Children's Home run by Coventry City Council in Coventry

Inspection report for children’s home: 2507724 1 Registered provider: Coventry City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides care for up to four children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager holds a level 5 leadership and management qualification and has been registered with Ofsted since March 2019.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 26 January 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2507724 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/10/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2507724 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children currently live at the home. Staff support the children well to help them make progress. For example, staff actively support children’s education with a culture that encourages learning. As a result, children’s attendance at school and college is good. Managers and staff communicate well with education providers to ensure that children receive the support they require when they struggle at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience child-centred and individualised care. The consistent approach of staff helps children to feel safe, secure and ready to try new things. Staff encourage children to attend activities and clubs outside of the home. This provides children with exciting experiences that help them grow in confidence. One child has weekly horse-riding lessons and volunteers at a local stable. Another child attends a boxing club and has recently joined the police cadets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience positive relationships with staff. One child told the inspector that he likes living in the home and prefers it to foster care. Another child said that he feels safe and likes the staff team. As a result of their strong relationships with staff, children respond to staff’s support and guidance. Consequently, the care provided is making a positive difference to the lives of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of relationships and support children to see their families and friends. Staff are working closely with the two children, their families and social workers to increase family time, with a longer-term plan to return home. This approach helps children to maintain important emotional connections with their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a welcoming home environment. The home is clean and tidy and children have personalised their bedrooms. Children’s photos are proudly displayed throughout the home. However, some areas of the environment require further redecoration. The registered manager has taken steps to address this, and there are plans for these areas to be decorated within the coming weeks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff reward children for their achievements and positive behaviours, which helps children learn to make positive choices. However, these are not always recorded in children’s records. As a result, there is not a complete record of children’s accomplishments.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments are not all up to date or do not capture all known risks to children. There is a lack of guidance in place for staff to support children with some behaviours. Due to staff’s good knowledge of children, this has not Inspection report for children’s home: 2507724 4 compromised the safety of children. However, these shortfalls may compromise the quality of care children receive from staff who do not know the children as well.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not always ensured that searches of children’s rooms take place when required. This oversight has the potential to compromise children’s welfare.

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improvement to be good

Staff have important conversations with children about a range of topics, including internet safety, healthy relationships and substance misuse. This helps children to develop the skills they need to keep themselves safe. However, staff are not always recording these conversations. As a result, records do not demonstrate all of the positive work staff carry out with the children.

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improvement to be good

Staff use sanctions to help children to try and understand their negative behaviour. However, the registered manager has not ensured that a review of the effectiveness of the sanctions takes place. On occasions, sanctions have not been identified when they could have been. This is a missed opportunity to help children understand and learn from their behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Staff apply clear routines and boundaries, and this means that children understand what is expected of them. On the rare occasion, that children display challenging behaviours, the staff respond with understanding and compassion. As a result, there are very few incidents. When staff need to physically intervene to keep everyone safe, these interventions are appropriate and proportionate. Following any intervention, staff offer children emotional support to help them make sense of their behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Children feel safe and settled in the home. Children have positive relationships with one another and, as result, there is no bullying in the home. Children told the inspector that they are happy living at the home and get on well with staff. As a result, children do not go missing from home.

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good

Children are cared for by a committed and motivated registered manager and staff team. They show genuine care and warmth for the children. The registered manager and staff work together to provide a safe and nurturing environment in which they treat each child as an individual. As a result, children are settled and make good progress in all aspects of their lives.

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good

However, the registered manager’s monitoring and oversight of some paperwork has been insufficient. As a result, there are gaps in children’s plans. This means that staff are not provided with up-to-date and accurate information. This may negatively impact on the quality of care delivered to children. The registered manager has already identified some of these shortfalls and they have made plans to address them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2507724 5 The registered manager and staff team have developed strong relationships with all the relevant professionals, including social workers and school staff. As a result, there is good communication between them, which promotes children’s welfare. One social worker told the inspector, ‘The staff are very receptive, supportive and meet the child’s emotional needs, there is a nurturing culture that is having a massive impact on her.’

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good

There is a comprehensive range of training opportunities for staff, including essential courses such as safeguarding and first aid. In addition, staff have completed training in specialised areas such as safeguarding against radicalisation, adverse childhood experiences, and attachment and loss. Most staff have achieved their level 3 diploma in residential childcare within the required timeframes or are working towards this. As a result, most staff have the skills and knowledge to care for and meet the needs of the children. However, one member of staff has not yet obtained the relevant qualification within the required timeframe.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision and team meetings. This provides opportunities for staff to reflect on their own developmental needs and the experiences of children. This ensures that children receive care from staff who are continually improving their practice to support children to achieve good outcomes. Inspection report for children’s home: 2507724 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that children’s risk assessments are in place, up to date and accurate, and include effective strategies for staff to follow. In addition, that staff support children to learn to identify risks and how to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that children’s bedrooms are searched when required. 11 July 2022

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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, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). 11 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2507724 7 The requirements are that—

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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

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.

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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)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The relates to ensuring that all staff complete the required qualifications in the specified timeframe.

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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))

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Requirement Due date

The provider must ensure that there is effective monitoring and oversight of all aspects of the home, and that shortfalls in practice are identified and addressed. 11 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2507724 8 The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3) (a)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that there is appropriate management oversight of sanctions and that all sanctions are recorded. 11 July 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff reinforce, praise and encourage positive behaviour and keep a record of this for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 88, paragraph 8.11)

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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: 2507724 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Coventry City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coventry City Council, Council House, Earl Street, Coventry CV1 5RR

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Inspector

Debbie Holder, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2507724 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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