Children's home run by Nottingham City Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 1 Registered provider: Nottingham City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned by a local authority. It provides care for up to two children. These children may have emotional, social or behavioural needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by an experienced 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 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/07/2021 Full Good 06/08/2019 Full Good 21/11/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 3

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improvement to be good

Although children have made progress in many areas of their lives, there remain shortfalls. Safeguarding practice, recording of incidents, and the manager’s oversight and systems for quality assurance are not yet good.

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improvement to be good

Children have positive and trusting relationships with staff. Children are starting to recognise their own achievements. Staff reinforce this with regular praise and reassurance. Children will hug staff and they miss the staff who have been away on holiday. For example, one child will water a staff member’s plants while she is away and takes great pride in this task. Children will talk to staff when they are feeling upset and they listen to their advice and guidance. This demonstrates that children are building good bonds with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff advocate for children and have high aspirations for what the children can achieve. Children’s attendance in education is supported by staff and their achievements are celebrated. One child has been on a trip to London and another child has a planned trip to visit a football stadium. Children appreciate these enjoyable trips that the staff plan for them.

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improvement to be good

Wider professionals are positive about the care provided to children and they have good relationships with the staff team. Involved professionals say that children are loved by the staff and that they are ‘cared for and not just cared about’. Staff listen to children’s views about when they wish to spend time with their family; staff work hard to make this happen.

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improvement to be good

Staff recording of incidents is not yet good. There is not a clear chronology of events about incidents. As a result, children’s experiences during incidents are not clear. The manager cannot review incidents for children without this documentation to provide the required clarity. Serious incidents have not been recognised and recorded as such. This fails to provide accurate records that reflect the severity of the incident.

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improvement to be good

Staff recording of incidents of challenging behaviour between children is not yet good. For example, on one occasion, children were involved in an incident with one another. However, the details of this incident are not clear. Additionally, the children did not have a debrief, which prevents children being able to talk about their experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 4 Incidents when children have harmed themselves are also not well recorded. The staff do not evaluate these incidents. Where fire-lighting equipment has been used to self-harm, this has not been recognised or responded to as a risk. On one occasion, a child had a cigarette burn but this was not recorded on a body map. At times, fire-lighting equipment has been found in children’s bedrooms. This is a fire risk. The manager has not ensured that the fire risk assessment is amended accordingly. This means that the staff may not be aware of the current risks to

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improvement to be good

Staff search children’s bedrooms when this is necessary. However, the reasons for the search are not always recorded appropriately. Children are usually not present for such searches and there is no written rationale as to why the child is not involved. The manager does not monitor the room search record. This fails to provide a record of whether these are necessary and proportionate. Additionally, it remains unclear whether children are told about room searches or if items have been removed.

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improvement to be good

The manager has not ensured that Ofsted has been notified following significant incidents. This prevents Ofsted from evaluating the incident and being confident that the correct actions have been taken. Additionally, there have been occasions when the manager and deputy manager have reviewed incidents which they have been involved in. This does not allow for independent scrutiny.

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improvement to be good

When children have gone missing from care, the staff have taken action to find them and bring them home. Staff recording is clear and details the efforts of staff to understand where children have been. Overall, the home has a calm atmosphere and incidents are rare.

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good

The manager is experienced and very established in leading this home. The manager has implemented some positive changes to bring about improvements. However, these changes require time to become embedded into day-to-day care practice.

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good

Staff receive regular professional supervision and team meetings take place monthly. Staff training has also improved, and staff are unanimously positive about their roles. The staff enjoy caring for the children and state that the manager is supportive and always available to them.

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good

The manager has not yet ensured that the recruitment files for staff are in good order. This relates to gaps in employment needing to be accounted for. Also, address verification should be consistently recorded on staff files.

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good

The manager’s systems for quality assurance are not yet fully effective. For example, a child raised a concern during a key-work session. There is no evidence of the Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 5 manager responding to this incident. Consequently, the manager’s evaluation of key- work sessions for children requires further improvement.

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good

Involved agencies are very positive about the care provided to the children. However, information provided to the agencies by the manager could be improved. This would ensure that involved agencies have a better understanding of what is happening in children’s lives. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 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;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded; 15 September 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 7 that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically requires the manager to:

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all incidents are recorded clearly and give a clear chronology and include the staff’s account;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all incidents are recorded and shared with involved professionals;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff understand how to support children following any incidents of self-harm;

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Requirement Due date

provide a clear record of room searches, including whether the child is present and whether any items have been removed and ensure that these are signed off by a manager;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all records indicate the severity of the incident.

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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

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)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager having improved quality assurance systems, particularly having regard for staff recording and following up concerns expressed by children. 15 September 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; 15 September 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 8 there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically requires the registered person to ensure that Ofsted is notified without delay of a serious incident.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that good employment practice is maintained, as set out in regulations 31 to 33. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, ensure that staff receive regular supervision that includes actions. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 1277041 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nottingham City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham NG2 3NG

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Inspector

Andi Lilley-Tams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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