Children's Home run by Roundhouse Care in Staffordshire

Inspection report children's home: SC478852 1 SC478852 Registered provider: Roundhouse 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 operated by a private provider and is registered to provide care and accommodation for three children with social and/or emotional difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

A suitably experienced manager recently started in the post. She is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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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 19 and 20 October 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: 11 December 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: This children’s home was judged as inadequate on 11 December 2019. Following that inspection, a compliance notice and a restriction of accommodation notice were issued. Inspection report children's home: SC478852 2 Ofsted carried out a monitoring visit on 21 January 2020. Progress had been made in addressing shortfalls, the compliance notice was met and the restriction of accommodation notice was removed.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/12/2019 Full Inadequate 28/01/2019 Full Outstanding 01/02/2018 Full Outstanding 20/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC478852 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has continued living in the home since the last inspection. No further children have been admitted to the home during this period. The child feels happy and settled in his home. He has built strong and trusting relationships with staff. As a result, the child has built a strong sense of belonging in the home. This positive ethos supports the child to make good progress. The child told the inspector, ‘When I’m away I always look forward to coming back. This is my home. Staff are kind, they listen to me, they understand me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build strong and trusted relationships with the child. They genuinely care about him and know him well. Staff use this knowledge to provide the child with good- quality, individualised care. Staff provide support in line with the child’s needs. For example, they use a calm and measured approach to support the child to develop his independence skills. Staff are attuned to the child’s changing emotions and needs. They use subtle encouragement and humour to support the child to make continued progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making excellent progress in his education. He recently achieved positive exam results and has moved on to a local college. Staff and teachers work closely together to provide the child with seamless and consistent care. A teacher told the inspector, ‘We built a really good rapport with the home. He felt anxious about exams. The staff really supported him throughout. He achieved over and above what was expected.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the child well and invest in him. They involve the child in day-to-day and more complex decisions about his care. Regular consultations and children’s meetings help staff to understand how the child feels about his home. Staff have supported the child to create his own safety plan. This provides him with a sense of ownership of his care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys a range of activities and spending time with staff. He has a passion for motor vehicles and enjoys cleaning cars. Staff support the child to develop his hobbies and interests. For example, they organise trips to local car showrooms and enjoy baking together. During the inspection, staff proudly showed the inspector a range of photos capturing these memorable experiences. The child also recently attended his school prom. Staff helped to organise a luxury sports car to take the child to this event. These enjoyable experiences create a legacy of positive memories for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the child spends time with those who are important to him. They work hard to develop positive relationships with family members. When appropriate, staff advocate on the child’s behalf, so he can spend safe and enjoyable time with his family. This provides the child with a positive sense of identity. However, the Inspection report children's home: SC478852 4 child’s file did not contain the local authority plan in relation to time spent with his family. The manager has plans to address this shortfall imminently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A clinical psychologist is employed to work in the home. They work closely with staff to ensure that they understand the child’s needs and provide appropriate and effective care. For example, the clinician and staff regularly review the child’s progress and set targets in line with his needs. This specialist oversight means that the child receives good-quality and well-informed care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the home environment is homely and welcoming. Photos of the child and other children who have previously lived in the home are on display. However, some aspects of the internal environment require redecoration. In addition, the rear garden needs weeding, and the trampoline is currently covered in debris and is therefore out of use.

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

The child is settled and is not currently exposed to risk. He has made good progress in reducing and managing challenging incidents over time. Staff offer the child a calm and nurturing environment. They support him to make sense of difficult emotions and feelings. Targeted one-to-one support helps the child to learn from his infrequent challenging incidents. Staff also involve the child in devising strategies to resolve difficult incidents in a calm manner. For example, the child enjoys listening to music when he feels anxious. In addition, staff use humour and distraction techniques to defuse difficult situations.

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

Overall, the manager and staff know the child’s risks well and take appropriate steps to manage them. For example, the child has access to a mobile phone and other electronic devices. Staff work well with the child to help him understand the risks associated with online activity. Staff check the child’s phone daily to ensure that he is not exposed to risk. In addition, the child’s strong and trusted relationships with staff mean that he will openly discuss his concerns or worries. However, the inspection identified some recording shortfalls in relation to the child’s risk assessments. For example, staff have not ensured that information across risk assessments and placement plans is joined up, and some key information is missing from some risk assessments. These recording shortfalls have not had an impact on the child’s care.

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

Staff support the child to take age-appropriate risks. For example, the child spends time away from the home with friends in the local community. Staff act, as any good parent would, by getting to know the child’s friends and family. In addition, staff are currently supporting the child to use public transport and develop a range of independence skills. This equips the child with important skills for his future.

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

Staff provide the child with clear, consistent boundaries and routine. They reward him for positive behaviour. The manager uses praise books to capture frequent examples of the child’s positive progress. The child thrives on this approach and enjoys meeting his targets. Inspection report children's home: SC478852 5 Staff use a range of measures to help the child to understand how to keep safe. Targeted one-to-one sessions and children’s meetings involve discussion on a range of topics, including managing feelings and behaviour and safe family time. Staff support the child to understand how his behaviour has an impact on others. As a result, the child has developed a greater awareness of his behaviour and uses new strategies to manage difficult situations. The child’s social worker told the inspector, ‘His patience and insight are much improved. He can now use reasoning. This is great progress.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is new to her role. She is child focused and has clear expectations and is open to learning. She is well supported by a small yet stable staff team. The manager is aspirational and ambitious for children in her care. This ethos, while in its early stages, has inspired staff to continue providing good-quality care. A member of staff told the inspector, ‘If we have any problems, she is there for us. She is very open and approachable.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team has a range of skills and experience. They are adequately resourced and feel supported by leaders and managers. Staff are positive role models for the child and bring a range of expertise to his care. However, during the inspection, some staff were unable to articulate a clear understanding of the home’s models of care and the theory underpinning their practice. In addition, managers missed opportunities in staff supervision to explore how the home’s models of care influence practice. The impact of this shortfall is lessened as staff practice is overseen by a clinician. This means that the child receives therapeutic care in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is developing an understanding of staffing strengths and areas to improve. Her practice strikes a good balance between healthy challenge and development. Staff meetings provide staff with opportunities to explore their practice and identify learning. However, records of these meetings lack detail and are not an accurate reflection of staff discussions. This has the potential to undermine staff learning and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the manager has effective monitoring systems in place. She compiles information on all aspects of the child’s care. Internal daily checks support staff to consistently provide good-quality care. In addition, the manager completes monthly reports which help to identify strengths and areas for development in the home. Furthermore, the manager takes a proactive role in the home and often works alongside staff to model good practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has established strong relationships with partner agencies. Professionals are unanimously positive about their communication with staff and the care provided to the child. A social worker told the inspector, ‘I can’t fault the home. He [child] has been very settled for a long time. He has made a lot of progress. He wants to live in the home for as long as he can. That speaks volumes.’ Inspection report children's home: SC478852 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 relates to staff understanding the home’s models of practice and the theory underpinning this practice. 1 November 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that risk assessments are clearly recorded, and cross referenced to other plans and information to provide staff with clear guidance when needed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that each child has a local authority plan on file outlining the child’s level of contact with their family and any associated restrictions. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.3)  The registered person should ensure that all areas of the home are welcoming and decorated in line with children’s development and needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report children's home: SC478852 7  The registered person should ensure that all records are clear and are an accurate

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Recommendations

reflection of staff and professional discussions. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: SC478852 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Roundhouse Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ventura House, Ventura Park Road, Tamworth, Staffordshire B78 3HL

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Inspector

Gareth Leckey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC478852 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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