 October 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC392492 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/07/2019 Full Inadequate 30/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/02/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC392492 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are four children currently living in the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children in the home are settled. Three of the four children have been living at the home for over 18 months. They are making good progress and have developed positive relationships with each other. A child’s social worker told the inspector that this was the most settled their child had been. This stability supports children’s continual progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy in the home. One child told the inspector that they would give the home a nine out of ten, with another child stating that it is like his ‘second home’. A humorous and relaxed atmosphere was observed during the course of the inspection. This helps children to feel valued and want to invest in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of family relationships. Staff will support and encourage children to spend time with their family. For example, staff will arrange and facilitate contact between children and their families. One child’s social worker told the inspector that staff’s help with arranging family contact had been brilliant. This supports children to maintain meaningful relationships with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in supporting children with their education. As a result, all children attend an educational provision. The home’s educational co-ordinator has developed a positive relationship with children’s teachers, which has ensured that all children receive an education in line with their needs. A teacher told the inspector that the support from staff had been fantastic. This means children reach their potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to partake in activities outside of the home. For example, one child has a passion for ice skating and has a trial for an ice hockey team. Another child enjoys go-karting and attends the track on a regular basis. These activities help children to extend their social skills and gain greater confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met. Children attend all routine medical appointments. A child who was reluctant to engage with counselling is now completing art therapy and has done so with the support of staff. This ensures that children receive the help and support they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and decorated to a satisfactory standard. The children’s rooms are personalised to their taste. However, there are some aspects of the home that are in need of general maintenance. For example, the carpets in the hall and landing are dirty Inspection report children’s home: SC392492 4

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

Staff work hard to keep children safe. They have a good understanding of the children’s risks and behaviours. One child has made the decision not to stay at the home. Despite this, staff have continued to manage his risk and they are visiting him daily. This approach has ensured that the level of risk for children is reduced.

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

Children’s risk assessments are easy to read and identify the relevant risks for each child. They provide clear guidance for staff and they are updated and reviewed accordingly. Staff are knowledgeable about the content of the risk assessments and were able to confidently talk to the inspector about children’s risk. This helps to reduce the level of harm to children.

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

Staff help each child to understand how to keep safe. For example, they have acted to address children’s risk-taking behaviours, such as substance misuse. Direct sessions with children are in-depth and educate children to understand risk. Joint working with other agencies has supported children in managing risk-taking behaviours. This supports children to make safe choices in keeping themselves safe.

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

Staff respond well when children go missing. This is because staff understand what they need to do in such situations. Staff complete searches for children using their knowledge of the likely places that children will have gone to. When required, staff do not delay in reporting children as missing to the police. When children are located, staff take the time to understand the reasons why they may have gone missing. This helps to inform the planning for any further such incidents.

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

Staff have the skills, experience and knowledge to manage children’s behaviours. Staff know children well so are able to respond to challenging behaviours and incidents. Staff are committed to exploring the reasons behind the children’s behaviours so that they can provide the right support. As a result, the level of incidents in the home has reduced.

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

Staff are successful at de-escalating children’s behaviours. This means that the need for physical interventions is low. When physical interventions do take place, the inspector found that most were proportionate and appropriate. However, there was one incident whereby a physical intervention was conducted inappropriately. The registered manager was alert to this and worked with the staff to develop a more consistent approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home now has a registered manager. He knows the children well and is committed to helping them to make progress. H e is supported by an experienced and skilled deputy manager. Staff feel supported by the management team and speak highly of the managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that staff have the training needed to meet the needs of the children living in the home. Most staff hold a level three qualification Inspection report children’s home: SC392492 5 and those who do not are working towards it. This equips staff with the level of knowledge and skills needed for the role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that children are involved in decisions in the home. For example, he reads, reviews and attends children’s meetings. He is a strong advocate for children and will challenge local authorities to ensure that the right decisions are being made. This helps children to feel valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has developed positive working relationships with other professionals and agencies. The registered manager and the staff have recently worked with a specialist agency in order to support a child to receive the appropriate support for his emotional well-being. This joined-up working has ensured that children receive well-co-ordinated care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals are positive about the home and the support provided to children. A social worker told inspectors that ‘staff go above and beyond’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. Supervision is completed by the senior management team, and all members of the team now have the relevant training. However, some supervision records lack detail in order to support staff to reflective on their practice and ensure that staff understand how best to meet the needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff appraisals are completed by the registered manager. However, during the inspection, the inspector identified that the registered manager does not always challenge staff practice and monitor professional development. Inspection report children’s home: SC392492 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home environment is appropriately furnished and maintained in order to provide children with a warm and welcoming home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that they have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered manager should ensure that all staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. As part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. (‘Guide to the children’s

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Recommendations

homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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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: SC392492 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: DMR Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: D M R Services, 102 Queslett Road, Streetley, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham B74 2EZ

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Inspector

Lydia Isaac, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC392492 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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