Children's Home run by Worcestershire Children First in Worcestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2557361 1 Registered provider: Worcestershire Children First Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide short breaks to six children who have physical disabilities and learning disabilities on any one night.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2019. She is a qualified social worker and holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management. She is an experienced registered manager.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2557361 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2557361 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of the children’s complex needs. The introduction process for children who are new to the service ensures that appropriate information is gathered from parents and professionals before they come to stay. If a child has specific healthcare needs, staff are trained and assessed to be competent by a team of nurses. Children are encouraged to visit, have tea and participate in activities before they then stay overnight. As a result, staff know each of the children well, the children enjoy their stays and parents are confident that their child is well cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to communicate their views and wishes. Staff attend relevant training, visit schools to consult with speech and language therapists and have developed communication tools around the home. Most of the children who come to stay at the home bring their communication aids with them. However, when children do not have a communication tool or aids, staff are not following this up with schools and parents to ensure that they are giving the best support to children to develop these skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff plan interesting activities for the children throughout the year. These are often themed around a topic or event. For example, Black Lives Matter, Chinese New Year or Valentine’s Day. The children’s progress and achievements linked to the themed activities or events are not always captured because staff do not routinely record them. Despite this, other progress linked to major targets, such as toileting, teeth cleaning and weight loss, are understood and documented.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have fun and enjoy spending time with friends. For example, one group of girls look forward to going shopping together and are learning about budgeting on their visits to the local charity shops and shopping centre. These activities increase their independence and social opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to go out into the local community. However, opportunities to take some of the children further afield are limited. This is because the service’s current specialist vehicle can only be driven by one member of staff. This reduces the children’s chances to experience new activities, develop their confidence and increase their social skills. The registered manager and line manager have identified this shortfall in the service’s development plan and are currently in discussions to change the vehicle.

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

Staff always promote the safety and well-being of children. They have a good understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures through induction, training, team meetings and supervisions. As a result, they are clear what actions they would need to take if a child was at risk of harm. Inspection report for children’s home: 2557361 4 There have been no complaints from children, parents or professionals. There have been no significant safeguarding incidents. There have been no physical restraints and consequences are not used.

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

Staff ensure that the focus of a child’s stay is on enjoying, achieving and having fun. Managers ensure that the short-breaks service offers this by carefully matching the children and, where possible, by arranging for children to frequently stay with the same friends. The registered manager has recently reviewed and revised this process. It now clearly identifies risks, and focuses on increasing the children’s opportunities to share, socialise with others and choose activities alongside their peers.

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

The staff team works hard to ensure that the home is well maintained. The environment is very warm and welcoming. Risk assessments are of a good standard and ensure that the environment is safe. Staff help children learn to stay safe. For example, January has been Fire Awareness Month. Every child has listened to a social story about, and participated in, a fire evacuation. This enabled staff to observe children’s reactions and update their personal evacuation plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff team are experienced and consistent. All staff hold appropriate level 3 qualifications. All the staff are committed to providing a high standard of care. They have worked hard during the COVID-19 pandemic and have kept the short-breaks service open throughout. They are flexible in their work patterns and ensure that the focus of the service is on the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers continue to develop the short-breaks service by undertaking regular internal monitoring and external audits. The service development plan identifies clear aims and objectives within set timescales. This ensures that good standards are maintained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager continues to recruit to the staff team, with the aim to increase the number of children who can stay overnight to six. The service is not yet operating to this full capacity. The number of children who currently stay overnight is based on the needs of the children and the current size of the staff team. This ensures that staffing numbers are in line with the children’s assessed needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are supported well by managers and peers. They receive regular supervision, appraisals, team meetings and training that enable them to reflect on and develop their practice. New workers feel welcomed to the team. They describe a supportive induction. Staff feel that their views are listened to and valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff work effectively in partnership with parents and a range of professionals. They are positive about the care and support that the children receive and in the level of communication with the manager and staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2557361 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff work in partnership with relevant people as appropriate to ensure that each child is provided with support (appropriate to their age and understanding) to communicate their views, wishes and feelings and participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. This may include the use of and support to use communication aids, equipment and/or necessary language support. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)  The registered person should ensure that when children with disabilities or illnesses who may have physical or emotional difficulties which mean that participation in leisure or cultural activities in the community is difficult to achieve, the registered person, in conjunction with any relevant person (such as a parent or school) should assess what would be safe, achievable and reasonable for each

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Recommendations

child, in line with relevant plans. The registered person should ensure that appropriate opportunities are available for each child to have fun, form friendships and enjoy life, relative to their stage of development and individual needs. This specifically relates to all children having access to transport that would enable them to have access to a wide range of social opportunities. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 32, paragraph 6.10)  The registered person should ensure that children’s home staff seek to identify and provide appropriate opportunities for children to develop themselves in accordance with their wishes and feelings as part of the home’s plan for their care. Each child’s talents and interests should be understood and nurtured, with children selecting activities based on their personal preferences and abilities, so far as is reasonable. Staff should also support children to try activities that are

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Recommendations

new for them, where appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.4)

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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: 2557361 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Worcestershire Children First

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Spetchley Road, Worcester WR5 2NP

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Inspector

Dawn Bennett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2557361 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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