Children's Home run by Child First Residential Ltd in Sandwell

Inspection report for children’s home: 2610371 1 Registered provider: Child First Residential 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 is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours. There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, the deputy manager has been promoted to manage the home. They have applied to Ofsted to be registered.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2610371 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 13/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2610371 3

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inadequate

Children’s experiences and progress are inadequate because staff do not keep them safe. There have been several significant incidents which have compromised children’s safety. In some instances, children had to leave the home in unplanned ways as managers and staff have not taken effective or timely action to protect them.

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inadequate

Before children move into the home, managers do not fully consider children’s needs or staff’s ability to care for them. This has been a contributing factor in children having unsuccessful outcomes and having to leave the home prematurely. Furthermore, this poor planning has had a detrimental impact on children, as they have been exposed to, and then in some instances replicated, the risk-taking behaviours of others. For some children, this has resulted in a significant escalation in their vulnerability.

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inadequate

Staff and managers do not always balance what is in children’s best interests with their wishes and feelings. Staff identified that a child was at risk when online, however, measures to control the child’s access to online devices were not implemented. This was because there was a delay in receiving authorisation from the child’s local authority and managers did not take adequate steps to escalate this issue. As a result of this failure to act, the child remained at risk of harm.

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inadequate

Despite the identified failures in the care provided to children, staff have had some success. Children are supported and encouraged to engage with education. This has contributed to some children making progress in line with their education plans. Staff reassure children who are returning to education and support them to take part in their learning. Staff also help children with online education, so that they can begin to make progress in their learning again.

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inadequate

Staff have provided children with some positive day-to-day experiences. Children enjoy cooking, gardening, shopping and beach trips. These experiences help children to develop some life skills and have fun.

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

Staff do not always act to protect children. There has been a pattern of children going missing from the care of staff. Staff and managers have not taken effective action to reduce this pattern of behaviour. This has meant that, at times, children have been able to travel across several counties. In addition, on two occasions, children have experienced exploitation and been seriously sexually assaulted while missing. Children have not been helped to understand risks and dangers and as a result they have been subject to further exploitation Inspection report for children’s home: 2610371 4 Managers do not ensure that there are up-to-date risk assessments and protocols in place to guide staff in keeping children safe. When incidents occur, there are missed opportunities to learn from these and improve staff practice. As a result, staff struggle to manage children’s behaviours, and sometimes use the police to manage

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

children’s behaviour. This has led to children being handcuffed and spending time in police custody.

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

Staff’s responses to children are inconsistent and at times cold and harsh. Staff responses have, in some instances, contributed to an escalation of behaviours, leading to children being at risk of harm. There are also errors in records and in some examples the staff use language which appears to indicate that children are to blame for not keeping themselves safe.

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

Children who harm themselves are mostly well supported by staff. Despite this, on occasions, it is not evident that staff take action to minimise risk. One child expressed suicidal thoughts and then went missing from the home. There was a delay in reporting the child as missing to the police. This meant that the child was at risk of harm for a prolonged period.

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

Managers do not always notify the regulator about serious incidents in a timely way. This hinders the regulator’s overview.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have an overly positive view of their own practice and approach. Similarly, managers do not have sufficient oversight of staff practice or risk management in the home. This means that there have been missed opportunities to drive improvements in practice and hold staff to account.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not adequately challenge staff’s actions during and after incidents. This means that staff take little responsibility for their actions and children are not safeguarded. In addition, the lack of reflection and challenge limits learning from serious incidents. This contributes to poor development of strategies to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not have a good understanding of children’s progress. Managers focus on small steps made by children but do not fully consider the children’s wider needs. As a result, they do not put in place sufficient strategies to support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The managers quality of care review does not include the views of staff. This limits the usefulness of this review process. Furthermore, the action plan devised following this review is limited in detail.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff rota does not accurately reflect who has worked in the home and when. This was a requirement that was raised at the last inspection. This demonstrates that managers do not take the required action to make improvements. Inspection report for children’s home: 2610371 5 Staff receive regular supervision. However, some staff do not receive supervision in line with policy. Records do not evidence the discussions held with staff and they do not provide clear actions to help staff develop their practice. In contrast, team meeting minutes include clear actions that have been agreed by managers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2610371 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must meet with the police to agree clear plans to support children as needed. 11 September

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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.

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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

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. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must ensure that staff respond to children with sensitivity and in line with the underpinning 11 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2610371 7 model of practice identified in the home’s statement of purpose. Records, including managers’ comments about records, should also reflect this approach.

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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. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must ensure that staff make balanced decisions about what is in children’s best interests, which will sometimes be contrary to what children want. The provider must make this clear with placing local authorities and escalate in a timely way if necessary to ensure children’s best interests are served. 11 September

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those 11 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2610371 8 expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff should ensure that children develop positive relationships with others and are supported to recognise situations where they may be vulnerable to those who may take advantage of them. This does not remove the responsibility of adults to keep children safe. Staff should also help children to understand expectations about behaviour, to effect a change in children’s social and emotional abilities.

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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; 11 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2610371 9 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must ensure that there are clear risk assessments and protocols that include effective strategies for staff to follow relating to children’s risks and behaviour. In addition, staff must help children to understand how to keep safe, thereby reducing the need for legal restrictions on them. In addition, the provider must ensure that staff recognise warning signs and triggers for children’s behaviour which may lead them to be at risk of harm. Finally, the provider must ensure that staff support children to develop safe relationships with each other that mean they do not increase their own risk of harm.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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

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

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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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must ensure the home is led in such a way as to meet the aims and underpinning approach set out in the statement of purpose. In addition, the provider must also ensure that staff have the skills needed to manage the presenting behaviour and needs of children in the home. For example, staff must have the skills to manage effectively and reduce incidents of children going missing. Finally, the 11 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2610371 10 provider must use monitoring and review systems to ensure practice and care in the home are developed. This should include challenging staff practice after incidents, supporting staff to reflect on incidents and sharing learning, and ensuring that records are accurate and well written, with children in mind.

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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; 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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must ensure that children’s plans are clear and that staff know to follow them. In addition, the provider must work to ensure that children have positive, well-planned transitions from the home when the time comes to move on. 11 September

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must ensure that rotas are accurate and clearly reflect who has worked in the home and when.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 11 September

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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

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

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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 (2)(c) (5)) 11 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2610371 11 In particular, the provider must ensure that they include the views of staff in their regular review of the quality of care. The provider must also ensure that resulting actions accurately reflect all areas of development in the home.

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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 notifications to Ofsted of relevant incidents are made without delay. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)  The registered person should ensure that records of supervision sessions reflect the discussion in those meetings and contain clear actions, and timescales for those actions to be completed. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)

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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: 2610371 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Child First Residential Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 11 Hollyhedge Road, West Bromwich B71 3BP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rajinder Kudhail

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Inspector

Karol Keenan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2610371 13 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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