Children's home run by City of Wolverhampton Council

Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 1 SC378153 Registered provider: Wolverhampton City Council Full 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 with Ofsted since 2013 and is suitably qualified.

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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 good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers 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: 22 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A compliance notice under regulation 12 was raised following the last interim inspection. This was reviewed and met on 4 April 2022. Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 19/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/01/2020 Full Good 19/12/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy their time when they come for their short breaks. They go out to the cinema, shopping and for drives in the country. Children also enjoy baking, arts and crafts and playing games with staff. These activities help children to build good relationships with staff, and add to the fun times that children have when they visit the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive care from a stable staff team. Staff speak warmly and with confidence about all the children who stay at the home. Many of the staff have been at the home for a long time, and while there is some use of regular agency staff, they are well known to the children. This provides children with predictability and stability when they visit.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager has taken better control of admissions to the home. Since the last inspection, there has been one same-day placement of a child. Managers made sure that they had all the necessary information before the child arrived. This meant that staff were able to support them moving into the home with care as they had all the information they needed. As a result of the reduction in crisis placements, short breaks are not cancelled due to children arriving in an emergency. Families and professionals told the inspector that this is better for children and families as breaks are now regular, predictable and consistent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have improved the quality of direct work with children, and it is better linked to children’s statutory and short-break plans. In addition, managers have improved their oversight of this work. As a result, short breaks are now more clearly focused on both enjoyment and children’s purposeful development. There are times when staff do not take part in some children’s planning meetings. This is a missed opportunity to inform and develop children’s plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff run group work for children that addresses relevant topics for children. These sessions help children to understand areas such as exploitation and sexual health. Children told the inspector that these sessions help to build their life skills and they value them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers have good relationships with parents and professionals. Parents appreciate the support their children receive and feel well informed about their time while in the home. Parents and carers are confident they could raise any concerns if they needed to. Staff have also used their ability to speak other languages to help families be more involved in making decisions. In addition, some staff complete family work with children and parents to help them with their relationships. The families involved appreciate this new initiative. These factors mean that parents have confidence in the staff caring for their children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 4

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

The registered manager considers the interactional risk between children before each short break. This gives staff up-to-date knowledge of children and informs them of whether there are any concerns. Records of whether staff read this information are incomplete. As a result, it is not clear whether all staff who need to read these have done so. There has been one occasion where managers used the wrong child’s name throughout a risk assessment. These shortfalls indicate that while monitoring has improved, it is not yet robust. However, this does not negate the usefulness of this document.

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

Staff and managers have worked hard to address shortfalls relating to children who go missing from the home. Staff have completed relevant training, there are clear protocols in place and staff are now allocated to individual children while they are in the home. These measures have reduced the risk of children going missing and no children have gone missing from the home since the interim inspection. In addition, staff have put in place incentive plans for children who go missing from their own home. For one child, this has worked so well that they have stopped going missing from home. This is a significant achievement for them.

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

Staff develop relationships with children that help them to talk about when they feel unsafe or are being exploited. When children take this opportunity, staff and managers now quickly report this to statutory partners. This means that children’s networks can work towards increasing children’s safety at these times. In addition, staff offer ongoing care and talking spaces to children so that they continue to feel supported. This emphasises to children that staff will be there if they need them.

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

Staff and managers now follow clear protocols when children disclose abuse. When the registered manager shares disclosures with statutory partners, he follows this through to make sure that they take appropriate action. This is a marked change of approach. On one occasion, this dogged advocacy meant that a child was not unintentionally let down by other professionals.

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

Staff administer medication in line with the provider’s own policy. Staff are vigilant when children arrive with unknown medication and ensure that colleagues do not administer it. Staff complete regular counts of medication, so they know what medication is in the home. This helps to safeguard against administration errors. Managers have increased their regular medication checks, which means that minor recording mistakes are quickly addressed. These measures ensure that the systems in place are safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the interim inspection, the registered manager and senior managers have led the development of the home with determination. Managers are working hard to include staff in this vision and staff recognise and welcome this. Managers and staff acknowledge that there is more to do but they are all focused on improvement to Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 5 benefit the children they work with. Through collaboration and support, senior leaders have helped the registered manager to widen his approach and vision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have redesigned monitoring systems in the home. The clearer system of regular checks has helped managers to have better oversight of all activity in the home. Staff have increased their focused direct work with children. This has reassured managers about children’s experience and progress against their plans. Managers also provide constructive feedback to staff about their work and staff appreciate this support. There are some areas where oversight remains weak. Managers are aware of these areas and have plans to address them, while continuing to develop staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has completed a review of the quality of care that children receive. This is child-centred and has a more direct focus on the impact of care on children. The registered manager has gained the views of some children, some families and some staff. However, there is room to increase this feedback to enrich the review. In addition, the registered manager has not consulted with children’s social workers, and the partners staff work with. This is a missed opportunity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a regular independent visitor who visits the home. The visitor does not routinely gain feedback from staff, families or professionals. As a result, while their reports are useful, they do not have the breadth of feedback that would provide a more holistic view. Staff also do not regularly read the reports, so they do not learn from the visitor’s observations. This is another missed opportunity. Senior leaders are already considering how they can ensure that these visits better support the development of practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to developmental training that is in line with children’s needs. Staff report that they feel supported by their managers and their one-to-one meetings give them time to consider their well-being. Staff celebrate the developments in the home since the last inspection. Staff and managers are clear about their commitment to continue to make improvements so they can support more children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are fully committed to children being part of all aspects of the home. Staff and managers gain children’s views formally and informally throughout their stays so that they understand their experiences on their breaks. This means that children feel part of the home and they enjoy their time there. Children were clear with the inspector that the opportunities and incentives they have at the home are helping them in other areas of their lives. As a result, the home is fulfilling its stated aims and objectives. Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 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 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

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that their monitoring includes ensuring that staff read essential information in a timely way and that errors in documents are noted and addressed. 17 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that the independent person gains the views of the staff working in the home for their report about the home. 17 July 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they contribute to planning and statutory meetings for children regardless of their legal status. (‘Guide to Inspection report for children’s home: SC378153 7 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.3)  The registered person should ensure that they gain the views of social workers to inform their regular review of the quality of care provided by the home. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

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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 8

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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 Peter’s Square, Wolverhampton WV1 1SH

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Inspector

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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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