Children's Home run by Shropshire Council in Shropshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC382730 1 SC382730 Registered provider: Shropshire Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home offers short breaks for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities. It is owned and operated by a local authority.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager was registered in September 2021 and had previously worked at the home as the deputy manager. The manager is enrolled on a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC382730 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 28/04/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/02/2020 Full Good 27/02/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC382730 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, two children were enjoying their short break. Since the previous inspection, 54 children have received a short break and 18 children have received care following a crisis situation. Difficulties in finding suitable longer-term care for children with complex needs continue to result in some children staying beyond the maximum 17 days a short break stay allows. Managers and staff continue to be flexible in their approach, in order to meet the needs of these children. Managers ensure that when a new home is found, children experience a positive move. The manager remains proactive in keeping the regulator informed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff work hard to make the home a welcoming place for children to spend their short break. The garden is well maintained and has a climbing frame and football net and comfortable seating. Communal areas are well decorated and homely, and children’s bedrooms are attractive places where children can relax. Children can choose to bring their own bedding and other items which enhance the homely and nurturing feel of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the start of each child’s short break, staff encourage them to choose activities which they can enjoy together. These include trips to the beach, feeding ponies in the local countryside and visits to theme parks. Staff use this shared time to help children to relax and to have meaningful conversations. Spending time together on shared activities enables children to build strong relationships with staff. Children say that they enjoy their short break and they like the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff involve children in setting goals for their short-break stay. This encourages children to invest in their targets from the beginning. However, staff do not then regularly review children’s plans and set new goals. This is a missed opportunity to praise children’s progress and to continually involve children in decisions about their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are exceptionally good at involving parents in their children’s care. This starts at the first meeting, when staff involve parents in the process and give them opportunities to talk about their concerns. Parents are positive about the help and support from staff. Parents say that staff help them to deal with issues concerning their children and are vigilant about their children’s safety and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy eating healthy meals of their choice cooked from scratch. Children and staff eat their meals together, sitting at the dining room table. Staff talk to children about the importance of diet and exercise, staying healthy and about the changes that take place during puberty. These open conversations educate children and support them to make healthy choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their education by driving them to and from school. When necessary, staff work with schools to overcome children’s barriers to learning. Inspection report for children’s home: SC382730 4 For example, staff supported one child by communicating with the school and helping the child with maths problems through using everyday activities such as shopping.

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

Staff use their strong relationships with children to set out clear rules and boundaries which children follow. Careful matching of children ensures that the home is a calm place for children to spend their short break. Staff encourage positive behaviour, with the regular use of verbal praise for behaviours such as being kind and tolerant. As a result, incidents are rare. Children say that bullying does not happen and they feel safe.

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

On the rare occasions that children go missing, staff take swift action to ensure their safety. They follow individual missing-from-home protocols and work with police, social workers and family members to find children quickly. Staff speak with children on their return to help them understand the child’s behaviours and offer support. Children are then offered an interview with an independent person.

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

Managers ensure that permanent staff are safely recruited. Agency staff are rigorously vetted and updated about children’s needs before they work with children. This means that only the most suitable people care for children during their short-break stay.

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

Children benefit from robust medication arrangements. Managers have good systems to ensure the safe administration and storage of medicine.

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

Managers do not always ensure that risk assessments are clear about children’s risks and what staff need to do to reduce these risks. This means that children’s risks are potentially not well understood, and staff are without guidance about how to manage children’s complex behaviours.

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

Managers are not vigilant about the risks to children from unsecured blind cords in some bedrooms. Additionally, the risks in a bedroom with access to a roof were not understood. These shortfalls have, to date, not impacted on children’s safety and were put right during the inspection. More positively, managers ensure that the home is safely located and well maintained. Regular health and safety checks mean that the home is a safe place for children to spend their short-break stay.

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

Managers and staff set door alarms on all exits to the home and on children’s bedroom doors at night. They do not consider the risks for individual children and if this restriction is necessary. This detracts from the homely feel of the home and is an unnecessary restriction for some children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a registered manager and a deputy who lead an established, experienced and well-qualified team of staff. Ten of the 12 carers have a level 3 or Inspection report for children’s home: SC382730 5 above qualification in residential care. The majority of carers have years of experience of working with children in a residential setting.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers acknowledge the impact on staff of recent high sickness absence and caring for children with highly complex behaviours. The manager and deputy have an open-door policy to ensure that they are available to staff and to children. They enable staff to work as a team through team development activities and regular team meetings. Staff say that managers are extremely supportive, and that staff morale is high.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Social workers are extremely positive about the care their children receive during their short breaks. They say that staff are skilled at building relationships and having open discussions with children. A social worker told the inspector that having time away from their family enables her child to remain in the family home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff have worked hard to ensure that children have consistent care. This has involved staff working extra shifts and agency staff occasionally being used to cover shortfalls. When agency staff have been used, managers have ensured that they are known to children. This means that children are cared for by known adults with whom they have trusted relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers work hard to ensure that staff receive regular good-quality supervision and annual appraisals. Additionally, all staff have personal development plans and access to good-quality training which is a balance of online and face-to-face training. New staff receive a thorough induction, which is robustly overseen by the manager. However, agency staff who regularly work with children do not receive supervision. This is a missed opportunity for managers to ensure that all staff are supported to give children the best possible care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers understand the home’s strengths and areas for development. There are clear development plans in place that are regularly reviewed, and staff are involved in this process. This allows changes to be made to the care provided and demonstrates managers’ drive to continually improve the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that resources are available to enable staff to meet children’s diverse needs. For example, some children are soothed to sleep at night by having a light ball in their room. Fidget toys are available when children need help to feel calm. Staff use resources with children to talk about gender identity. This means that children’s individual needs are understood and consistently met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC382730 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 (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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that children’s risk assessments are regularly updated and that they give staff clear guidance about the nature of children’s risks and strategies to manage these risks. 24 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that arrangements for the supervision of agency staff are in place and are followed. 24 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment. Children’s homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than institutional impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 13.9)  The registered person should ensure that any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home, Inspection report for children’s home: SC382730 7 must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 13.10)  The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to see the

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Recommendations

home’s records as living documents, supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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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: SC382730 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY2 6ND

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC382730 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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