Children's Home run by Staffordshire County Council in Staffordshire

Inspection report children's home: SC065679 1 SC065679 Registered provider: Staffordshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is managed by a local authority and provides residential short breaks and emergency placements for children who may have experienced childhood instability resulting in trauma and associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in 2017.

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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: 22 January 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC065679 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/01/2020 Full Good 01/08/2018 Full Outstanding 23/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC065679 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This short break service has a vibrant and fun atmosphere, with children sharing friendly banter with the staff. Children say that they enjoy their time spent at the service. One child told the inspector that they would give the service a nine out of 10, with another child saying that she loved being at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop trusted relationships with staff. This means that children feel that they can talk to staff when they feel worried. This helps children to feel safe and reassured.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff put children’s needs at the centre of everything they do. Children are actively encouraged to share their views and wishes on a regular basis. The registered manager advocates for children and she will appropriately challenge the local authority to ensure that the children’s views are understood. This helps children to feel supported, cared for and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in a wide range of activities, including trips to the local trampoline park, the cinema and mini golf. During the COVID-19 national lockdown, staff were creative in planning fun activities for children, for example, baking, cooking and games nights. These experiences provide children with opportunities for fun and enjoyment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The short break service is decorated to a high standard and has a warm and welcoming feel. The living room is the hub of the home and is where children and staff spend time playing pool or watching films together. Children’s bedrooms are bright and pleasant spaces in which to spend time. When children stay at the service, they are able to pick their favourite room. This gives children a sense of belonging during their short stays at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The use of the short breaks service for emergency placements has, at times, prevented some children from being able to access planned short breaks. The registered manager has tried to limit the impact of this by providing outreach services for those children and families affected.

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

Children are provided with a safe and supportive environment in which to spend time. Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and risks and take effective action to keep children safe.

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

Children’s personal support plans provide staff with clear guidance on how best to manage children’s behaviours and risks. These plans are reviewed regularly and are updated when new risks emerge. Staff work alongside external professionals such as Inspection report children's home: SC065679 4 social workers and the police to gather key safeguarding information. This joined-up approach ensures that children are safeguarded effectively.

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

Staff respond quickly when children go missing. This is because staff understand what they need to do in such situations. Staff undertake thorough 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 children may have gone missing.

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

Incidents of bullying at the short breaks service are rare. Staff encourage children to form positive relationships. However, when incidents do occur, staff are proactive in managing these situations. For example, during the inspection, the inspector observed staff holding a group session with children as a way of exploring their differences.

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

Staff use rewards to encourage children to make positive choices. Children respond well to this and enjoy receiving rewards for their good behaviour. This helps children to feel valued and to want to make positive choices.

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

As staff are successful at managing children’s behaviours, staff rarely need to use physical interventions. When they are used, they are proportionate and appropriate.

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

Staff respond well to allegations. For example, they act swiftly to keep children safe and notify the relevant agencies to ensure that allegations can be investigated appropriately. However, during the inspection, the inspector identified in some isolated examples that staff’s recording was not sufficient and key documents had not been completed. This is a recording issue and did not have a direct impact on the safety of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is appropriately qualified and experienced. She is passionate about the service and the children who use the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff retention is high because staff enjoy working at the short break service and feel supported by the registered manager. The stable staff team knows children well. This provides children with a level of stability which supports their positive outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When new staff are recruited, they benefit from a well-planned induction. Staff only get signed off from their initial probation period after they have demonstrated that they have reached the right level of competence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that staff have regular supervision. However, formal annual appraisals are not utilised at the service. Although the service has adapted their own appraisals these are not routinely completed. This is a missed opportunity to formally review staff practice and development needs. Inspection report children's home: SC065679 5 All key staff have completed relevant mandatory training. However, training specific to children’s needs has not been completed. For example, not all staff have up-to- date training in relation to child sexual exploitation, self-harm and missing from care. The absence of this training has not affected the safety or welfare of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals are positive about the short break service and the support provided to children. A social worker told the inspector that, ‘The communication from the home is great.’ Another social worker told the inspector that the service had been invaluable to the families she works with. Inspection report children's home: SC065679 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 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

This specifically relates to staff not having training relevant to children’s individual needs. 4 October 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. 4 October 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that all staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. As Inspection report children's home: SC065679 7 part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: SC065679 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Staffordshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Wedgwood Buildings, Tipping Street, Staffordshire ST16 2DH

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Inspector

Lydia Isaac, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC065679 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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