Children's home run by A & S Children’s Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2611288 1 Registered provider: A & S Children’s Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home provides care for up to three children. The home’s statement of purpose states that the home cares for children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in February 2021. The registered manager post is vacant. A new manager has been appointed and confirmed that she will be submitting an application to register with Ofsted soon.

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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 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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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2611288 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/04/2022 Full Inadequate 08/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/06/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2611288 3

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improvement to be good

Children build trusting relationships with managers and staff, who work to the ethos of the home which states that, ‘children should experience good enough parenting, encouraging a healthy attachment which aids emotional development. Managers and staff know the children well and talk confidently about the progress children have made.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff demonstrate resilience in their interactions with children. One staff member said that a child expressed surprise, saying, ‘Why are you still here?’ after verbally abusing the staff member who was attempting to assist the child to get ready for school. Managers and staff understand that children need caring adults who can see beyond their presenting behaviours and not reject them, promoting a sense of security and stability for children.

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improvement to be good

Children can express their views about their day-to-day care through key-work sessions and residents’ meetings. Leaders and managers have initiated a ‘grumble box’ for children and, in addition, talk to children about how to make a complaint. Managers and staff attend children’s statutory meetings and support children to express their views on the plans being made for them. Leaders and managers are strong advocates for children and involve independent advocates to ensure that children’s voices are heard in respect of complex decisions about their care.

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improvement to be good

Staff and managers strive to overcome the barriers to education for children who have spent significant periods of time out of school. Staff and managers praise the educational achievements of children, however small. Nevertheless, staff and managers do not always ensure that when children are not attending school, they are encouraged to engage in suitably structured activities.

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improvement to be good

Children are provided with opportunities to participate in a range of activities in the home and the community. Staff and managers understand that this helps with building children’s self-esteem and sense of achievement. Children enjoyed a recent trip to an amusement park and pictures of the children taken on the day are on display in the living room. Leaders and managers have plans to make links with community activities, such as a street dance class and art therapist, as a direct result of the wishes of children.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff work hard to encourage and support children to attend health and medical appointments and discuss with children why attending to their health needs is important. However, one child has not attended basic healthcare appointments for a significant period of time. Leaders and managers are thinking constructively about what can be done to address this child’s health needs with the relevant local authority. Inspection report for children’s home: 2611288 4

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

Managers and staff work hard to ensure that children are protected from harm. They talk to children about the risks from, for example, substance misuse, going missing from home and self-harm. Children know that staff want to keep them safe and that there are trusted adults who they can approach if they are worried. Children say that they feel safe living in the home.

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

The individual risks to children are known and detailed risk assessments outline the strategies that managers and staff should take to minimise harm to children. However, leaders and managers do not ensure that there is an effective method for monitoring that all staff have read and fully understand the risk assessments for children. This does not ensure that children receive consistent and effective responses when risk is present from those who care for them.

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

When children go missing from home, managers and staff respond promptly, maintaining regular contact with them. Managers and staff work collaboratively with children’s family, external professionals and agencies to understand children’s networks. This means that when children do go missing from home, managers and staff usually know where children are likely to be. Managers and staff use a variety of methods to safeguard children when they are missing, such as Oyster card tracking, offering to meet children in the community or providing transport for them to return home.

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

Leaders and managers are proactive in raising concerns with local authorities and other agencies when risks to children mean urgent action needs to be taken. Leaders and managers ensure that staff understand the importance of following procedures for reporting children missing from home, through discussions in team meetings and one-to-one sessions. There are effective recording systems that demonstrate what action has been taken to safeguard children. Leaders and managers use the information collated to evaluate the responses to identify what more can be done to keep children safe.

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

Children benefit from the consistency of care, attention and boundaries provided by managers and staff. Incidents of challenging behaviours have reduced significantly for children. Positive behaviour plans demonstrate that managers and staff know the individual triggers for children and use this knowledge effectively to promote positive behaviour. Children report that they get on well with each other in the home.

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

Leaders and managers are determined to ensure that all staff understand their responsibilities in respect of safeguarding and reporting on child protection matters. Staff report that, because of changes in the management team, the introduction of clear procedures for reporting and the training received, they are clearer about what needs to be done and feel confident about reporting. Children therefore benefit from the safeguarding culture that is promoted in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2611288 5 There has been one allegation and investigation since the last inspection. The local authority designated officer said, ‘The managers seem to have responded as required by procedures and have been very open in their approach to resolution.’ Leaders and managers carry out thorough investigations into allegations and take appropriate action to reduce the incidences of allegations against staff through

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

reflecting on what could have been done differently.

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

There is a maintenance log which is overseen by all staff to ensure that any potential hazards in the home are identified. Children’s bedrooms have regular health and safety checks to ensure that any repairs needed are carried out promptly. CCTV is in operation outside the home, which provides additional security for children.

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good

There have been recent changes in the management team, with a new manager appointed in April. She intends to submit her application to register with Ofsted shortly. The new manager has been working hard to make positive changes to the service and has introduced processes to improve the monitoring of the quality of care provided in the home. However, due to the limited time these processes have been in place, they have not yet been embedded in day-to-day practice, therefore their effectiveness cannot be measured.

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good

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. Recruitment of permanent staff is one of the areas that leaders and managers want to improve to ensure consistency and stability for children.

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good

The home’s care plans for the children are robust and aspirational and consider the children’s wishes and feelings. However, leaders and managers have not ensured that children’s files include the care plans formulated by the child’s placing local authority.

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good

Staff morale has improved since the previous inspection, with staff reporting that the quality of their supervision has improved. Staff have access to regular training opportunities. One member of staff said that being offered training made them more confident in carrying out their role. The manager is in the process of carrying out performance appraisals for all staff and reviewing the workforce development plan to include all staff working in the home.

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good

Leaders and managers understand the issues regarding recruitment of suitable staff in residential childcare. Staff are offered opportunities to progress to more senior roles in the setting. Consequently, staff feel valued and appreciated and this offers continuity of care to children.

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good

There has been an improvement in the way managers and staff work with other agencies and professionals. Feedback from external professionals on the current Inspection report for children’s home: 2611288 6 leadership of the home is highly positive, particularly with regard to improved communication.

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good

The home’s statement of purpose has not been updated. It currently contains outdated or incorrect information. This is likely to be confusing for those wishing to understand the home’s way of working with children, particularly local authorities and other external professionals, as well as new staff coming to work at the home.

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good

Leaders and managers have addressed all but one of the requirements raised at the last inspection and this has been restated. This has led to progress across several areas, including better support for children who go missing from home and effective recording of the work carried out with children. However, the manager is currently, involved in daily direct work with children as well as having to carry out managerial tasks. Therefore, a deputy team manager has been appointed to allow the manager to focus more on her managerial and regulatory responsibilities. Inspection report for children’s home: 2611288 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 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 inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 31 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2611288 8 The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it;

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Requirement Due date

and any actions that the registered person considers provided necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (4)(a)(b) (5)) 31 July 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)) 31 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2611288 9 This specifically refers to care plans prepared by the child’s local authority being present on files.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 31 August 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure the children’s guide is updated and revised when necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.21)  The registered person should ensure that staff read children’s risk assessments and understand the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20) and considers all staff working in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should support children to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28,

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Recommendations

paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure each child’s attendance at the necessary primary and secondary healthcare appointments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.11)

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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) Inspection report for children’s home: 2611288 10 Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2611288 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: A & S Children’s Services Ltd

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Inspectors

Colin Bent, Social Care Inspector Aneta Wasilewska, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2611288 12 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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