Children's home run by Shropshire Council

Inspection report for children’s home: SC370982 1 SC370982 Registered provider: Shropshire Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is one of five homes operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for five children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 2 November 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Since the previous full inspection, the home has been subject to compliance action due to shortfalls in practice relating to the safeguarding of children, the restraint of children and the safety of the home’s environment. On 2 November 2020, Ofsted judged that all compliance notices were met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC370982 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/07/2019 Full Good 11/03/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/08/2017 Full Good 07/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC370982 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children currently live in the home. Careful matching ensures that children are settled and making progress from their starting points. Three children have lived there for over a year and one child for over three years. Social workers are extremely positive about the nurture and well-planned care staff give to their children and the progress they have made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff ensure that the home is a homely place for children to live. Children’s bedrooms are highly personalised. One child has wallpaper with the logo of his favourite football team. A Harry Potter figure is drawn on one of the walls and his train set is laid out. The home is clean and well maintained, and fresh flowers are on display and replaced every week. This welcoming environment increases children’s self-esteem and their enjoyment of spending time at home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children’s interests and hobbies. One child regularly plays football for a local team and staff have taken him to see his favourite Premier League team play. Another child enjoys going for a run with staff. Staff take children for days out and on holidays. Creating opportunities to spend time with children means that staff know children exceptionally well. This enables the children to develop meaningful relationships based on shared interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend routine health appointments. Managers and staff prioritise children’s emotional health needs and arrange for children to have additional support when they need it. They work with professionals and clinicians to understand children’s complex behaviours and to ensure children’s emotional needs are met. This enables staff to support children during times of crisis and helps children to regulate their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is a high priority. When older children do not have a school or college place, managers and staff are proactive. They support them to search for appropriate courses and to make applications. This means that children develop aspirations and a sense of hope for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have many opportunities to express their views, in day-to-day discussions and planned meetings. Staff know children well and are flexible and adaptable in how they respond. For example, staff ensure that children’s plans to acquire skills for independent living progress at a pace that is suitable for each child. They use prompt cards with pictures to help another child to improve their self-care skills. This means that children receive individualised care which responds to children’s diverse needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of positive memories for each child’s life story. Children have an individual daily comments book made by staff, with photos and comments charting their time at the home. Each child will take these books with Inspection report for children’s home: SC370982 4 them when they move on. Positive memories like these help children to feel loved, to be happy and to be able to thrive physically, emotionally and socially.

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

Staff are skilled at de-escalating children’s behaviours. Good-quality risk assessments give staff clear guidance about children’s complex and challenging behaviours. These include the children’s views about their own behaviour and strategies that staff can use to de-escalate incidents. This means that although incidents do happen, these are generally well managed.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff follow risk assessments individualised to each child. They continually search for children and try to keep in contact, and they share information with the police. Staff understand the factors that influence children to go missing, and they give children a warm welcome when they return. Staff then sensitively talk to children and educate them about the risks they face. As a result, children say that they feel safe, and that staff keep them safe.

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

When children are at risk from exploitation, staff quickly share any safeguarding concerns and ‘soft intelligence’ with relevant agencies, including the police. They participate in multi-agency meetings and implement agreed strategies. Staff have discussions with children about the risks they face and the reality of child exploitation. As a result, children’s risks reduce and they make safer choices.

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

Staff are vigilant with children who are at risk from self-harm and act quickly to keep them safe. Staff use their knowledge of children and their strong relationships to calm them and to help them to relax. Staff then talk with children and give them strategies to help them to manage their emotions. This empowers children and promotes resilience. Staff then ensure that children receive the care and support that respond to their individual needs. This means that children feel confident about asking staff for help when they need it.

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

Children who are at risk from drug or alcohol abuse are supported by specialist agencies. Staff are generally vigilant of children’s behaviours, however, on one occasion, a child returned in the evening obviously under the influence of substances. Although the child was fine by the morning, staff did not consider seeking medical advice or monitor the child through the night.

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

Children receive incentives for positive behaviour and for being kind, and bullying does not happen. When children say they are being bullied at school, staff immediately inform teachers to ensure the bullying stops. This prompt action means that children feel their concerns are taken seriously and helps them to feel safe.

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

Managers can demonstrate that good systems are in place to ensure the safe administration and storage of medicine. Inspection report for children’s home: SC370982 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a registered manager and a deputy manager. The manager has worked at the home for 12 years and has been a consistent presence in the lives of all four children. The manager and deputy have an open-door policy to ensure that they are available to staff and to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers understand the strengths and areas for development. There are clear development plans in place that are reviewed monthly, and staff are involved in this process. This allows changes to be made to the care provided and demonstrates managers’ drive to continually improve the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong advocate for children. He is confident in challenging other professionals when he believes that they are not acting in children’s interests or fulfilling their responsibilities to children. A social worker told the inspector that they were ‘blown away’ by the level of commitment the manager gave to her child when he believed the child was being unfairly treated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that team meetings are informative and child-focused. Clinicians attend some meetings to discuss children and trauma-informed practice. This enables staff to reflect on situations that have arisen and consider alternative approaches. Good-quality face-to-face training in areas such as self-harm and child exploitation ensures that staff have a comprehensive and fully informed understanding of children’s complex behaviours. As a result, when children show these behaviours, staff are nurturing and empathic in their responses, enabling children to rebuild relationships and move on positively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular good-quality supervision and annual appraisals. This helps them with their development and to reflect on their practice. Additionally, managers take opportunities to educate staff in day-to-day discussions. Staff therefore develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to provide children with high-quality care. Staff are positive about the support they receive from the registered manager. They say that morale in the team is high.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff have worked hard to ensure that children have consistent care. This has involved staff picking up extra shifts and managers covering some shifts. When agency staff have been used, managers have tried to ensure that staff are known to children. This means that children build trusted relationships with known adults who care for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager takes complaints by children seriously. He keeps children fully informed and ensures they receive an outcome. Managers then quickly address any shortfalls in practice. This means that managers learn from complaints and children feel that their views matter.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager continuously reviews the quality of care that children receive. He submits detailed reports to the regulator and sets ambitious targets to ensure ongoing improvements. However, on one occasion, the manager did not conduct a Inspection report for children’s home: SC370982 6 review following a near-miss incident. This is a missed opportunity for managers and staff and the wider organisation to learn lessons from a serious incident when a child was at risk. Inspection report for children’s home: SC370982 7

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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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that children who have, or may have, taken substances are closely monitored and/or medical advice sought. 16 April 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

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to leaders and managers ensuring that they conduct a management review following any near- miss incident when a child has been at serious risk of harm. 16 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC370982 8

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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: SC370982 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY2 6ND

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC370982 10 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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