Children's home run by City of Wolverhampton Council

Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 1 SC378153 Registered provider: Wolverhampton City Council Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This short-break service provides care for up to six children. The home cares for children aged between 10 and 17, who have experienced adverse childhood experiences that have led to presenting complex behaviours. The service also offers crisis care for children in line with short-break regulations. The home is owned and operated by a local authority.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since 2013 and is suitably qualified.

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Inspection date: 22 February 2022

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 22 February 2022

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 2

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Leaders and managers have failed to meet four of the nine requirements raised at the last inspection and these are restated. Consequently, the necessary improvements and continuous development of the home have not been achieved. Due to concerns about how staff safeguard children, Ofsted has issued a compliance notice under regulation 12, the protection of children standard.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff do not always act to protect children from harm. There have been two occasions where staff have failed to supervise children in line with their risk assessments and the home’s statement of purpose. This has resulted in children going missing from the home. While away from the care of staff, children have experienced significant harm. Furthermore, staff failed to follow safeguarding procedures, and report a serious incident that occurred while a child was missing, to the registered manager and the child’s social worker without delay. In addition, once the registered manager became aware of this disclosure, they failed to ensure action for the child for several days. This indicates a delay to resolutions for children when they disclose abuse.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Following the first occasion of children going missing, managers did not take prompt action to ensure that all staff were clear on their responsibilities for supervising children. Within weeks of the first occasion of children going missing, a second occasion of children going missing occurred. During the period of days when children were missing, they experienced significant harm. This demonstrates that not all staff are clear about their responsibilities to safeguard children. Furthermore, staff do not show that they have the skills to safeguard children with increasingly complex needs. This means that leaders and managers cannot be assured that children are safe in the home. The registered manager has failed to complete detailed risk assessments concerning children’s compatibility and risks before they attend the home for short breaks. Risk assessments for children are not updated on a regular basis. The risk assessments

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

also fail to detail all children’s potential risks and strategies to effectively manage these. The registered manager’s failure to consider interactional risk between children has meant that, for some children, their time at the home increases their risk-taking behaviour. Children have short-break plans to guide staff in their work. The registered manager has not ensured that these plans are up to date or are adequately reviewed. For example, staff have not reviewed one child’s plan for several months. This plan states that work concerning exploitation is complete. However, this child remains at significant risk of exploitation and there is no plan of work in place to reduce this risk. Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 3 Staff give children individual time to enable them to share their thoughts and fears about their lives. Staff share this information with children’s social workers so that

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

their networks are aware of these worries. However, it is not always clear how staff continue to escalate these concerns if needed so that children can feel more secure at home. The registered manager’s monitoring of the home is inconsistent. They have completed a review of the quality of care that children receive. However, they have not gained the views of parents, carers, social workers, or staff. This is a missed opportunity to gain feedback about the home and weakens the review. Managers supervise staff to offer them time to consider their work with children. Records remain inconsistent in quality and do not always focus on children. The registered manager has not consistently overseen these records to ensure improvement. As a result, these opportunities are not always well used or purposeful. This is a missed opportunity to improve the quality of care and raise expectations of staff. The registered manager notifies the regulator about serious concerns. These

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

notifications are not always received in a timely way and information is not always clear. This hinders the regulator’s oversight of the home. The registered manager has a clear process for staff to follow when children make allegations or complain about staff. The registered manager and staff now work in line with these processes. The registered manager also keeps children up to date about any concerns they have raised. This shows children that their comments are valued. Managers have audited the administration of medication and developed the associated paperwork. This is now easier to use, and staff follow the home’s policy relating to medication. As a result, managers are confident that children receive the right medication at the right time. Despite the shortfalls noted at this inspection, children have some good experiences at the home. Staff work hard to help children develop their sense of self-esteem. For

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

example, staff help children to increase their self-confidence regarding their personal care needs. Over time, this helps children to increase their feelings of self-worth and accept help from staff. On occasion, staff show dedicated practice to keep children safe. For example, one child was worried they were at risk of harm. They were not having a short break, but contacted staff for help. Staff worked effectively with other services, including the police, to ensure that this child was safely returned to the local area. On this occasion, staff effectively shared information to safeguard children and their families. Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/01/2020 Full Good 19/12/2018 Full Good 14/03/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 5

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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

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that compatibility of children’s needs is matched to the skills, experience and knowledge of staff who will care for them. The registered manager must also ensure that there is sufficient consideration of the interaction of risks between children.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 3 April 2022

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(v)) 3 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 6 In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff have the skills to support and supervise children who may be at risk of harm or may go missing from the home. The registered manager must also ensure that staff understand the risk factors relevant to the individual children they care for and can implement strategies and guidance to safeguard them. Staff must understand the impact their actions have on children related to safeguarding them.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered manager must ensure that staff have the skills to support children with complex needs who access the home for short breaks and keep them safe.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 3 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)) 3 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 7 In particular, the registered manager must ensure that monitoring results in improvements in the home. This includes children’s short-break plans being up to date, supervision being used to challenge and improve practice and being effectively recorded, and any concerns raised by children being shared in a timely way with appropriate professionals.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified;

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Requirement Due date

and any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that notifications are well written, clear and provide all relevant information. 3 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. 3 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 8 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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ascertain the views and opinions of children, parents, social workers and staff to inform his review of the quality of care.

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of supervision are sufficiently detailed to provide an accurate record of the discussions between staff and supervisors, including actions. The record should also include evidence that staff are reflecting on their practice with the aim of improving the care children receive. This recommendation was made at the last inspection and is restated. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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Information about this inspection

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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: SC378153 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Wolverhampton City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, St. Peters Square, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 1SH

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Inspector

Karol Keenan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 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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