Children's Home run by Midas Manors Ltd in Bradford

Inspection report children’s home: 2573447 1 Registered provider: Midas Manors Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private company and provides care for up to two children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager were registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

p.1

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.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 29 September 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on our website.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: compliance notices under regulations 12 and 13 were made at the last full inspection on 10 and 11 August 2021. The compliance notices were found to be met at the monitoring visit on 29 September 2021. Inspection report children’s home: 2573447 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/08/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: 2573447 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive individualised care and support from the friendly staff who care about their well-being and support them to reach their goals. The children treat the home as their own. One child spoke in positive terms about their experiences at the home. Children have positive relationships with most staff, with whom they can talk to and receive parental guidance. Maintaining positive relationships between staff and children has not always been easy. In one instance, an unresolved conflict could disrupt the harmonious atmosphere if it is not dealt with.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have invested in and care about the children’s prospects. The children’s achievements are celebrated and rewarded. This lets children know that they are cared about, which improves their sense of safety and helps them to settle.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s wishes and feelings are listened to and acted on appropriately. Children engage with the staff in discussions that focus on a range of relevant and sensitive topics. For example, discussions about risk and staying safe, negative behaviour, promoting independence, education, and health outcomes help the children to reflect, learn and make steady progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaging in their health appointments. They are getting the support and advice that they need to stay fit and healthy.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to attend their education provisions daily. For one child, the barriers to their attendance and attainment have been robustly challenged by the manager and the child’s independent reviewing officer. Another child who has held low aspirations is showing an interest in learning new skills that will improve their life chances.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have ample opportunities to engage in activities that they like. Children enjoy gaming, playing with toys and games, and imaginary play. Outside of the home, children have enjoyed day trips, going for meals, ice skating, and spa days. These outings promote a positive family atmosphere and build their confidence and create lasting memories.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s time with their family and friends is facilitated by the staff team. One parent continues to visit her child at the home, which keeps them involved in their child’s routine.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to develop independence skills that will help them to care for themselves more effectively.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a pleasant and homely environment that provides ample space for them to live in and relax. The children’s bedrooms are tailored to suit their preferences. Inspection report children’s home: 2573447 4

p.3

improvement to be good

Children’s risk factors have not all been assessed to ensure that all of their known risks are taken into account and mitigated. In particular, the risk of a child being sexually exploited online in the home has not been assessed. This does not provide children with sufficient protection.

p.4

improvement to be good

The staff understand the children’s vulnerabilities and risks, and they implement the risk management strategies for the children. The multi-agency partnerships have been a major strength that have provided a consistent approach to safeguarding one child. The manager’s regular participation in the risk and care planning meetings and the enhanced communication between the professionals have caused some disruption and have helped to reduce the risks for the child in the community.

p.4

improvement to be good

Children do not participate in fire evacuation drills regularly. One child has not been involved in a fire drill for over six months. This could place children in an unsafe situation in the event of a fire.

p.4

improvement to be good

The staff manage the children’s behaviour effectively. Children’s behaviour management plans are current. They are sufficiently comprehensive for staff to follow. The staff use their positive relationships with the children so that they can manage their emotions in socially acceptable ways. Physical intervention is used as a last resort. However, the duplication of the records following such incidents is burdensome and could lead to recording errors.

p.4

improvement to be good

Children do not go missing from the home frequently. When children have left the home without authorisation, the staff follow the children’s missing-from-home protocols to ensure that children return home safe. Additional safeguards, such as waking-night staffing and installing door alarms, help to deter children from leaving the home.

p.4

improvement to be good

Room searches are only carried out if necessary, ensuring that any risks are minimised and children are safeguarded. No complaints have been made by children or others.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have taken appropriate steps to ensure that children have better experiences and make progress. Leaders and managers have a realistic understanding that the improvements are still being embedded into practice. Management oversight of the children’s individual plans has improved.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a clear escalation policy. The registered manager raises concerns when professionals do not fulfil their responsibilities to children in an appropriate manner. Inspection report children’s home: 2573447 5 The staff provide consistency and stability to the children. They are motivated and feel supported by the manager. The reflective staff supervisions, team meetings, and peer and management support are improving the staff team’s safeguarding knowledge, practice, and accountability.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Addressing the requirements made at the last inspection has led to improvements, and there is room for further progression. The responsible individual has addressed the independent visitor reports to ensure that they meet the regulations consistently. This is specifically in relation to the independent visitor providing an opinion about the children’s safety and welfare.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s records, particularly the direct work sessions with the children, do not consistently provide the full context of the discussions. This could limit the child’s ability to understand their experiences at the home both now and in years to come.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Positive feedback from professionals and a parent confirm that they are happy with how the staff team care for the children. One professional said, ‘Communication has improved massively.’ Inspection report children’s home: 2573447 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

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;

p.6

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)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must review the child’s safety plan to include the actions that the staff must take to reduce the risk of children being sexually exploited online in the home. 31 December

p.6

Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all children participate in fire drills. 31 December Inspection report children’s home: 2573447 7

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered provider should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. In particular, review how incidents that lead to physical interventions are recorded to avoid duplication of the records and reduce opportunities for any errors. (Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Children and their parents should be supported to understand the nature of records kept by the home and how to access them. Staff should understand their important role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. In particular, ensure that direct work sessions that are carried out with children provide the full context of the

p.7

Recommendations

discussions. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

p.7

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: 2573447 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Alison Serefoglou

p.8

Inspectors

Jacqueline Malcolm, Social Care Inspector Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2573447 9 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.

p.8

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9