Children's Home run by N H Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 1 SC467264 Registered provider: N H Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this home. The home provides care for up to four children aged eight to 17 years who have social and/or emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has submitted his application to be registered 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 requires improvement to be good

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This children’s home was judged inadequate at the full inspection completed on 7 and 8 July 2021. Following that inspection, Ofsted issued a notice of suspension and compliance notices under regulation 12 and regulation 13.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 19 August 2021, a monitoring visit was undertaken. The compliance notice under regulation 12 was met. The compliance notice under regulation 13 was not met and was reissued. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 2 On 27 September 2021, a monitoring visit found that, although improvements had been made, the compliance notice was not met. The regulation 13 compliance and notice of suspension were reissued.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 3 November 2021, a monitoring visit was undertaken. The end date of the compliance notice had not expired and therefore remained in place. Six new requirements were raised, and the notice of suspension remained in place.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 14 December 2021, Ofsted undertook a monitoring inspection and the manager and staff had addressed all shortfalls. Subsequently, the suspension notice was lifted. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/07/2021 Full Inadequate 02/01/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 06/08/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 4

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improvement to be good

Two children have lived at the home since the suspension notice was lifted.

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improvement to be good

One child lived at the home at the time of the inspection. He has settled in well and states that he likes living at the home.

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improvement to be good

One child has moved out of the home and did so abruptly after living there for only nine days. He did not have a positive experience of moving from the home. The manager failed to consider how they would safely meet this child’s complex needs. Furthermore, managers did not ensure that they had contingency plans in place so that they had sufficient staff in the event that additional staff were needed. As a result, the child had to move when there was not enough staff to care for him safely. Poor care planning has had a negative impact on this child’s experiences and progress.

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improvement to be good

The child currently living at the home has recently started attending a new school and is in the process of settling in. Teachers at the school shared a concern that staff and the manager had not communicated all the child’s needs to help teachers to support him effectively. This lack of communication and careful planning has the potential to impact on the child’s learning and safety. The manager promptly addressed this shortfall during the inspection by ensuring that information was shared as needed.

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improvement to be good

Staff are getting to know the child currently living at the home and are in the process of trying to build good relationships with him. He can express his wishes and feelings through house meetings, talking to staff and spending time with his advocate. These opportunities enable the child to contribute to the day-to-day running of the home and more complicated decisions about his care. The staff and the manager act on children’s wishes and feelings. For example, the child loves cooking and following recipes. He asked for a food processor, which staff subsequently bought for him. As a result, he feels listened to and respected.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote the child’s physical and emotional health well. They ensure that he attends scheduled appointments and request relevant professionals to make referrals to other services so that children’s health needs are met. Staff undertake work with children to educate them on issues such as healthy relationships and sexual health.

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improvement to be good

The child accesses activities in the local community and enjoys new experiences. He has visited museums, been swimming, bowling and trampolining. He is making new friends and is enjoying this. As a result, the child is developing social skills, feels part of his community and is having fun. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 5 Staff support the child to develop good independence skills, for example learning self-care skills, doing their laundry and cooking meals. This helps children to prepare for their transition into independent living and also increases their self-esteem.

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improvement to be good

The child is able to express himself, and staff enable the child to learn more about his identity. They promote individuality and there is a strong focus on equality and diversity. As a result, the child is learning to celebrate difference.

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improvement to be good

Staff and managers are not consistently keeping children safe. The child went missing from the home during the early hours of the morning despite the home having a waking night staff. Staff only found out that the child was missing when the police contacted them and requested for him to be collected from their care.

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improvement to be good

Some records viewed by the inspector showed that the child had been unsettled prior to him leaving the home, while other records stated he was settled. This discrepancy in key records does not provide an accurate chronology of events to evidence that staff exercised their role and responsibilities effectively to keep this child safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff and the manager role model positive behaviours through carrying out restorative work with the child. As a result, the child at the home is starting to learn about the impact of their behaviours on themselves and others, and how to regulate his emotions.

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improvement to be good

Restraint is used by trained staff as a last resort to protect children and others from harm. There is now clear management oversight of restraint records, which is used to evaluate staff’s practice and identify any training needs to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risks assessments contain all known risks to help staff to keep children safe. No complaints have been raised. Staff recruitment is safe, which helps to ensure that only suitable adults care for children.

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good

The manager’s monitoring and reviewing of the service requires improvement. Though the manager has introduced new monitoring and auditing tools, they have not been able to identify some of the shortfalls identified during this inspection. This does not help to improve practice and the quality of care provided to children.

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good

Staff and the managers do not consistently maintain accurate and good-quality records. Contradictory information was contained in different records relating to a missing incident and an incident involving self-harm. These discrepancies make it difficult to establish exactly what happened and this does not fully promote safe practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 6 Staff and the manager receive regular supervision. This gives them the opportunity to reflect on their practice and development and to discuss any issues of concern they might have. In addition, it enables the manager to review staff performance, to identify any development needs and to give staff praise when they do well.

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good

Partner agencies and staff speak positively about the manager’s practice and communication. Staff feel supported by the manager and say that they are able to raise any issues and concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 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 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, share relevant information pertaining to children’s presenting risks with partner agencies to enable them to keep children safe. 30 June 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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(d)) 30 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 8 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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 30 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 30 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 9

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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: SC467264 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 69, Steward Street Business Lofts, Steward Street, Birmingham B18 7AF

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Inspector

Rumbi Mangoma, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 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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