Children's Home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC377825 1 SC377825 Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for three children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 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 SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 8 and 9 December 2020 to carry out an assurance 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

Date of last inspection: 19 December 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: SC377825 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/12/2019 Full Good 04/07/2018 Full Good 07/02/2018 Full Good 02/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC377825 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress from their starting points. Parents and professionals are pleased with the care that staff provide to their children. Staff are experienced, confident, caring and nurturing. Children have lived at the home for a long time and have therefore developed a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection. One child has moved into the home since the last inspection. The manager completed comprehensive matching assessments for the child before they moved in. The planning process was thorough and supported a smooth introduction to the home. Consequently, the child has settled well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide high levels of support to children to help them to maintain relationships with their families. Social workers said that the manager is creative in arranging and supporting meetings between children and their families. As a result, children’s relationships with their families flourish.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are not yet attending school and college full time. However, the situation is improving. Staff encourage children’s attendance through the use of incentives and discussions. The manager successfully escalates concerns to relevant professionals about the children’s attendance and requests professionals meetings when a multi- agency response is needed. One child was supported by the manager to make an appeal after their application to their preferred school was rejected. The child’s appeal was successful and the child now has a place at the school of their choice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been considerable improvements to the interior of the home since the last Ofsted assurance visit. The front door, which was cracked, has been replaced. The kitchen and bathrooms have been refurbished and numerous walls throughout the home have been plastered and redecorated. The home is well maintained and homely. The outside area to the rear of the property is large enough for children to practise sports; however, the surface is uneven. This does not enable children to play safely outside the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to be independent and are responsible for their bedrooms and laundry. Staff are proactive in preparing older children for moving on from the home. Independence plans are introduced well in advance of the move, so that children are confident with household chores, cooking and budgeting. Therefore, they are prepared for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s meetings are held weekly and children are encouraged to talk about the home and other areas of their lives. Staff occasionally arrange activities, such as paintballing and karting. One child has asked to join a local football club on numerous occasions. However, the staff have not thoroughly explored this and there has been no formal response to the child’s requests. Inspection report for children’s home: SC377825 4

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

Staff establish positive and trusting relationships with children. Consequently, children engage in discussions with staff about the issues that are important to them. Staff have helped children to improve their understanding of healthy choices, staying safe, quitting smoking, their own emotions and independence. From these discussions, the children gain an understanding of how to keep themselves safe.

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

Staff implement consistent boundaries that promote kindness and respect. As a result, there are few incidents at this home and no incidents of restraint. One child has made remarkable progress in becoming safer. The staff’s nurturing approach and consistent boundaries have considerably reduced the child’s damage to property since living at the home. There have been no incidents of children going missing since the last inspection.

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

The staff use sanctions to address unwanted behaviour or when a child refuses to go to school. The managers have oversight of the records of sanctions. However, the recording of whether a sanction is appropriate and effective is inconsistent. Therefore, it is difficult to establish the effectiveness of the sanction.

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

Risk assessments for children are detailed and contain presenting risks. These are regularly reviewed and updated following any changes. The staff are informed of any changes during staff meetings, which are well attended and child-focused. This helps staff to feel confident and to be consistent in their responses to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a dedicated and well-experienced management team. Managers have established excellent relationships with parents and other agencies to help them to meet children’s needs. The feedback from the children’s families and professionals is unanimously positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Social workers receive regular updates about their children’s progress. Social workers said that the managers always attend and contribute to the children’s meetings. Reports for meetings are comprehensive and weekly reports are well detailed. Children benefit from the managers’ approach to cohesive, multi-agency working.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has established a stable and committed staff team. Since the last inspection, several staff and both children have had COVID-19. The managers and staff covered additional shifts and supported each other to make sure that there was always the required number of staff available. Children benefited from consistent and familiar staff at the home during this time. This helped the children to feel safe and secure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff receive a thorough induction which includes a range of training and shadow shifts with experienced staff. All staff attend training that enables them to Inspection report for children’s home: SC377825 5 meet children’s individual needs. Good induction, support and training help staff to meet children’s needs and provide continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel well supported by the registered manager. They receive regular supervision and annual appraisals. However, not all staff have achieved a relevant level 3 diploma within two years of commencing work in a care role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has met all the requirements from the last inspection. The interior of the home has been refurbished to a good standard. The quality of care reviews have improved and the registered manager has ensured greater engagement with other professionals to ensure that children’s needs are met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC377825 6

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the outside surface area to the rear of the home is safe for children to play on. 4 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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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

develop the child’s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and 2 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC377825 7 make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, respond to requests from children and source activities that will develop their interests and hobbies.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. 2 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC377825 8 The relevant date is—

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff have an appropriate qualification within two years of working in a care role.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC377825 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Forge, Church Street West, Woking, Surrey GU21 6HT

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Inspector

Rachel Watkinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC377825 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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