Children's Home run by Individual Specialist Care Limited in Sandwell

Inspection report children's home: SC481235 1 SC481235 Registered provider: Individual Specialist Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a small private organisation. It is registered to offer care for up to three children who may experience emotional or behavioural difficulties. The registered manager has been in post since 4 November 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021. We last visited this setting on 14 September 2020 to carry out a monitoring 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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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 17 February 2020

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC481235 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/07/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 10/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: SC481235 3

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improvement to be good

Two children live in the home. One child has lived in the home for over two years and one child has recently moved into the home. Children who have left the home since the last inspection have left in accordance with their plans.

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improvement to be good

Children who live in this home make positive progress with their education, health and ability to manage their emotions effectively. However, there are shortfalls that mean this home requires improvement to be good.

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improvement to be good

Managers do not consider all information about children’s known risks and behaviours prior to new children moving into the home. This hinders their ability to assess how compatible children are with each other. This has the potential to impact negatively on the care and experience children receive.

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improvement to be good

Alarms on children’s bedroom doors are used throughout the day and night. One child told the inspector ‘I don’t know why we have them [door alarms], but I hate them.’ Managers have not completed a rigorous assessment of children’s needs to support the requirement for this measure. As a result, the alarms have been used unnecessarily. This has a negative impact on a homely environment and the children’s experiences.

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improvement to be good

Managers are taking some action to improve the decor of the home. Currently, the environment is stark in places and does not demonstrate that children live here. However, children’s bedrooms are more personalised and there is a plan to continue to develop the environment to become more homely.

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improvement to be good

Children say they are happy living in this home. The registered manager and staff know the children well. They demonstrate a good understanding of children’s needs. They respond to children sensitively, with warmth and humour. Children are at ease in the company of staff; they spend time together talking, watching TV and playing board games. Children actively seek out staff to tell them about their day and problems they have encountered.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to understand risks and dangers that they may experience. Staff undertake regular meaningful sessions with children to give them the knowledge to make positive choices and keep themselves safe. These have included sessions on the dangers of being missing from home, smoking, sexual health, knife crime and relationships.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that children feel valued. Staff attend children’s school assembly, offer praise and rewards, and take children on holiday. These positive experiences help to improve children’s sense of self-worth and self-esteem. Inspection report children's home: SC481235 4 Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, staff supported children to understand what was happening. Children continued their education both in school and from home. Children going missing from home dramatically reduced. Staff thought creatively about how children could continue to physically see their families throughout the pandemic, including on Christmas Day.

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improvement to be good

Staff develop positive relationships with children. Because of this, they understand children’s needs and potential risks, and they implement risk assessments effectively. Children benefit from this safe approach to their care.

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improvement to be good

Missing-from-home protocols are clear, and staff are proactive and curious in their approach when they suspect a child may go missing. Staff act in children’s best interests to keep them safe and missing-from-home episodes have reduced for children. However, on occasions, there has been a delay in the placing authority completing a return home interview. Return home interviews are not shared with the manager to allow him to review the information and consider this to safeguard the child. The manager has not taken enough action to rectify this shortfall.

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improvement to be good

Staff only use restraint as a last resort to prevent children from harming themselves or others. They use a range of strategies to try to de-escalate these incidents. However, the manager does not record that he has spoken with children after the incident. It is not clear to see who has recorded the information as the document is not signed. This impedes effective monitoring and oversight of restraint.

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improvement to be good

Staff have failed to complete a practice fire drill in a timely manner with a child who has recently moved into the home. Consequently, this delay could impact on the child’s safety in the event of a fire evacuation.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not labelled over-the-counter medication to promote safe medication administration. The oversight could lead to unnecessary errors.

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good

The registered manager has been in post since 2019. He hopes to recruit a deputy manager to support him in the near future. He is passionate about children experiencing positive relationships and new experiences to enhance their lives. He understands there are shortfalls and plans to address these with the support of the responsible individual.

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good

When appointing new staff, managers have not consistently followed safe recruitment practice. For example, gaps in employment have not been noticed. This has the potential to compromise safeguarding measures when recruiting new staff. Inspection report children's home: SC481235 5 Staff said that they feel supported in their role. However, staff, including the registered manager, do not receive regular practice-related supervision. The manager and bank staff have not received an annual appraisal of their practice. These shortfalls create missed opportunities to formalise and review staff development and practice.

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good

Managers have failed to scrutinise the statement of purpose. Consequently, information is not factually correct regarding the expertise offered by staff and the training staff have undertaken. Additionally, it is not clear which external agencies can be contacted to make a complaint.

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good

Monitoring and review systems are not effective in supporting management oversight. For example, where staff have been allocated training and failed to complete it, managers do not follow this up.

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good

Professionals provide positive feedback about the care children receive. They also share that staff communicate well, share important information about children, attend relevant meetings and support children’s plans. Children benefit from this joined-up approach to their care. Inspection report children's home: SC481235 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

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to managers having effective monitoring and review systems in place. The systems used must be able to identify who had made the recording and must be signed by the author. 16 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff being trained in the specific models the statement of purpose states staff use. Additionally, any training set out as core training in the statement of purpose should be provided for staff. 02 December Inspection report children's home: SC481235 7 It also relates to including the details of whom the complaints about the home can be made to.

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to bedroom door alarms only being used when necessary to safeguard a child and being subject to rigorous assessment. 11 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to medication for children being clearly labelled. 11 November

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practical, children are aware of the procedures to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children receiving a practice fire drill within a timely manner after moving into the home. 11 November

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. Regulation 26 (7)(b)) 02 December Inspection report children's home: SC481235 8 This specifically relates to the registered manager having regular, meaningful supervision and an annual appraisal.

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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

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4) (b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specially relates to staff having regular and meaningful supervisions.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to bank staff having appraisals annually. 02 December

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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

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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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) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 02 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 02 December Inspection report children's home: SC481235 9 within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c)

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff being spoken with about the physical intervention they were involved in within 48 hours. This should be somebody independent of the restraint if the registered manager has been involved.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to ensuring that the manager speaks with children within 5 days about the restraint and record this.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they 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)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that young people live in an environment which meets their basic day-to-day needs. In particular, continue to make the home a comfortable and homely environment. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30) Inspection report children's home: SC481235 10

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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: SC481235 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Individual Specialist Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 65 Lodge Road, Walsall, Staffordshire WS5 3LA

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Inspector

Jodie Lewis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC481235 12 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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