Children's home run by Milton Keynes City Council

Inspection report the children’s home: SC463692 1 SC463692 Registered provider: Milton Keynes Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a local authority. It is registered to care for up to eight children. It provides long-stay residential care for children who have learning difficulties and may also have physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since January 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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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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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC463692 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/06/2019 Full Good 15/11/2018 Full Good 06/03/2018 Full Good 02/02/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC463692 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and find creative ways to promote their welfare. Staff are highly skilled in communicating with non-verbal children. They are able to recognise cues and ensure that the child’s voice is heard. This staff response has enabled children to make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive relationships between children and staff are a strength of this home. Staff treat children with dignity and respect. Children are happy and feel safe. One parent said that her child always looks forward to coming back to the home. One professional described the home as ‘joyful’ and a ‘happy place’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff maintain close links with parents and the professional network for children. Professionals and parents comment on the consistent communication between themselves and staff. The staff team is actively involved in children’s meetings and day-to-day activities. This provides the children with continuity across all aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s achievements are celebrated. Children’s artwork and certificates of achievement are on display throughout the home. Staff know each individual child well and can identify their progress. Staff are proud of the children. This increases children’s self-confidence and their positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a good range of activities available to them each day. These include regular day trips out, arts and crafts, music lessons, cooking and visits to the park. Consequently, the children have fun and learn new skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their independence. Individual targets are monitored and reviewed daily. Staff advocate for children to ensure that there are well-planned transitions for children who move on to adult services. Staff want the best outcomes for children.

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

Staff have good knowledge of safeguarding policies and procedures. Children do not go missing. Safeguarding incidents are very rare. The local authority designated officer has good links with the staff team. There have been no safeguarding concerns reported by professionals or the parents spoken to. Keeping children safe is embedded in staff practice.

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

Staff support children to manage their behaviour in line with their individual plans. Positive behaviour is consistently promoted. Incidences of restraint are low, but when used, are proportionate and recorded in detail. Management oversight is reflective and timely. Inspection report for children’s home: SC463692 4 Staff understand risks to children. There are risk assessments in place which cover aspects such as the home’s garden and use of the internet. Alongside this, each child has individualised risk assessments specific to their needs. The documents are updated regularly. The previous requirement is therefore met.

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

Health and safety is a priority within the home. Safety audits are maintained to a good standard, with no immediate risks identified. Trip hazards are no longer present. Since the previous inspection, adequate means of escape from the home in the event of a fire have been implemented. Fire drills are conducted to test out systems in place, with no concerns identified. Therefore, the previous recommendation and requirement are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced, child-focused and respected by her staff team. She is well supported by an equally experienced deputy, both of whom have worked at the home for a long time. She has high aspirations for children and staff. This sets the tone for an aspirational culture within the staff team for their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by the managers and leaders. Staff receive regular and good-quality supervisions. All staff have completed mandatory training. All staff either have the relevant qualification or are enrolled on the course. The previous requirement is therefore met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good monitoring and review systems in place. Management oversight of records is thorough and timely. Children and staff are consistently debriefed following incidents, within relevant timescales. Records seen are accurate and free from errors. The previous requirements are therefore met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a children’s guide in place which includes the relevant information. The manger continues to develop the children’s guide. The recommendation is therefore met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Consents for the independent visitor to view children’s files are now present. The previous requirement is therefore met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Complaints are minimal. When a complaint has been made, the log is very clear. The manager follows up with complainants to ensure that they are aware and satisfied with the outcome. The previous requirement is therefore met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The presentation of children’s bedrooms is, overall, very clean, homely, individualised and decorated to a good standard. However, one child’s bedroom lacked personalised decoration and needed some repairs. The same child expressed a wish to have his bed base removed. Initial discussions between the manager and child took place. However, follow-up discussions to explore other alternatives did not happen. The child has therefore not had the opportunity to live as comfortably as possible. Inspection report for children’s home: SC463692 5 The two previous quality of care reviews about the home sent to Ofsted did not include explicit feedback from parents, staff and relevant professionals. Feedback from children was also lacking. Without this detailed feedback, the review process does not ensure that the report can be used as a tool for continuous improvement. This shortfall was raised at the previous inspection and the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The workforce development plan in place is not specific to this home. The document targets broader organisational development and does not meet regulatory guidance. Inspection report for children’s home: SC463692 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (2)(vii)) 30 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5)) 30 April 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the workforce plan that is in place is individualised for each registered provision. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8) Inspection report for children’s home: SC463692 7

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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: SC463692 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Milton Keynes Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Milton Keynes Council, Saxon Court, 502 Avebury Boulevard, Milton Keynes MK9 3HS

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Inspector

Skye Frain, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC463692 9 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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