Children's Home run by Hand In Hand Childcare in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 1 Registered provider: Hand in Hand Childcare Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three children who have suffered early childhood trauma. A private company runs the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2020.

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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. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We visited this setting on 28 and 29 October 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. Widespread concerns were identified. We last visited this setting on 21 December 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit, when improvements had been made to the quality of care provided to children. Both reports are 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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Inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected Inadequate

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Inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Inadequate

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Inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children are poor and they are not making progress.

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Inadequate

Date of last inspection: 21 January 2020

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Inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 2 Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/01/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 3

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inadequate

One child was living at the home at the time of this inspection. Two children living at the home at the time of the monitoring visit in December 2020 had returned to live with their families. Three further children had moved in and out of the home. All left sooner than anticipated and in an unplanned way.

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inadequate

When children move into the home their needs and risks are not considered by managers. As a result, children with complex and challenging behaviours are not matched appropriately. Ineffective care planning means that children living at the home have been left vulnerable when new children’s risks were not assessed appropriately. In addition, one child had to travel a significant distance to and from school each day and managers did not consider the impact this would have on his emotional well-being and behaviour.

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inadequate

Managers and staff do not understand children’s needs well. The manager told the inspector that the child living at the home does not have any health needs, which is incorrect. Information about the child’s diagnosed health needs is also not clearly set out in his written plans. As a result, staff do not have information about how these may impact on the child and any additional support he may need. The same child is not supported by staff to understand his cultural background and identity. Poor assessment, understanding and review of children’s needs compromises children’s progress.

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inadequate

Staff do not have the confidence and experience to meet children’s needs. Many staff do not understand how children’s previous experiences are communicated through their behaviour and responses. One social worker said, ‘Staff didn’t seem well equipped to deal with [child] or to have had sufficient training. There were staff on duty who were not able to intervene. They are clearly not equipped.’ This does not fit with the home’s statement of purpose, which states that children will receive care from a skilled staff team with experience in managing challenging behaviours.

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inadequate

The manner in which staff speak to children is inappropriate. The inspector viewed records which identified serious shortfalls in the way in which staff speak to and write about children. This is not identified or addressed by managers. This poor practice compromises children’s opportunity to build positive relationships with adults who care for them. In addition, if children want to access their records now or in the future, they will see inappropriate and demeaning language used to describe them.

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inadequate

Staff do not have the skills to manage children’s behaviour and this has resulted in significant damage being caused in the home. For example, there are no working televisions in lounge areas because these have been smashed during incidents and there are holes in some walls. Managers have initiated plans to place locks on Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 4 lounge doors as a behaviour management strategy. There is a sign on the office door that states children should not enter unless invited. This does not promote a warm and welcoming environment for children.

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inadequate

Children’s care plans do not contain up-to-date information relating to their individual needs. Managers have failed to obtain the most up-to-date care plans from children’s placing authorities. For example, one child is not spending time with his sibling as often as he should be, as set out in his care plan. Managers and staff are not clear why and have not done anything to address it. This means that the child is missing out on spending time with someone who is important to him.

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inadequate

Notwithstanding the serious shortfalls identified, the child living in the home has good rates of attendance at school. He also has opportunities to participate in activities that he enjoys. For example, he has enjoyed outings to the cinema and his interest in fashion design is encouraged by staff. During the inspection, staff provided the child with an opportunity to celebrate Diwali. The child told the inspector that he thinks the staff are nice.

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

Risk assessments fail to provide staff with guidance or strategies to manage risks to children and keep them safe. The risk assessment for the child living in the home does not set out guidance for staff about online safety, yet this has been a significant risk since the child moved into the home. There is some guidance in place for staff about the steps to take if children go missing from home. However, this does not go far enough. For example, when children go missing from home, they use public transport and travel some distance from the home. This information is not included in children’s risk assessments. A lack of information in risk assessments means that staff are not provided with guidance and strategies to manage and reduce risks to children to keep them safe.

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

Staff supervision of children is inadequate. This increased the risk to one child, who went missing from the home because staff were not supervising him appropriately. On another occasion, the same child was able to access a sharp vegetable knife and take this into school. Managers do not support staff to reflect and learn from incidents. These shortfalls compromise children’s safety.

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

At times, staff need to restrain children to keep the child and others safe. Restraint records are not always accurate and so it is not clear whether children and staff have been injured and whether they have required medical attention. In addition, managers do not ensure that children are spoken to about what happened by someone who was not part of the incident. Poor management oversight of restraint records and practice leaves children vulnerable and at risk of harm.

