Children's Home run by Shropshire Council in Shropshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 1 Registered provider: Shropshire Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This local authority home offers support and care for two children who may have experienced neglect, abuse or trauma which has left them vulnerable.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has recently left the home and a new manager is in post. The manager has applied for registration with Ofsted.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children live in the home. One child has lived there for two years and the other has recently moved from a Shropshire local authority home nearby. The staff team has also moved to care for the child. This has ensured that the child receives consistent care from familiar adults.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s physical health needs are met, by registering them with local health services. Additionally, managers and staff advocate 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. Staff genuinely care about children, and they use their knowledge and skills to provide children with good-quality individualised care.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have bespoke education plans and are making progress from their starting points. Good communication between the staff and children’s colleges means that children’s emotional needs are understood and sensitively managed. Teachers praise staff for their caring attitude and the emotional support they give to children. One teacher told the inspector, ‘They go over and above to ensure the child’s well-being and help them to achieve their potential.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Time with family is encouraged. Through appropriate assessment and planning, relationships between one child and their family have been repaired and supported and the child is spending increasing time with family members. Staff also enable children to develop and maintain friendships with peers, and children benefit from these positive relationships.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s case files do not contain all the information required. The manager has not always ensured that children’s records contain up-to-date and accurate information. One child has started independence planning but there is no cohesive plan in place to support them with this. There is evidence of the manager escalating concerns to the local authority. However, requested information is still not available. As a result, staff do not always have the information they need to coordinate care, which risks affecting children’s progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to develop their independence by doing chores in the home as part of their regular routines. However, staff have not helped one child to remove his dirty laundry from his bedroom floor. The child’s bedroom was not kept in good condition.. This does not contribute to a homely atmosphere for children to live in. Staff are not yet doing enough to help children to develop essential self-care skills that in turn strengthen children’s self-esteem. Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 4 Communal areas such as the lounge and dining room are comfortable places for children to relax in and spend time with staff. However, the floor in the hallway is damaged and in need of repair and the lounge curtains are falling from the curtain rail because they are too heavy.

p.3

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

The manager and staff take their safeguarding responsibilities very seriously. Children experience good levels of safety planning and stability, due to informed and child-centred risk assessments. Staff use their strong relationships with children to talk to them about keeping safe and they encourage children to contribute to their own safety plans. This empowers children and promotes resilience.

p.4

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

Since one child came to live at the home recently, risks have increased for both children. Managers and staff have been professionally curious and constantly vigilant. 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. The manager and staff use their own knowledge, stakeholder input and children’s experiences to identify, assess and plan to reduce risk.

p.4

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

Staff respond appropriately when children go missing from the home. They are proactive in searching for children and, when necessary, contact the police to report them missing. Missing-from-home protocols contain clear guidance for staff. 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.

p.4

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

Staff receive training to raise their knowledge and awareness of how best to safeguard children. Staff use this learning in their day-to-day practice, which promotes children’s safety. Staff have received specialised training to help them to know how to respond to incidents of children going missing from home. Staff were able to explain to the inspector how to use this training should the need arise.

p.4

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

When children have displayed behaviours which place themselves and others at risk, staff have intervened appropriately. Incident records are informative, reflective and overseen by the manager. When physical intervention has been used, this has been well managed. Children have the opportunity to discuss such incidents and reflect on how they feel and what coping strategies they can use to reduce any further occurrences.

p.4

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

Children are protected by the organisation’s safe recruitment practice. Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures promote children’s safety by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 5

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has recently had a change of manager. The new manager is experienced in working in Shropshire local authority children’s homes. The manager is supported by a similarly experienced deputy. Additionally, staffing has increased to meet the needs of the children. Staff say that the changes have been well managed and that staff morale is good.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the home and the support they receive from managers. They talk confidently about the positive journey and outcomes they support children to achieve. Staff meetings are used as opportunities to explore children’s progress and improve staff practice.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have a good oversight of the service and are able to implement improvement. The registered manager regularly reviews the quality of care and uses monitoring systems to identify patterns and trends in children’s behaviours. He uses this information to set clear targets and goals.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work collaboratively with other professionals to ensure that children receive good-quality care. Strategy meetings are arranged when required following allegations of harm, which ensures a full multi-team approach. This partnership working results in children receiving the best possible care to meet their individual needs.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff access a range of training opportunities, including essential courses such as safeguarding and first aid. In addition, they receive training that is specific to individual children, including training in attachment and trauma. Open access to a mental health clinician helps staff to understand the complex needs of the children in their care.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervisions are to a good standard and give staff the opportunity to reflect, learn and progress. New staff receive high-quality induction and mentoring from experienced staff. This ensures that children are receiving good-quality and consistent care from a highly motivated and supported staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

p.6

Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ii)(vi))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered person ensuring that staff support children to keep their bedrooms tidy and clean. 11 June 2022

p.6

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.6

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 11 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered person ensuring that children have a placement plan and staff have access to children’s most relevant plans.

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child’s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home must challenge them to meet the child’s needs (see regulations 5(c)). Staff should act as champions for their children, expecting nothing less than a good parent would. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 12, paragraph 2.8)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of their children and is a homely domestic environment. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene, etc); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than institutional impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

p.7

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: 2558682 8

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9