Children's home run by Nottingham City Council in Nottingham

Inspection report for children's home: SC470928 1 SC470928 Registered provider: Nottingham City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides care for up to four children with learning disabilities and associated communication difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left and a new manager took up the role in May 2021. They are 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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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

Date of last inspection: 20 November 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC470928 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/11/2019 Full Good 19/12/2018 Full Outstanding 12/12/2017 Full Outstanding 27/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC470928 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making exceptional academic progress. For example, one child who was previously disengaged from education is now thriving. This child contributes to his education meetings by designing a presentation beforehand. Another child has started to say words for the first time and is learning Makaton. All children love going to school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to communicate when and if they are in pain or discomfort, using social stories. Some children struggle with food, but staff persevere and encourage children to try new things, especially when they are taken out for a meal or a picnic. Staff have supported a child to book a COVID-19 vaccination for themselves. Involved professionals said that children are being supported to understand the COVID-19 pandemic through social stories and children’s meetings. During the pandemic, staff have encouraged children to support the community. One child leafleted the neighbours offering to do weeding and grass cutting. Another child has donated his old clothes to a charity shop.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are relaxed, they put on their music, get snacks from the cupboards and joke with staff when they return home from school. Children eat together and say that they like spending time with staff doing activities. Since being appointed, the manager has challenged some outdated care practice. For example, one child was not allowed chocolate or to watch YouTube videos in case they found it over- stimulating. This change has made the child happier. The child now enjoys watching YouTube and having a treat after dinner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand care planning for children and they are strong advocates for children. For example, they advocated for one child to stay overnight with a parent. However, not enough is being done to build stronger relationships with other parents. For children who have more diverse cultural backgrounds, staff are not doing enough to find out whether communication symbols used meet their cultural needs.

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

Staff have regular chats with children about their safety and well-being. A member of staff explained that before speaking to a child they consider the environment, the timing of the conversation and the child’s mood. If children do not engage in these conversations, the staff reflect on how they can adapt their approach. However, progress has been allowed to drift for one child, who had been independently been going to the shop for several months.

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

When children are in receipt of disability living allowance, policies have been recently revised to better protect children from the risk of financial exploitation. Inspection report for children's home: SC470928 4 Although the manager has a good oversight of children’s money, new policies and practices are not yet fully embedded.

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

Children’s bedrooms are generally tidy and well maintained, personalised and support children’s hobbies and interests. Children’s rooms are cleaned regularly, but despite this, some rooms do have an odour. Additionally, some children can display destructive behaviours and heavy furniture is not fixed to the wall. This presents a risk in case the furniture is toppled. All the children’s rooms have locks on the doors, although most children do not lock their doors. This gives an institutionalised look.

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

There is a complaints guide in place for children that reflects the communications needs of children. However, not all children understand this. The guidance around complaints is not yet simplified to ensure that children know how to complain.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is relatively new and has settled into the role. The manager is developing the care practice of staff to benefit children. There is good joined-up working with schools, social workers and speech and language therapists. All staff now have Makaton communication tools and are teaching children how to communicate more effectively. Signs and symbols are used in children’s documents and these assist staff, children and involved professionals to improve communication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The progress that children make is well captured. This includes photos and certificates that evidence children achieving their goals. Children’s documents are child-friendly and are written from a ‘what’s important to me’ perspective. Staff have built a sensory garden and have secured a woodland for the children to use and enjoy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed the skills of staff to recognise when children’s behaviours may be linked to their attachment issues and trauma. Staff are reflective when children are unsettled. They consider what they could do differently to help children become calmer. For example, children are taken on long walks to burn off any excess energy. Children enjoy this and it has resulted in fewer incidents. Additionally, if children show signs of anxiety, staff will reassure children by contacting their family and arranging video chats.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff have undertaken or are undertaking the level 3 diploma for residential care staff. The manager has supported one staff member to complete the English for speakers of other languages course to support them with their diploma.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff retention is good. The staff team is diverse and is balanced in terms of gender. Staff supervisions have been well documented since May 2021, but before then there is no evidence of regular supervisions having taken place. Similarly, there is no evidence of staff receiving formal debriefs after they have been involved in incidents. Inspection report for children's home: SC470928 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is nurturing and a 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 legislations (alarms, food hygiene, etc); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. This specifically relates to locks on children’s bedroom doors being removed if not in use, to furniture being secured safely and that the home should be free from odour. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure they follow Regulation 11(2), which sets out the expectations on staff in building a positive relationship with each child and helping the child develop skills to have positive relationships with others. ‘Others’

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Recommendations

includes individuals both inside and outside the home, such as other children in the home, staff, family members, siblings, previous carers and friends (in accordance with their relevant plans). The care planning standard (see page 55) provides further detail in respect of contact with parents, relatives and friends. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.6)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand factors that affect children’s motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way. Staff should encourage an enthusiasm for positive behaviour through the use of positive behaviour strategies in line with the child’s relevant plans. This specifically relates to children being supported to achieve targets without drift. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.13)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the

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Recommendations

risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. Specifically, policies and procedures relating to children’s money must be embedded to protect children from financial exploitation. Complaints procedures for children should be simplified and adapted in line with their needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that a record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). This specifically relates to staff receiving regular supervision. Staff should have debriefs following

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Recommendations

injuries or incidents. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3) Inspection report for children's home: SC470928 6

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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: SC470928 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nottingham City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Nottingham City Council, Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham NG2 3NG

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Inspector

Andi Lilley-Tams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC470928 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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