Children's Home run by Aston Children’s Care Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC453726 1 SC453726

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Aston Children’s Care Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to four children, aged between eight and 18 years, with complex behaviours due to childhood trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager’s post is vacant.

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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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This monitoring visit

This children’s home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 7 September 2021. As a result of the inspection, five compliance notices were raised. A notice restricting the number of children who can live in the home was also issued.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit reviewed the action taken by managers to meet the shortfalls raised in three of the five compliance notices, for regulation 11, regulation 13 and regulation 32. The other two compliance notices issued had a longer timeframe in which to comply and therefore were not reviewed during this monitoring visit.

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This monitoring visit

Since the full inspection, one child has moved out of the home. Three children now live in the home. They have all lived there for around a year.

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager has left her post. In the absence of a manager, the operations manager is overseeing the care of children and management of staff. Recruitment of a new manager has been successful and her start date is imminent.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have stopped using agency workers to care for children. Gaps in the rota have been filled by permanent members of staff from the provider’s other homes. This now provides children with a more consistent care team. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC453726 2 Leaders and managers have not taken enough action to ensure the safe recruitment of staff. For example, gaps in employment were not fully explored for two members of staff who are currently working in the home. Furthermore, managers failed to explore potential risk factors and there are omissions in a reference verification. This means staff working in the home have not been safely recruited.

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This monitoring visit

Children told the inspectors their relationships with staff have improved. Some staff who previously worked in the home are no longer there. Inspectors observed staff and children to be respectful when talking to each other. This is an improving picture which has a positive impact on children’s experiences.

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This monitoring visit

Staff talk to children to help them better understand positive relationships, including talking about bullying. Children said they now have rules in place and bullying has stopped. Staff support children’s positive behaviour with reward systems. This is having a positive impact on children’s behaviour and their relationships with each other and the staff team. Consequently, children have consistency from staff and the children are now more settled.

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This monitoring visit

As a result of this visit, compliance notices for regulation 11 and 13 have been met. However, Ofsted has reissued a compliance notice under regulation 32 regarding the safe recruitment of staff. A further monitoring visit will take place to review the outstanding compliance notices.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 07/09/2021 Full Inadequate 15/05/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/01/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC453726 3

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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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to escalating concerns when children’s educational needs are not met. 17 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff provide children with appropriate support and guidance to help them to stop smoking cigarettes. 17 October 2021

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)) 17 October 2021 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC453726 4 This specifically relates to ensuring that staff effectively address the risk associated with children smoking in the home.

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm; (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iv)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff take action and support children so they no longer harm one another. Also, to ensuring that staff keep each child safe from harm. 17 October 2021

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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

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)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff provide children with a safe environment to live in. Also, to staff ensuring that the home is well maintained. 3 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. 17 October 2021 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC453726 5 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(d)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the staff have sufficient training required to meet the needs of children and have their level 3 qualification.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to ensuring that the manager has effective monitoring and review systems.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, this relates to ensuing there are enough appropriately recruited staff on shift.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the provider only admits children into the home when they fully understand their needs and can confidently meet those needs. 17 October 2021 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC453726 6 It also relates to ensuring that staff follow all children’s relevant plans, including behaviour support plans, risk assessments and deprivation of liberty orders.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff are safely recruited as required. 17 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 17 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

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.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5)) 17 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC453726 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. 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) Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC453726 8

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aston Children’s Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 181 Penn Road, Wolverhampton WV3 0EQ

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Inspectors

Jodie Lewis, Social Care Inspector Louise Battersby, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC453726 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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