Children's Home run by Derby City Council in Derby

Inspection report for children’s home: SC488596 1 SC488596 Registered provider: Derby City Council Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a local authority. It provides care for up to four children with emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager was appointed in June 2021. She is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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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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Inspection date: 1 December 2021

Date of last inspection: 14 September 2021

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Inspection date: 1 December 2021

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 1 December 2021

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC488596 2

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged to require improvement at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judged that it has sustained effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Two requirements and one recommendation were set at the last inspection. These have been met. At this inspection, three recommendations have been made.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A suitably experienced and committed manager leads this home. A new deputy manager has recently started in post. This has had a positive impact on the overall management capacity. Since the last inspection, the manager has made improvements in many areas in the home and particularly in the staff’s care practice. The children have become increasingly settled and there are good relationships developing between the children and staff. The manager has made these positive changes and developments in a relatively short space of time. However, improvement is still required in both the training and supervision of staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Not all staff receive professional supervision. This means these staff are not given regular guidance and support by a manager. Additionally, training for staff in physical intervention is not yet sufficient. This means staff will not have all the skills required to manage challenging behaviour from children.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children have made variable progress with their education. Educational attainment for some children has been hampered because of their emotional well-being. This has meant that education has been a struggle for some children. Managers and staff are aware of this. They are working hard to support these children back into education. The manager and staff work closely with involved professionals to make sure that children receive the help they need, especially with their emotional well- being.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children have experienced a period of settled and predictable care. The staff team has remained stable and there have been no children either leaving or joining the home. There have been no incidents of physical intervention or children leaving the home against the wishes of staff. This is a credit to the staff team. There has been a significant shift in the ethos of the care provided since the change in management and leadership.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff team is now more stable. Experienced staff who transferred from different homes within this organisation have now become embedded into the staff team. No staff have left since the last inspection. This is an improving picture. Additionally, the staff are motivated to help children make progress in all areas of their lives.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Administration of medication procedures is now safer. Staff say procedures have improved. They know what to do if an error occurs and seek advice from health Inspection report for children’s home: SC488596 3 professionals when required. Managers have ensured that all staff have now received training they need to lessen the likelihood of errors being made.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers’ monitoring and oversight of the home has improved. There is better oversight of staff practice. Managers now attend shift handovers. However, not all areas of the home are monitored effectively. Areas of health and safety concerns within the grounds of the home have not been identified quickly enough. Also, the monitoring of delegated supervision, undertaken by the deputy manager and senior staff, needs further improvement and strengthening to avoid staff supervisions being missed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC488596 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/08/2021 Full Inadequate 22/06/2021 Full Inadequate 12/11/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC488596 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislation (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should support staff to be ambitious for every child in the home and to gain skills and experience that enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential. To ensure staff can understand and can meet each child’s needs, in line with their responsibilities, the registered person themselves will need to have a high level of understanding of the needs of the

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Recommendations

children in their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)  The registered person should have systems 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 the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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Information about this inspection

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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: SC488596 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Derby City Council, Treasurers Department, Council House, Corporation Street, Derby DE1 2FE

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Inspector

Simon Hunter, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC488596 7 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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