Children's Home run by Nottinghamshire YMCA in Nottingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC444681 1 SC444681 Registered provider: Nottinghamshire YMCA Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a local charitable organisation. It provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties who may also have complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is currently not at work due to a period of absence. There is an interim acting manager in place.

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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

Date of last inspection: 22 February 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC444681 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/01/2020 Full Good 11/12/2018 Full Outstanding 24/10/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC444681 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences and progress in the home vary. One child is happy and settled. Another child expressed concerns about their care. Recent changes to the management and staffing have had a negative impact on the child’s sense of stability and security. Managers are prioritising building a stable, skilled and consistent staff team but this is still work in progress.

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improvement to be good

Staff assist children to access a wide range of activities in the local community. Children belong to clubs and engage in activities. This helps them to make friends. This also helps them to build their confidence and social skills.

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improvement to be good

Children have good school attendance and this is encouraged by staff. When a child’s attendance at school becomes problematic, staff work with professionals to support the child to return to education. One child has recently returned to education and successfully completed their exams. Children engage well with their learning and make progress.

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improvement to be good

Health plans are in place. These plans detail the support that children need. When health services have been recommended for a child and there are delays from other professionals, the interim manager advocates strongly for swift action to be taken. This means that children get the help they need more quickly.

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improvement to be good

Improvements have been made to how staff consult with children to gain their views, wishes and feelings. These opportunities give children a sense of shared responsibility. However, children’s views and feedback are not always fully captured or responded to by staff and managers. This limits children’s participation in how their home is run.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding incidents are not a regular occurrence in the home but when they do happen, they are not always dealt with effectively. The way that children are safeguarded is not yet good.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not regularly discuss children’s health concerns with them. For example, when one child raised a concern about their health, there was a lack of response from a staff member. This health concern was allowed to drift and has negatively impacted on the child’s progress.

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improvement to be good

There are shortfalls in some staff members’ practice. There have been occasions when their responses to children have been poor. This is particularly evident in behaviour management records. For example, on one occasion, a staff member’s Inspection report for children’s home: SC444681 4 language towards a child was inflammatory. This caused the child to become more distressed and anxious.

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improvement to be good

The acting manager has new plans in place to improve the performance management of staff. She plans for safeguarding issues to be routinely discussed in each staff member’s one-to-one meeting with their manager. She has also introduced safeguarding as a standard agenda item in team meetings. This has started to provide opportunities for staff members to discuss how they safeguard the children. This has also helped to ensure that the team has a shared understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding training is carried out. The training topics are centred around the children’s needs so that staff are clear about how they should protect the children in their care.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff understand the risks to and from children. Risk assessments are up to date. This means that staff have guidance to follow on how to manage any potential risks to children. This guidance supports staff to reduce risks and improve children’s safety and welfare.

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good

There is an acting manager in place due to the registered manager being on leave. Several statutory requirements and recommendations were set at the last inspection. The interim manager has made progress and is taking steps to address each of the shortfalls. However, some shortfalls remain.

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good

The home is being run in accordance with its statement of purpose. The acting manager has started to improve monitoring in the home, but this is still not fully effective. The new processes are not yet embedded to ensure that all aspects of children’s care are monitored and shortfalls responded to.

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good

The acting manager now has plans in place to improve the supervision of each staff member. However, not all staff have had the opportunity to discuss their practice and the children with a manager.

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good

Team meetings are now planned but they have not yet been used effectively to shape practice in the home.

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good

The new acting manager is being well supported by the responsible individual. The management team has identified effectively the strengths in the home and the areas that need further development. They have plans in place to continue to drive forward improvements.

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good

In addition to changes in management, there have been changes to the staff team. Staff morale has been low at times. However, the new management team and staff are feeling much more positive and morale has improved. Inspection report for children’s home: SC444681 5 The manager has started to create a supportive environment for staff. Staff told the inspector that their confidence and practice have improved. Inspection report for children’s home: SC444681 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to in inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(a)(b)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager using evaluation of the home to improve the care that children receive. 30 August 2022

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. 30 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC444681 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff supervision and team meetings are used effectively to shape practice in the home, to address any concerns about staff practice and ensure that staff are provided with consistently high-quality development and training.

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings; 30 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC444681 8 help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to consulting and supporting children to contribute to all aspects of their care and for children to see the results of their views being listened to and acted on.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to respond to the health needs of children. This relates to a child’s concerns about their own health which staff did not respond to appropriately. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.12)

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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: SC444681 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Nottinghamshire YMCA Malty Cross Ltd, 16 St James’s Street, Nottingham NG1 6FG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Kelly Gliszczynski

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Inspector

Thirza Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC444681 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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