Children's home run by Archways Care Limited in Wolverhampton

Inspection report children's home: SC061837 1 SC061837 Registered provider: Archways Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is part of a small organisation. The home can care for up to four children who have had adverse childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager was registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

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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 21 to 22 September 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: 18 December 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: SC061837 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/12/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/09/2019 Full Inadequate 02/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/09/2018 Full Inadequate Inspection report children's home: SC061837 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff form positive relationships with children. Children trust staff. As a result, children confide in them and are able to talk to them about personal and sensitive issues. For example, staff supported one child to develop their sense of gender identity. This support has been crucial, given the complexity of this child’s needs. Staff were also sensitive to this child’s culture and ethnicity. This child told the inspector, ‘I love [the home], they let me be me and prepare me for what the world will be like.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children are making good progress at school, given their starting points. Staff encourage children to have aspirations. One child has enrolled at college and wants to be a social worker. Another child has recently started sixth form at school. Staff supported this child to get a part-time job. The home has an education coordinator who works with staff and other services, to support children to access their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to develop hobbies such as playing football or going to the gym. Children like to do these activities with staff and enjoy spending time with them. As a result, children feel wanted and achieve positive self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team provide good role models for children. One professional said that this has been particularly important for one child. They said, ‘She doesn’t have to be the girl who hasn’t got a voice anymore.’ This child has grown in confidence and has developed better self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to understand the process for children looked after. They carry out key work with them to help them understand the roles of professionals. Staff encourage children to express their views about their care. If they are unable to do so, then staff advocate for them on their behalf. As a result, children feel listened to and understood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The location of the home is rural. One child described it as being ‘In the middle of nowhere’. They said they did not like it when they first moved in, but they do now. The home environment is calm and relaxed. In one child’s bedroom there is some damage to the wall. This child also needs a bigger bed due to their stature. Children like their bedrooms but would like to personalise them more.

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

When children go missing-from-home, the registered manager and staff are proactive. Staff follow a clear and detailed missing-from-home procedure. The manager has excellent relationships with social workers and the police. They escalate any concern they have about children’s missing-from-home behaviour. When children are missing, staff remain in contact with them. Staff use this contact Inspection report children's home: SC061837 4 to gather vital information which assists professionals to locate the children. Professionals said that the manager and staff do everything they can when children go missing from home.

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

The registered manager and staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. Staff say the manager is passionate about keeping children safe. Each child has an individualised risk assessment which is regularly reviewed. These outline known risks and identify the measures in place to keep children safe. However, risk assessments relating to alarms on bedroom doors are not reviewed. This means that alarms may be unnecessarily placed on children’s bedroom doors.

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

Staff empathise with children. They understand that children are not always ready to talk about their past experiences. Staff have received coaching on how best to work with one child who has a history of self-harming behaviours. This has contributed to a reduction in these behaviours. Furthermore, this child has recently begun to engage with specialist support on this sensitive issue.

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

Children know how to complain. The manager responds and investigates any allegations thoroughly. They liaise with social workers and the designated officer. This ensures external scrutiny of safeguarding measures in the home. The manager has devised a protocol for managing allegations. This means that staff have clear actions to take when responding to any allegations. As a result, children feel able to express any worries or concerns they have. They feel valued and listened to.

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

Despite this, in one instance, the responsible individual did not provide sufficient oversight of an allegation. The allegation was about the registered manager, but the matter was responded to by the deputy manager. Although appropriate action was taken by the deputy manager, the responsible individual should have considered the conflict caused by assigning a less senior manager to address this matter.

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

Children have key workers who engage in direct work with them. All children say they have positive relationships with their key worker. This work focuses on subjects pertinent to children’s needs, including criminal and sexual exploitation and emotional well-being. As a result, children learn how to keep themselves safe and healthy.

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

The registered manager carries out key work with children about their relationships with staff. This enables the manager to address any concerns as soon as they arise. Staff provide children with online access to their care plans and key work. They support them to provide feedback, which the manager then responds to. As a result, children feel involved in their care, which gives them reassurance.

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

At the time of the inspection, a fire extinguisher was positioned in the staff office. The registered manager had not satisfied herself that the location of this fire extinguisher was appropriate. This should not affect the overall safety of the home in the event of a fire. Inspection report children's home: SC061837 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say the registered manager has made changes which have made the home better. These include improved lines of accountability and better safeguarding practice. Children also say that the manager has put rules in place. Children don’t like the rules but understand that they keep them safe. These improvements are having a positive impact on the care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable staff team. This has been a work in progress. The manager has a good understanding of the team’s strengths and areas in need of development. They have action plans in place to address any shortfalls. Staff say they ‘love’ working in the home. They say the manager invests in them and supports them to develop their skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision sessions. Staff report that the manager encourages reflective practice during these sessions. However, the recordings of these meetings do not always capture their reflections.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager regularly monitors and reviews the quality of children’s care. She is proud of the positive changes in the home in the last 12 months. The manager show’s commitment and determination to continue driving improvements forward.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s oversight in the home is good. This is evident in the home’s recording processes. The manager recognises patterns and trends in children’s behaviours. For example, the manager identified that one child felt able to talk to certain staff. Those staff were asked to work with this child on sensitive issues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff record daily logs in the format of letters to children. These are sensitively recorded and are child focused. This style of recording encourages staff to reflect on how they record information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals and parents gave very positive feedback about the manager and staff. One professional said, ‘They’ve been fantastic. You couldn’t get a more supportive home.’ The manager escalates concerns with professionals when they need to. For example, when they have not received important paperwork from the local authority. Inspection report children's home: SC061837 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to ensuring that risk assessments of bedroom door alarm are reviewed. 20 October 2021

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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

promotes their welfare. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to the responsible individual not providing sufficient oversight of an allegation made by a child against the registered manager. 20 October 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that improvements are made to provide children with a more homely environment. In particular, ensuring that any damage is repaired as soon as reasonably practicable and that children are given Inspection report children's home: SC061837 7 the opportunity to personalise their bedrooms. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes regulations, including the quality standards’. page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure they seek advice from the fire service in respect of where a fire extinguisher should be safely positioned. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC061837 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Archways Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Aristidou

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Inspector

Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC061837 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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