Children's Home run by The Spring Children‟s and Transitional Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: 1253623 1 Registered provider: The Spring Children’s and Transitional 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 operated by a private provider and provides care for up to two children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home does not have a registered manager. The current manager was appointed on 1 September 2021. He is in the process of applying to register with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 22 February 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not judged

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 28 and 29 April 2021, Ofsted undertook a full inspection. The home was judged inadequate. In response to that visit, Ofsted issued a notice of restriction of accommodation.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 14 June 2021, 22 July 2021, 23 August 2021, 5 October 2021 and 9 November 2021, monitoring visits took place to monitor the notice of restriction of accommodation and review progress made since the full inspection. On 3 August 2021, a notice of decision to cancel the registration of the home was issued. On 5 Inspection report for children’s home: 1253623 2 January 2022, a monitoring visit took place and following that visit the notice of restriction of accommodation was lifted. Inspection report for children’s home: 1253623 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2022 Interim Not judged 28/04/2021 Full Inadequate 10/03/2020 Full Inadequate 20/11/2019 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 1253623 4

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improvement to be good

Since the notice of restriction of accommodation has been lifted, one child has moved into the home. The child has only been living in the home for a short period of time and therefore measurable progress is difficult to evidence currently.

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improvement to be good

Prior to the child moving into the home, the manager did not consider whether staff had the skills or training to meet the child’s additional needs. At the point the child moved in, staff had not completed required training on risks relating to criminal exploitation, gang crime and knife crime. Although this training is planned, it has not yet been completed. This means that staff have not been provided with the training or knowledge to identify that the child may be at risk of harm and to respond effectively.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a developing understanding of the child’s needs. Staff are working hard to create positive relationships with the child and help him to invest in the home. The child told the inspector that he is happy living in the home and likes the staff. However, staff are not always successful at engaging with the child and he frequently leaves the home without permission, does not return home at agreed times and goes missing from the home.

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improvement to be good

As the child is not always in the home when he should be, this limits the opportunities for staff to work with him and help him develop. However, when the child is in the home, staff help him to develop his independence skills. This has included learning to wash clothes and keep his bedroom tidy. Staff have had early success with these tasks.

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improvement to be good

The manager did not consider how they would promote the child’s educational needs prior to him living in the home. The child is not currently in education and, at the time of the inspection, it was unclear when this would be resolved. The child’s educational needs are not being met due to poor care planning. Staff are working with professionals to try to identify appropriate education provision and to engage the child in alternative education until a permanent solution can be found. However, so far, staff have been unsuccessful in their efforts.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not effective in encouraging the child to attend health appointments. The child is not yet registered with the local doctor, dentist or optician due to his refusal to attend planned appointments. Staff are continuing to consider different strategies to meet the child’s health needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff have built positive relationships with the child’s family. Staff communicate with the child’s family on a regular basis and keep them updated when needed. Inspection report for children’s home: 1253623 5

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improvement to be good

Staff understand and follow the processes in place when the child is away from the home without authorisation or is missing from home. They work collaboratively with other agencies, including the police, the youth offending team and the local authority. Staff share relevant information that helps inform risk assessments and care plans for the child, to try to mitigate risks. These are not yet effective, and the child remains at significant risk when away from the home. However, the collaborative approach means that decision-making is not made in isolation.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are detailed and up to date. Overall, staff understand the risks posed to the child. Staff try to educate the child on the known risks through regular discussions with the child. Due to the child’s short time in placement and frequently being away from the home, the work completed by staff has not yet been effective in reducing the child’s risk-taking behaviours.

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improvement to be good

One significant safeguarding incident involving the child was appropriately responded to. Furthermore, the manager reviewed the incident and implemented strategies to reduce the likelihood of the incident reoccurring.

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improvement to be good

Managers have ensured that staff are recruited in accordance with the regulatory requirements. This means that staff who have been working in the home have now been assessed as suitable to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since April 2021. The current manager started in post in September 2021. There has been a seven-month delay in the manager submitting a complete application to Ofsted to be registered. At the time of this inspection, the manager had still not submitted a complete application. This means that Ofsted has not been able to assess the manager’s suitability for the role of registered manager, and cannot be assured that he has the required skills and experience to undertake the role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager is new to the management role. His lack of experience, combined with the ineffective support from the responsible individual, means the oversight of the home is not good enough. For example, the home does not have a workforce development plan because the manager is not confident in completing this and he is waiting for guidance from the responsible individual on how to undertake this task.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has monitoring and review systems in place, including a monthly monitoring tool to review the home’s progress. This has recently been implemented and is mostly effective, but has not yet been tested over a long period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are supported by the manager and have regular supervision sessions. Staff report that the manager is available to them for advice and guidance. The manager Inspection report for children’s home: 1253623 6 has regular supervision with the responsible individual. However, the documentation of this is basic.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has positive relationships with partner agencies. The manager and staff regularly attend strategy meetings to share information about the child living in the home. The social worker told the inspector that the staff were invested in the child and really care about him.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has an independent person who visits the home monthly to support the manager in his monitoring of the home. The manager is, at times, slow to implement some of the recommendations made by the independent person. Inspection report for children’s home: 1253623 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 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.

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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) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff not having training around criminal exploitation, gang crime and knife crime, to inform their understanding of these risks. 27 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager considering children’s educational needs prior to them living in the home. 27 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

A person may only manage a children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

the person is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

having regard to the size of the home, its statement of purpose, and the number and needs (including any needs arising from any disability) of the children—

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Requirement Due date

the person has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills to manage the home effectively and lead the care of children; and 27 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1253623 8 the person is physically and mentally fit to manage the home; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b)(i), a person has the appropriate experience and qualification if the person has—

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Requirement Due date

within the last 5 years, worked for at least 2 years in a position relevant to the residential care of children;

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Requirement Due date

worked for at least one year in a role requiring the supervision and management of staff working in a care role; and

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Requirement Due date

the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 5 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered provider considers to be equivalent to the Level 5 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of a person who starts managing a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 3 years after the date on which that person started managing a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of a person who was managing a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2017.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider may defer the relevant date if the person—

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Requirement Due date

does not manage, or has not managed, a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

manages, or has managed, a home on a part-time basis. (Regulation 28(1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(c) (2)(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii) (3)(a)(b) (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager not submitting a completed application to register with Ofsted.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the 27 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1253623 9 purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager seeking the views of others in the local area about any known risks.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  It is good practice for a note of the content and outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)

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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: 1253623 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Spring Children’s and Transitional Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 9 Grenville Drive, Birmingham B23 7YX

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Inspector

Lisa O’Donovan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1253623 11 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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