Children's home run by Total Care Matters Limited in Nottingham

Inspection report for children's home: SC449954 1 SC449954 Registered provider: Total Care Matters Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private provider. It can provide care and accommodation for up to four children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably skilled and experienced.

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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 21 October 2020 to carry out an assurance 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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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC449954 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/01/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 18/06/2018 Full Outstanding 12/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC449954 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This home provides children with a good standard of care. Children make good progress and have improved outcomes due to the care provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The needs of children who are newly admitted to the home are carefully considered. Leaders and managers ensure that any new children admitted to the home are compatible with the children already living there. When children leave the home, they benefit from well-planned transitions to new placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team is relatively new, but the relationships between staff and children are generally positive. Staff providing nurturing care and the children respond well to this. External professionals are happy with the standard and consistency of care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have previously struggled in education make good progress. Staff have a strong educational focus. Children begin to enjoy education and/or training as it is tailored to their individual needs. This promotes improved educational outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been occasions when staff have not prioritised children’s medical appointments. While this has not had a direct negative impact on children’s health, it has the capacity to do so. Staff have not always understood their roles or corporate parenting responsibilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a spacious home environment. The home is decorated, furnished and maintained to a high standard. Children personalise their bedrooms to their own tastes. However, bedroom door alarms are activated at night for all children. This is not proportionate to their individual needs or risks. This practice limits their privacy.

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

There have been no safeguarding incidents since the last assurance visit. Children have been safe. There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. This reflects a settled group of children who receive good care.

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

Behaviour management strategies are very effective. Staff have not needed to use physical intervention to manage behaviour. Staff are skilled in supporting children to regulate their emotions and behaviours.

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

Overall, safeguarding practice is good. However, one member of staff failed in their duty of care to children. Staff quickly raised their concerns, which led to the management team taking urgent action. These actions ensured children’s safety and well-being. Inspection report for children's home: SC449954 4 Communication with social workers, police and safeguarding is effective. However, information has not consistently been shared with Ofsted. This limits the regulator’s evaluation of safeguarding practice.

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

Risk assessments are devised for children before their admission to the home. Children’s risks and vulnerabilities are well understood by staff. However, risk assessments are not always kept up to date. This means that staff may not be aware of any emerging risks, or the most appropriate strategies to manage behaviour and mitigate risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a change of manager since the last Ofsted assurance visit. The new manager is registered with Ofsted. She is working towards attaining the relevant leadership and management qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been instrumental in developing a strong team culture. A skilled deputy manager provides effective support. This means that the home has a clear focus to ensure all children reach their personal potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The professional development of the staff team has been a priority. This includes accessing a broad range of training. All permanent staff have the required qualification or are working towards this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Support and supervision arrangements are excellent. Rigorous supervision supports staff in their roles. It enables managers to monitor the quality of staff support to children. Consequently, managers are able to track children’s progress and promote improved outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Not all case records contain comprehensive information. Statutory documents, which outline children’s care plans, are not always accessible. A small number of children’s records contain stigmatising language.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective internal and external quality assurance provides detailed analysis of care provision. The registered manager understands the home’s strengths and weaknesses. She has development plans in place to promote continued improvement. Inspection report for children's home: SC449954 5

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific regard to ensuring that there are accurate and up-to-date risk assessments for all children. 20 December

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected; and

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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(a)(c)(i)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific regard to the use of bedroom door alarms. 20 December Inspection report for children's home: SC449954 6 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))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific regard to ensuring that the home retains up-to-date education, health and care plans and local authority care plans for each child. 20 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff consistently follow the home’s policies and procedures for the benefit of the children in the home’s care. Everyone working at the home must understand their roles and responsibilities and what they are authorised to decide on their own initiative. There should be clear lines of accountability. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)  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 the children’s homes regulations, including

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Recommendations

the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  Regulation 40(4) requires the registered person to notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious (40(4)(e)). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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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 for children's home: SC449954 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Total Care Matters Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 230 Bathley Street, The Meadows, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG2 2ER

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Inspector

Amanda Ellis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC449954 8 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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