Children's Home run by DMR Services Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 1 Registered provider: DMR Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to four children aged between 11 and 17 who may have had adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has an appropriately qualified registered manager.

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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 inadequate

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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: On 14 June 2022, Ofsted undertook a full inspection and judged the home to be inadequate. Ofsted issued compliance notices under regulation 6 (the quality and purpose of care standard) and regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard). Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/06/2022 Full Inadequate 09/06/2021 Full Good 11/02/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 25/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 3

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improvement to be good

There are four children living in the home. The children are settled, and two of the children have lived at the home for over three years.

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences and progress are mixed. They have made good progress in some aspects of their lives. However, at other times, children have not received the help and care that they have needed.

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improvement to be good

The children have developed good relationships with staff and managers. During the inspection, the inspectors observed positive interactions between staff and the children. For example, the children and staff were observed playing tennis in the garden and playing board games together. When upset, one child was observed seeking hugs from the staff. Children feel supported and enjoy living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Improvements have been made to the home. The dining room is now suitable for children to eat their meals. A large dining room table allows the staff and the children to eat their meals together.

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improvement to be good

The children’s bedrooms have been redecorated and soft furnishings have been used to give a personalised touch. The children have been involved in making the changes and are now proud of their rooms. For example, one child told the inspectors that he is pleased that he now has a place for his books. The children are invested in their home and the improvements made, which supports them to feel valued.

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improvement to be good

Children’s bathrooms have been deep cleaned. The stains on the walls and floors have been removed. The shower basins have been fitted with new splashbacks, which has removed the mould and mildew. Daily and weekly cleaning rotas have been introduced, which ensures that children have access to suitable bathroom facilities to attend to their personal hygiene. As a result of these improvements, the compliance notice issued under regulation 6 is deemed to have been met.

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improvement to be good

Children’s placement plans do not support staff to understand how to meet children’s needs. This is because the plans do not contain up-to-date information or reflect the progress that children have made. Furthermore, one child’s plan does not include his specific needs despite him living at the home for over 11 months. This hinders staff’s ability to provide children with the best possible care.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always communicate well with each other and are not consistent in implementing routines and boundaries. During the inspection, one child told the inspector that she does not feel that staff treat her the same as the other children. Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 4

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improvement to be good

Children told the inspectors that they feel safe living in the home. The children can identify trusted staff who they can confide in and who take their concerns seriously.

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improvement to be good

There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home since the last inspection. Staff have protocols in place if a child were to go missing from the home, including the action that they should take to safeguard a child.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment of staff is safe and robust. All staff are subject to employment checks before they start working in the home. This ensures that staff are suitable to work with children.

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improvement to be good

Each child has an individual risk assessment that outlines the presenting risks. However, one child’s assessment does not contain accurate information in relation to the child’s assessed level of supervision. During the inspection, the inspectors noted that the correct levels of supervision were not implemented. This reduces the quality of the assessment and the consequent actions identified to manage the risk.

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improvement to be good

On some occasions, staff have used physical intervention to keep children safe when they have become distressed. Overall, this practice is appropriate and proportionate. However, following these interventions, children have not always been provided with the opportunity to discuss these incidents in detail. This is a missed opportunity to explore alternative approaches to managing challenging behaviours and to support the child and understand their wishes and feelings.

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improvement to be good

During the inspection, the inspectors noted that an incident of physical intervention had been undertaken by an agency member of staff. The agency member of staff had not received the required training as set out in the home’s own behaviour management policy. This does not promote safe practice or ensure that the intervention is appropriate and in line with the child’s own behaviour support plan.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there has been an increase in allegations. In general, the manager responds well to allegations and works alongside the relevant professionals to keep children safe. However, on one occasion, a member of staff failed to report an allegation. The registered manager only became aware of the allegation when notified by the local authority social worker. The delay in reporting means that appropriate action was not taken to safeguard a child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has not taken effective action to meet the steps outlined in the compliance notice raised under regulation 13. The failure to meet this compliance notice demonstrates that the effectiveness of leaders and managers is inadequate. The compliance notice has been reissued. Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 5 The registered manager’s monitoring and reviewing systems are not yet embedded or effective. The registered manager had planned to introduce weekly review meetings; however, these reviews have only been completed monthly. This has been a contributing factor in the registered manager being unable to identify and act on shortfalls identified during this inspection. For example, three requirements raised at the last full inspection have not been met. These requirements have been restated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The quality and effectiveness of the staff supervision sessions are poor. The lack of effective supervision means that the staff are not being provided with an opportunity to reflect on their practice and identify any further training and development they may need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has not completed a review of staff’s skills and knowledge. This means that steps have not been taken to ensure that staff can meet children’s needs. For example, only half of the staff team has received training to support children with autism spectrum disorder, despite there being a child living at the home with autism spectrum disorder.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has not ensured that staff have the necessary knowledge and training to help them understand and act on potential safeguarding concerns. For example, when a child made an allegation following an incident, staff did not report this. This means that when children share allegations of harm with staff, these go unreported. This exposes children to greater risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are not provided with accurate guidance relating to children’s needs. For example, inspectors found that records contain inaccurate information about the arrangements to supervise a child in the community, the child’s diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and the child’s legal status.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager and staff use a mobile messaging service to share information about the children. It is not clear how this has been assessed as an appropriate or suitable means to share information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Despite the identified shortfalls, the manager is committed and wants the home to do well. Staff describe him as supportive and approachable if they have concerns. External professionals involved with the home comment positively on the registered manager’s communication with them. Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that children’s risk assessments are up to date and include all known risks.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered manager must ensure that staff have the skills to help them to identify and act on risks to children.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated from the last inspection. 9 October 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— 9 October 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 7 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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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

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)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that they have monitoring and reviewing systems in place which identify shortfalls effectively.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated from the last inspection.

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Requirement Due date

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.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children having up-to-date plans that are reflective of their needs.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated from the last inspection. 9 October 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out— 9 October 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 8 the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that debriefs take place with children and are recorded. (Regulation 35 (1)(b) (3)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated from the last inspection.

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that systems are in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, paragraph 13.2, page 61)  The registered person should ensure that they undertake a review that focuses on the quality of care. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the care provided, which will be captured in the written report. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, paragraph 15.4, page 65)

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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 children’s home: 1278421 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: DMR Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: D M R Services, 102 Queslett Road, Streetley, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham B74 2EZ

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Inspectors

Lydia Isaac, Social Care Inspector Alison Snell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1278421 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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