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

Managers have failed to ensure that appropriate action is taken when children make allegations against staff. For example, a member of staff subject to an allegation from a child continued to work at the home. Managers did not seek any advice from the designated officer before making this decision or consider relieving the member Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 5 of staff from their duties while this advice was sought. This lack of action leaves children at risk of being cared for by people who have allegedly caused them harm. On one occasion, this resulted in a member of staff completing a debrief with a child who had made an allegation against them. This does not help children to feel safe.

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

Staff do not undertake direct work with children to help them understand the impact of bullying. Furthermore, only three members of staff have attended antibullying training. This is a missed opportunity to help staff to understand more about how to prevent bullying happening and respond appropriately when it does.

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

The home’s location risk assessment lacks relevant information and, although updated recently, this has not included any consultation with relevant agencies such as the police. This does not show that managers work proactively and thoroughly to promote children’s safety.

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

Records show that staff are recruited safely. Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures help to prevent unsuitable adults from working with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not demonstrate that he has the skills to manage the home effectively and keep children safe. Managers have failed to deal with the ineffective and poor practice of some staff. As a result, children’s safety is compromised and they are not receiving good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

High staff turnover means that children receive care from inexperienced staff who are not appropriately trained to meet their needs. On more than one occasion, there has not been a staff member on shift who is trained in first aid. On other occasions, staff working with children have not been trained to safely manage complex and challenging behaviours. This means that police have had to be called to the home to manage children’s behaviours. Staff have been physically assaulted because they are unable to help children regulate their emotions. Some staff are still not trained in physical intervention. This leaves children and staff vulnerable and at risk of harm and children at greater risk of being criminalised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive regular supervision that promotes their development and allows them to reflect on the care they provide to children and the quality of the relationships they have with them. Consequently, staff have not been provided with adequate support during difficult times to help them and to help them improve their care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive training that supports them to understand and respond to children’s needs effectively. For example, staff have not had training in self-harm, e- safety and child exploitation, despite managers being aware that these were significant risks for children. As a result, staff remain uninformed about how to respond safely and provide children with appropriate care. Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 6 The manager’s monitoring and oversight of the service is weak. He does not have a full understanding of the strengths of the home and shortfalls in practice. Children are not provided with sufficient opportunities to share their views about the care they receive. Consultation with children and external stakeholders does not form part of the home’s review of quality of care. Ineffective evaluation of the service does not support managers to improve children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has failed to notify Ofsted of serious incidents that have occurred at the home. This means that he does not keep all relevant people informed, and this does not promote children’s welfare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual fails to identify and address shortfalls in the management and leadership in the home. Serious safeguarding incidents have occurred. The responsible individual has been aware of these incidents but has not ensured that the manager has taken appropriate action to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

In response to the serious failings found in respect of safeguarding children and the leadership and management of the home, a notice restricting the accommodation of this home was issued on 8 November 2021. Six compliance notices have been issued. Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 7

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that improvements are made to the home environment, repairs are carried out promptly and internal doors to the home are not locked as a means of managing behaviour. 12 December

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 12 December Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 8 ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care; (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children have the opportunity to express their views, wishes and feelings on a regular basis.

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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.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that managers and staff are aware of children’s health needs, and there are clear plans in place to support children’s health needs. 12 December

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Requirement Due date

*The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 12 December Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 9 that staff—

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(ix)(x)(xi)(xii)(xiii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff speak to and write about children in an appropriate manner. Ensure that children receive support from staff who understand their needs and help children to manage their behaviours more appropriately.

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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— 12 December Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 10 that staff—

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that safeguarding concerns are identified and responded to. In addition, ensure that each child has a risk assessment which provides staff with strategies to follow to keep children safe and that staff implement the guidance in these risk assessments.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; 12 December Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 11 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring staff have received relevant training and supervision. In addition, the manager must implement effective monitoring systems, and regularly review and evaluate the quality of care to ensure that shortfalls are identified and rectified.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14) (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ii)(iii)(c)) 12 December

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Requirement Due date

*A responsible individual must— 12 December Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 12 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))

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Requirement Due date

A person may only manage a children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

having regard to the size of the home, its statement of purpose, and the number and needs (including any needs a rising from any disability) of the children—

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Requirement Due date

the person has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills to manage the home effectively and lead the care of children. (Regulation 28 (1)(b)(i)) 12 December

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Requirement Due date

at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. (Regulation 31 (2)(a)) 12 December

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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; 12 December Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 13 the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers must ensure that all incidents of staff restraining a child are recorded accurately and in line with regulation. In addition, ensure that managers review incidents effectively and that children and staff involved receive a debrief.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 12 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(i)) 12 December

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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. 12 December Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 14 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))

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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)) 12 December

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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 for children's home: 2510328 15

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hand in Hand Childcare

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 20 Birmingham Road, Walsall WS1 2LT

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Inspector

Natasha Skinner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2510328 16 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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