Children's Home run by Courtyard Care Limited in Warrington

Inspection report for children’s home: 2620865 1 Registered provider: Courtyard Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is run by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to six disabled children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since December 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 inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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 requires improvement to be 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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2620865 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a nurturing environment. They receive highly individualised care that is tailored to meet their complex health needs. As a result, children are making good progress from their individual starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are resourceful and creative. They have developed imaginative, sensory-based activities to engage and stimulate children. Staff adopt a playful approach. They actively seek opportunities for children to engage in important childhood activities, such as reading stories, playing games and dressing up. Furthermore, staff have made memory books that capture important experiences, such as the child’s first day at school and birthday celebrations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to make choices. Staff listen and act on children’s choices. This empowers children and maximises the choice and control they have over their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The planning and management of children’s transitions into the home constitute a real strength. Staff build a comprehensive picture of the child and their support needs prior to their admission. They spend considerable amounts of time with the child, gathering information, observing, and interacting with them. This careful planning ensures that children settle quickly into the home. Furthermore, staff use creative ways to involve and prepare children for when new children are admitted to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children’s education continues to be disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff are working in partnership with children’s schools to ensure that this disruption is minimised. Staff encourage children to complete work sent home from school and facilitate children’s participation in virtual lessons delivered by the school. In addition, staff deliver daily activities which have an educational focus to supplement the child’s formal tuition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the unique ways children use to communicate their needs. Staff are very responsive to children and work hard to engage with them. However, the information on children’s individual communication methods is not well documented. None of the children use speech to communicate, so it is particularly important that their support plans reflect their preferred communication styles. A recommendation has been made to improve practice in this area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms are personalised and decorated to reflect children’s individual tastes and interests. Staff ensure that children are supported to make choices about how their bedrooms are decorated. Staff have taken great efforts to make the home a warm and welcoming environment. However, there are some aspects of the home that detract from the homely atmosphere. For example, there is large signage Inspection report for children’s home: 2620865 3 outside the property that identifies it as a care home. A recommendation has been made to address this.

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improvement to be good

Staff receive comprehensive training to equip them to safely manage children’s complex health needs. This training is provided by a nurse employed by the organisation. During each stage of the training, staff are tested on their knowledge and skills to ensure that they are competent to meet the complex health needs of children safely. Staff do not undertake certain tasks, such as medicine administration, until they have demonstrated their competency.

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improvement to be good

Each child has a detailed health passport. This describes children’s individual health needs, how they may communicate pain or distress and how children can be comforted. This document is designed to support the child should they require treatment in hospital and will support staff who are unfamiliar to the child to give child-centred, sensitive care.

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improvement to be good

Staff are responsive to children’s needs. They are alert to subtle changes in children’s behaviours and presentations that may indicate a deterioration in their health. One health professional said: ‘The staff always contact my team appropriately for support with the children and act on the advice provided. There is a good level of communication between the teams.’

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improvement to be good

The registered manager responds quickly and decisively when safeguarding concerns are raised. She conducts thorough investigations and keeps detailed records of the actions taken. However, she has not notified Ofsted and other relevant professionals of several significant incidents that have occurred in the home. Furthermore, an incident occurred during the inspection that was not alerted to the inspector. This restricts the role of the regulator.

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improvement to be good

There has been one occasion when staff delayed reporting their concerns about a colleague’s practice. This hampered the timeliness of the investigation and demonstrates that some staff lack understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children. A requirement has been made to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has an in-depth knowledge of the children and their complex health needs. She has a clear understanding of the progress each child is making. She is enthusiastic and passionate about providing disabled children with a high-quality service that supports them to be happy and remain healthy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External professionals speak highly of the manager and express confidence in the staff team’s ability to meet children’s needs. They report good levels of Inspection report for children’s home: 2620865 4 communication and have positive experiences of working with the home. One social worker said: ‘I can say that communication with the manager has been faultless.’ Liaison with parents is good. They receive regular updates on their child’s progress and experiences. In addition, staff organise regular video calls for some parents to facilitate communication with their child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoke positively about their roles and the support they receive from their managers and colleagues. One member of staff said: ‘I feel that everyone works so well as a team and genuinely wants to help each other create a kind and friendly environment for the children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff benefit from a comprehensive training programme which is focused on children’s individual complex health needs. Staff value this training. One member of staff said: ‘I have had in-depth training that has been both theory- and practical- based and have learned so much about the children’s medical needs. Alongside this, I have learned about each child’s interests, hobbies and what makes them laugh and smile most.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

While staff receive a lot of training to equip them to support children’s health needs, there has been less focus on providing training for staff on communicating with disabled children. None of the children currently living in the home use language to communicate their feelings and needs. Staff understand their unique methods of communication, but no formal training is currently offered to staff. A requirement has been made in relation to this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose reflects the needs of the children who live at the home; however, it does not fulfil all the aspects required by regulation. It does not list details of the experience and qualifications of the staff team. The registered manager took steps to rectify this during the inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620865 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

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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(v)(vii)) 28 January 2022

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 28 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1)) 28 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2620865 6 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to,

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child — is instigated; or

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 28 January 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that each children’s individual methods of communication are well documented within the child’s support plans. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)  The registered person should ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that all areas of the children’s home are homely and domestic in appearance. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2620865 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Courtyard Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Siskin Drive, Middlemarch Business Park, Coventry, CV3 4FJ

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Inspector

Sophie Thomson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2620865 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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