Children's Home run by Nottinghamshire County Council in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC036732 1 SC036732 Registered provider: Nottinghamshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides short breaks for up to eight children with learning disabilities and associated challenging behaviour.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC036732 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/04/2019 Full Good 17/04/2018 Full Good 07/08/2017 Full Good 21/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC036732 3

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improvement to be good

Although children’s experiences and outcomes are positive, shortfalls in safeguarding practice means that the overall quality of care in this home requires improvement.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy a range of activities and have enriching experiences. Staff encourage children to access a variety of enriching opportunities. This means that children enjoy their breaks and have fun, and good memories are made. These varied opportunities help to improve children’s confidence and support them to develop social skills and lasting friendships.

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improvement to be good

The home is decorated to a very high standard. Soft furnishings creating a warm and inviting home that children are proud of. Children get to choose their bedrooms to stay in each time they have a break. This provides each child with an increased sense of belonging and familiarity. The home has a beautiful garden area with a sensory cabin, play equipment, nature trails and its own bouncy castle. During COVID-19 restrictions, children were still able to be active and enjoy their stay.

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improvement to be good

The home was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they continued to operate at a reduced capacity, enabling them to provide a service to the families that needed it. Staff placed themselves at risk to help others and have been commended for their actions. For example, a child who attends the setting and their foster carers contracted COVID-19, impacting the carer’s health and ability to care for the child. The setting provided support in a local authority home to ensure that the child was supported by staff who know them, and ensured the child’s safety and welfare. One parent said, `They [staff] have provided a lifeline to us, they have helped us so much, we are eternally grateful.’

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improvement to be good

There is a clear focus from the staff on supporting children to have enjoyable experiences, develop skills and reach their individual goals. Children are supported through individualised plans to make progress and their achievements are shared and celebrated by those close to them. Staff have supported one child to develop their communication skills, enabling them to communicate their wishes and feelings. Another child has been supported to gain a healthy amount of weight following challenges with food intake.

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improvement to be good

The staff are dedicated to the children. They know children very well and are skilled at interpreting their needs. Staff use their knowledge, skills and experience to meet the needs of the children in a nurturing manner. Staff are skilled at supporting children to form trusting relationships with those caring for them and feel welcome when they come to the home for their short breaks. Inspection report children’s home: SC036732 4

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of children’s safety needs. However, risk assessments are not comprehensive. They do not provide staff with clear guidance on how to manage the identified risks. Assessments lack the required guidance to keep children safe. For example, one child’s risk assessment identifies that the child will place foreign objects in their mouth. However, staff are not provided with guidance on how to manage this risk. This leaves the child vulnerable.

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improvement to be good

Staff monitor and track the progress of children. Staff are alert to any behavioural triggers and respond accordingly when children’s behaviour becomes concerning. This has ultimately led to positive outcomes, such as a reduction in challenging behaviour and the use of physical interventions. However, when physical intervention has taken place, records do not include essential information. This prevents rigorous oversight of incidents in order to ensure the intervention was required and undertaken in accordance with guidelines.

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improvement to be good

There are times when physical intervention is required to keep children and others safe. Staff receive training that equips them with the skills that they need to keep children safe in these instances. However, after being restrained, children are not given the opportunity to talk about the restraint or properly debriefed. This is a missed opportunity for children’s wishes and feelings to be heard.

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improvement to be good

The home’s location risk assessment does not identify potential risks for children. Although children are not identified as being at high risk of exploitation, the assessment fails to identify known risks in the community. Consultation has not been sought from others when reviewing this document, such as input from local police and children’s social workers. This reduces the effectiveness of this assessment.

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improvement to be good

Errors have been made with the medication recording and administering procedures. The manager has been quick to investigate each incident. Changes to practice have been implemented to avoid reoccurrence. All staff are trained in medication administration and undertake a competency assessment. As a result, the likelihood of further errors is minimised.

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good

The manager is very experienced and has worked in this home for several years. She has a solid commitment to the children and staff. She is held in high regard by children, staff and involved agencies.

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good

Management monitoring systems are not yet robust. They have not supported the manager to identify shortfalls in some records and assessments. This hinders their ability to oversee the quality-of-care practice and outcomes for children. Inspection report children’s home: SC036732 5 The staff receive regular, professional supervision. However, management oversight of staff supervision has failed to identify that they are heavily task focussed. Supervision records do not include reflective practice and do not support staff to manage the challenges that they experience when working with children. For example, one staff member expressed that they felt anxious working with a specific child. The staff member was not provided with support or strategies to reduce their anxieties.

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good

The manager has a detailed understanding and awareness of the histories of each child and their individual and, at times, complex needs. She articulates their progress and how staff support them to continue making progress in all areas of their development. She challenges other agencies if any actual or perceived failure to provide necessary services for children is identified.

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good

The staff team is highly experienced and knowledgeable. A large proportion of the staff are either qualified or enrolled on suitable qualification pathways to enhance their knowledge. Training and development opportunities are detailed and thorough. Bespoke training focuses on the direct and specific needs of children. Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, managers have been creative in how training is delivered. This ensured that all training continued to be delivered to staff throughout this difficult time. Inspection report children’s home: SC036732 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;

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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 (2)(a)(i)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to ensuring that risk assessments reflect the needs and identified risks of the children and include guidance on how staff should respond to the assessed risks. 20 December

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers embedding monitoring systems in the home to improve the quality of care. 20 December Inspection report children’s home: SC036732 7 This is repeated from the previous inspection.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

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 20 December Inspection report children’s home: SC036732 8 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 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that records of restraint include all required information and that children are spoken to following an incident to seek their views, wishes and feelings.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in (Regulation 12 (2)(c) (the protection of children standard)).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1)(2))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to ensuring the location of premises assessment identifies potential risks for children and consultation is sought from relevant persons when reviewing this suitability. 20 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure systems are in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (Guide to Children’s homes regulations including the quality standards Page 61, 13.2)

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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: SC036732 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Nottinghamshire County Council, County Hall, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 7QP

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Inspector

Zoey Lee, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC036732 10 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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