Children's Home run by Child First Residential Ltd in Sandwell

Inspection report children’s home: 2610371 1 Registered provider: Child First Residential Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager at this home. The current manager started working in the home in April 2021 and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2610371 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2610371 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is the home’s first inspection since it registered in January 2021. Two children live in the home. Their moves into the home were well planned and supported by staff. This has helped the children to settle quickly. A commissioning officer commented, ‘It was noted that careful consideration to matching [name of child] to the child already living in the home was sensitively managed.’ One child moved into the home and left quickly. Managers and staff have used reflection and learning about what happened to improve experiences for children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. For example, both children now attend full-time education. The manager has sent clear messages to children about the importance of attending school and has challenged any decisions that he feels are not in the best interests of the children in his care. As a result, both children’s educational achievements have improved.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good, individualised care from staff who understand their needs well. Staff are attuned to children’s changing emotions. Hugs and humour are used daily by staff to help to support children’s needs. This helps children to develop positive relationships with staff and a better understanding of themselves and what they need.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager is a good advocate for children. A parent told the inspector, ‘If not for [name of manager], my son wouldn’t be getting the support. He would still be waiting for it.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy spending time with staff. They play board games together and make full use of the home’s games room. As the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have lifted, children have enjoyed going out to arcades, swimming and to restaurants. Photos which show the good times children have are on display in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have personalised their bedrooms. However, parts of the home look tired and a plan of refurbishment is underway. Furthermore, door alarms are used without full consideration of the risks and whether these are necessary or could be managed differently. These can lead to an institutionalised feel to the environment and children having unnecessary restrictions in place at their home.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff respond to children’s challenging behaviours in a positive way and the use of restraints is kept to a minimum. Children rarely go missing. A senior support worker for a child’s placing authority commented: ‘[Names of staff] are very supportive, caring towards the young people. They only want the best for the young people and encourage them to meet their goals, along with providing them with clear routines Inspection report children’s home: 2610371 4 and boundaries. The home is good at meeting the young people’s needs and listening to them and negotiating when required.’

p.3

improvement to be good

There have been times when children have been unkind to each other. Staff have challenged this behaviour to help send a clear message about what is and what is not acceptable behaviour.

p.4

improvement to be good

There has been one allegation made by a child. This was shared with the placing authority. However, a member of staff had spoken to the child about this allegation before it was appropriate to do so. This practice has not been explored and is a missed opportunity for staff to learn about how best to respond to children when they make an allegation without asking them questions.

p.4

improvement to be good

Although the manager has identified that sanctions given to children are not always restorative, it is taking time to change staff practice in this area. As a result, sanctions are sometimes given that do not help children to reflect on their behaviours.

p.4

improvement to be good

Regular health and safety checks are completed. However, staff are not yet alert enough to identify and quickly resolve issues identified. For example, inspectors saw a phone charger that was held together with sticky tape.

p.4

improvement to be good

When appointing new staff, the responsible individual has not always fully documented the positive steps he has taken to help to assess if staff are suitable to work with children. Furthermore, there is a gap in a staff member’s work history that has not been explored.

p.4

improvement to be good

Occasionally, staff’s everyday language and written records are not clear in their meaning. They can used generalised terms rather than stating the actual behaviour that took place. This can lead to misunderstandings.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager is motivated and ambitious for the future of the home. There was a thorough handover between the previous manager and this incoming manager. In the short time he has been working at the home, the manager has strived to drive ongoing improvement. For example, he has ensured that documents are easily accessible for staff and has also introduced an ‘employee of the month’ scheme. This has helped staff to feel valued and even more motivated about their work.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are now used as reflective tools, where knowledge is tested and developed. This is helping staff to continually develop their practice.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are happy in the home and have reflected on the journey to date. They are supported by the manager and responsible individual. Staff feel that managers are approachable and child centred. Inspection report children’s home: 2610371 5 All those spoken to during the inspection, including social workers, support staff and a parent, spoke positively about leadership at the home and the good communication from staff and managers.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Committed staff ensure that children do not experience interruption in their care, despite the impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a stable staff team that is flexible so that children receive consistent care from staff who know them well.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although children are regularly consulted, their views are not fully captured in the home’s quality of care report. Furthermore, a parent raised with the inspector that she had made a complaint. Although she was happy with the outcome, there was no record of this within the home. Inspection report children’s home: 2610371 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 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

p.6

Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(d))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff related to a safeguarding allegation do not question the child about that allegation. This also relates to ensuring that health and safety issues are identified and rectified quickly. 2 September 2021

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children. (Regulation 24 (1)(a))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that door alarms are only used when necessary. 2 September 2021

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 2 September 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2610371 7 The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.7

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the opinions of children are captured within the report. 2 September 2021

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be 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’, pages 46 to 47, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will 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: 2610371 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Child First Residential Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 11 Hollyhedge Road, West Bromwich B71 3BP

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rajinder Kudhail

p.8

Inspectors

Louise Battersby, Social Care Inspector Rumbi Mangoma, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2610371 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.

p.8

Inspectors

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.9

Inspectors

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

p.9

Inspectors

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

p.9