Children's Home run by Derby City Council in Derby

Inspection report for children's home: SC488596 1 SC488596 Registered provider: Derby City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a local authority. It provides care for up to four children with emotional, behavioural and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager has recently been appointed. He is not yet registered.

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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 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

Date of last inspection: 1 December 2021

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC488596 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/12/2021 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/08/2021 Full Inadequate 22/06/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: SC488596 3

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improvement to be good

Children do make progress in many areas. However, this progress is overshadowed because they are not always safe. Concerns remain about incidents of children going missing from care and staff responses to children’s risk and vulnerability. The manager, who is new to the home, has begun to make changes, but these are in the early stages of development and yet to be fully embedded into care practice.

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improvement to be good

Children have made progress with education and training. Staff motivate children to engage in education. Children access training that meets their aspirations for the future and their interests. For example, one child is undertaking work experience at a garage. Another has gained an apprenticeship at a prestigious engineering company. However, there is not always a consistent educational routine in the home which has the potential to impact on children’s educational progress.

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improvement to be good

When children are waiting for an assessment for a formal diagnosis of additional learning needs, staff receive the relevant training to meet the child’s needs. Recently, staff have had training in supporting children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). They have used this learning to develop a visual timetable for one child. This reduces the child’s anxieties, as they are now able to prepare and plan for their week.

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improvement to be good

When children move from this home, whenever possible, transitions are planned. One of the children had several visits to their new home before moving. This was effective and they have started to settle in well.

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improvement to be good

Children live in a large, detached house. Currently there are two children living at the home. This means that they have ample space. Children have their own bedroom and bathroom. Managers have started developing plans for improving the home. They plan to buy outdoor activity equipment and adapt the garage into a music room. Some minor repairs are needed in the home. However, this does not detract from a generally homely living environment.

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improvement to be good

Children continue to go missing from care. When they do, records are not always fully completed. Risk assessments are in place, but they are not making any significant impact on reducing the frequency of incidents of children going missing. When children go missing at night, this has a detrimental effect on their daily routines. Children often remain in their bedrooms during the day. Their motivation to follow healthy routines, including regular mealtimes, is reduced. Inspection report for children's home: SC488596 4 Staff have not considered all the risks and vulnerabilities associated with children in order to minimise potential harm. As a result, there are occasions when children have been in possession of cannabis and lighters in the home. This increases the risk of potential harm to children. There has been some progress made with the implementation of regular room checks, however, this is not yet effective.

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improvement to be good

Checks of mobile phones and other devices are not routinely undertaken. For example, children have been using a games device to access games which are inappropriate for their age. Current strategies have not been effective in keeping children safe online, or in supporting them to learn how to keep themselves safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not received training to identify and act upon signs that children may be at risk of harm. This means staff do not have the necessary skills to prevent and respond to incidents that require physical intervention, should this be required. The recording of restraint does not provide enough information. This means that managers cannot review incidents effectively.

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improvement to be good

Processes for the administration and recording of medication have improved. There is now a dedicated medication room. This means that there is less opportunity for staff to be disturbed when undertaking this important area of care. The process requires further overview to ensure that any improvements are fully embedded into care practice.

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good

There has been a change in manager and deputy manager. They have quickly begun to make progress in several areas. They have a positive attitude and the enthusiasm to improve the lives of children. Staff say they feel united and have been set high standards. However, due to the short time the manager has been in post, significant and enduring impact is yet to be seen.

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good

There are significant gaps in the supervision of staff. Staff also report that this could be improved. Team meetings are irregular. When they do take place, the record does not evidence discussions about children. This means opportunities have been missed for staff to reflect on their practice and for the manager to provide them with support and direction.

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good

Staff are very positive and enjoy coming to work. They say that there has been a huge improvement in how the home is managed and the way the children are supported. Staff are confident that the home will go from strength to strength with consistency from this management team.

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good

Staff can access a wide and varied programme of training and development. This includes training in health and safety and working with children with special educational needs and disabilities. Managers are looking into the most effective way of providing further training for staff on autism spectrum disorders. However, staff have gaps in their training, including in physical intervention training. Additionally, Inspection report for children's home: SC488596 5 there are several staff who have not achieved the required qualification for residential care staff.

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good

Three recommendations from the previous inspection have not been met and these matters have been escalated to requirements. Inspection report for children's home: SC488596 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

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

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managing risks, to children having access to online games that are not age appropriate, to children going missing in the night and to staff having the required training in restraint techniques. 22 August 2022

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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)(b)) 22 August 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislation (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. This relates to minor repairs needed in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children's home: SC488596 7  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. This relates to restraint recording not always being clear. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’,

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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: SC488596 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Derby City Council, Treasurers Department, Council House, Corporation Street, Derby DE1 2FE

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Inspector

Simon Hunter, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC488596 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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