Children's Home run by Resicare Alliance Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: 2503598 1 Registered provider: Aston Children’s Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The privately owned home is registered to provide care for up to five children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2020 and is suitably qualified.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 5 and 6 July 2022 a full inspection was carried out. The inspector identified serious and widespread failures that meant children’s welfare was not promoted. Staff and managers were failing to promptly report allegations of physical abuse by staff to the local authority, risk management protocols did not address all risks posed to children and staff and managers were not seeking prompt medical advice when children disclosed intentions to self-injure. Subsequently, a compliance notice under regulation 12 was issued. Inspection report for children's home: 2503598 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/07/2022 Full Inadequate 29/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2503598 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are four children currently living at the home. The children enjoy positive relationships with staff and managers. They told the inspector that they feel happy and settled living at the home. No children have moved in or out of the home since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff speak warmly about the children. They know them well and are now providing them with consistent care that is nurturing and meeting their individual and complex needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in all aspects of their development. For example, all children access education that is appropriate to their individual needs. Three children received positive end-of-year school reports, which commented on how hard they had worked to meet most of their academic targets. One child who had a difficult school year was supported by staff to study at home and was able to take his final school-year exams.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and enable children to lead healthy lifestyles. They ensure that children eat a balanced diet and exercise with a personal trainer who visits the home weekly. Staff are now making sure that children attend all appointments recommended in their health assessments. Children’s physical and emotional health are improving because of the support they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported to spend quality time with close family and friends. For example, one child who lives far from home has been able to attend special religious and family events. Another child is able to regularly see their sibling, who lives close to the home. Staff advocated for this with the child’s social worker. As a result of good support, children develop and maintain positive relationships with those who are important to them, when it is appropriate to do so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff now value children’s wishes and feelings a lot more. Children are involved in the day-to-day running of the home. They are consulted through weekly meetings, individual discussions with staff and monthly visits from independent visitors. Managers and staff act on children’s views and wishes, and children feel listened to. For example, staff are now involving one child in planning his weekly menu to meet his religious and cultural needs. Managers and staff have involved the children in improving the garden and choosing an outdoor swing and a trampoline.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy various activities in the home and the community, such as trampolining, day trips to the seaside, bike rides to a local park, day trips to theme parks and more simple pleasures such as playing in the garden, playing video games and baking. Children have opportunities to interact with their peers and form social networks, which helps them to develop their self-esteem and confidence. Inspection report for children's home: 2503598 4 Staff support children to gain independence skills such as cooking, cleaning their bedroom, doing laundry, budgeting and food shopping. This equips children with essential life skills, which prepares them for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and provides a cosy family environment for the children. All children have been given the opportunity to personalise their bedrooms. When the inspector viewed the bedrooms, they could see the children’s personalities shining through.

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

Managers and staff have worked hard to address most shortfalls identified at the last full inspection. They have met the compliance notice issued and are now able to keep children safe.

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

Managers and staff have attended safeguarding training and revisited their organisation’s policies and procedures on safeguarding, anti-bullying and missing- from-home protocols. They are now aware of the steps to take to safeguard children should there be any concerns regarding a child’s safety or welfare.

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

Staff and the managers have carried out one-to-one work with children to address any areas of concern. Children are now able to recognise what is appropriate behaviour, to respect personal space and they are learning how they can keep themselves safe.

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

There have not been any significant safeguarding incidents or behaviours since the last inspection. Staff have been able to defuse any conflicts between the children quickly, which has prevented incidents from escalating. There has not been the need for staff to physically intervene to keep children safe.

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

Staff support children to take age-appropriate risks to promote their social and independence skills. For example, one child has become increasingly confident in going out into the community independently and is enjoying spending time with close friends. This is significant progress, given their starting point.

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

Managers have reviewed the home’s location risk assessment. They have consulted partner agencies to ensure that this contains up-to-date information on known risks, to inform staff about how they can safeguard children safe when they are in the community.

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

Improvements in safer recruitment practice are being maintained. This helps to ensure that only safe adults care and support the children at all times.

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good

Managers have introduced new monitoring and reviewing systems to help them improve outcomes for the children. However, these systems are fairly new and have Inspection report for children's home: 2503598 5 not yet been fully tried and tested to measure their effectiveness. Three requirements raised at the last full inspection have been restated.

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good

Shortfalls in record-keeping identified by the independent visitor and the inspector at the last inspection remain in need of improvement. Managers and staff are not yet maintaining accurate and up-to-date care plan documents for the children. Managers have booked all staff on face-to-face training with an external trainer to address this shortfall. Inaccurate and out-of-date children’s records do not help staff to ensure that they are working in accordance with children’s agreed local authority care plans at all times.

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good

Only five staff, including the manager, are suitably qualified. Seven staff have not completed the level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) or equivalent qualification within the timescale set out in regulation. Managers have enrolled these staff on a relevant course to equip them with all the appropriate skills and knowledge they need to continue to care for the children.

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good

Staff report that they feel extremely valued by their managers and senior managers. They receive good-quality supervision and appraisals, which promote their continuous professional development.

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good

Partner agencies speak positively about the way the manager and staff keep them updated about the progress and experiences of the children. Inspection report for children's home: 2503598 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 promotes their welfare.

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 31 December

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Requirement Due date

employ and individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualifications and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained— 31 December Inspection report for children's home: 2503598 7 the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff completing the level 3 diploma as soon as possible, given that they are out of timescale but are now enrolled on the course.

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Requirement Due date

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

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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))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 30 September

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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: 2503598 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aston Children’s Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 181 Penn Road, Wolverhampton WV3 0EQ

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Colleen Davies Jones

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Inspector

Rumbi Mangoma, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2503598 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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