Children's home run by Skyline Child Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 1265096 1 Registered provider: Skyline Child 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 private company. It is the only home that this company currently operates. The home is registered to provide care for up to two children who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since 20 May 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 last visited this setting on 15 September 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 29 January 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1265096 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/01/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 30/09/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1265096 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of inspection, two children were living in the home. They have lived in the home for over two years.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated well and provides a welcoming environment. Children’s photographs are displayed on the walls, and their bedrooms are personalised to their likes. This helps children to feel a sense of belonging and of being valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know children well. They demonstrate a good understanding of children’s needs and communicate well. As a result, children’s wishes and feelings are known.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is attending education and making good progress. However, there is a significant delay in sourcing an appropriate education for one child. The manager has appropriately raised concerns with the child’s placing authority. Staff support the child at home with their reading skills and developing independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children told the inspector that they feel safe living at the home. They know how to make a complaint and identify adults they trust. When children raise complaints, the registered manager is quick to identify these. However, on one occasion the responsible individual did not discuss one child’s complaint fully with them. They therefore do not demonstrate the same oversight as the manager. As a result, not all complaints are considered with the same thoroughness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend time with people who are important to them. Staff provide good support to families to help them spend quality time with their children. For example, the manager shared ways in how parents can best support their child when they see them. This has been a positive experience for the parents who now feel better able to support their child. This joined-up approach means that the child is experiencing consistency and enjoying time with people they care about.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to enjoy a range of activities. Children enjoyed going on holiday. These positive experiences help children to improve their sense of self- worth, self-esteem and build on their social skills.

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

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

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

Missing from home protocols are clear. Staff actively look for children and inform the relevant professionals when children go missing from home. Staff have a good understanding about why there is an increase in missing for one child and where the child goes to. Staff are working well with other professionals to address this Inspection report for children’s home: 1265096 4 concern. When children return home, staff welcome them, ensure that they are safe, and talk to them about the dangers of going missing from home. Children do not always receive a return home interview in a timely manner, and the manager has raised this with the placing authority.

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

Staff support children to attend their medical appointments. They are compassionate and advocate for children when they are frightened, such as when going to the dentist. This approach has meant that children feel supported and receive the medical treatment they need.

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

Staff educate children about things that are important to their safety, development and personal care. They use visual aids, worksheets, videos and discussions to support children’s understanding. These creative approaches ensure that children can understand information at a pace suited to their individual needs.

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

Children’s achievements are celebrated. Positive behaviour is encouraged through rewards and praise. Restraint has vastly decreased. Sanctions are low, and all but one has been a natural consequence. The manager understands the needs for consequences to be meaningful and restorative to support children’s learning and understanding. The manager has good oversight of behavioural incidents. However, when the manager has been involved in a restraint, his debrief has not been completed within the specified time frame.

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

Staff are proactive in attempting to keep the home free from COVID-19. Children have been spoken with about how to keep themselves safe and about the vaccine available to them. Throughout the pandemic, children continued to engage in education and activities, and seeing their families where possible.

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good

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2020. He has implemented positive changes in the home. Staff feel well supported and recognise the improvements and progress of children since the new manager joined the team. He focuses staff on the use of de-escalation to support children to have a positive experience in the home.

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good

The registered manager challenges other agencies when they fail to provide children with appropriate services or support. He is diligent in raising concerns where they are not responded to and is proactive in advocating for children’s rights and entitlements.

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good

Staff told the inspector that they feel supported by managers and that this helps them to develop their practice. However, this is not reinforced through regular supervision. This creates a missed opportunity to review staff development.

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good

The responsible individual has not consistently followed safe recruitment practice when appointing new staff. For example, not enough checks are carried out to Inspection report for children’s home: 1265096 5 explore the reasons why a member of staff left their last employment, when they had previously worked with children or vulnerable adults. This has the potential to compromise safeguarding measures when recruiting new staff.

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good

When children make allegations and disclosures, these are taken seriously. This includes prompt referrals to the relevant professionals. However, when this was overseen by the responsible individual, there were delays in sharing information with the designated officer.

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good

The current children’s guide is not aimed at children who have learning disabilities. The manager is working on devising one that is more appropriate.

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good

Staff generally record information in a child-friendly manner. However, occasionally the language used is open to interpretation and can be misunderstood. As a result of this, children may not understand the context of the recording when reviewed at a later date.

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good

Professionals and parents provide positive feedback about the care that children receive. They state that staff communicate well and work with them to provide a joined-up approach which benefits children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1265096 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 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 managers asking a previous employer why the applicant left (if this position was with children or vulnerable adults).

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Requirement Due date

This also applies to ensuring that agency workers have been subject to the requirements of schedule 2. 24 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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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)(a)(b)(c)) 1 December 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular— 1 December 2021 Inspection report for children’s home: 1265096 7 provide for the prompt referral of an allegation about current or ongoing abuse or neglect in relation to a child to the placing authority and, if different, the local authority in whose area the home is located. (Regulation 34 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to referrals made to the designated officer being completed in the statutory time frame.

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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

a description of the measure and its duration;

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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. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to debriefs for staff being completed within the correct time frame. 15 December

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (1) (3))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to complaints and considering all the information raised within them. 15 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact that their behaviour has on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour, and the staff in the Inspection report for children’s home: 1265096 8 home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should 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 children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home produces a children’s guide. The children’s guide must be made available to all children when their placement in the home is agreed (or on arrival at the home if the placement is made in an emergency) and must be age appropriate, provided in an accessible format and explained to each child to make sure they understand it. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)

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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: 1265096 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Skyline Child Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 29 Old Farm Drive, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV8 1GF

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Inspector

Jodie Lewis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1265096 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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