Children's Home run by Cove Care – Residential Limited in Wolverhampton

Inspection report children’s home: 2645281 1 Registered provider: Cove Care Residential 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 two children with mental health, emotional, and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in December 2021 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 good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: not applicable as the home was registered with Ofsted on 4 January 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2645281 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child lived at the home at the time of the inspection. Staff supported her well when she moved in and this helped her to settle quickly. No children have moved out of the home since the home was registered.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the inspection, family members, partner agencies and the child gave positive feedback about the good-quality care and support provided. The child benefits from consistent routines and boundaries, which provide her with consistency and a sense of security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child told the inspector that she has made significant progress since moving into the home and is proud of her achievements. For example, she recently returned to full-time education after a long period of being home tutored. She is looking forward to learning with peers, forming friendships and attaining some qualifications.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and the manager advocate for the child as they want her wishes and feelings to be heard and acted on. They have ensured that the child is able to spend quality time with appropriate close family and friends, despite them living far from the home. This has helped the child to strengthen family relationships which are vital social networks for when the child progresses and moves into independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child accesses numerous activities in the home and the community such as trips to the seaside and joining clubs. This is significant progress considering the child’s starting point. Her confidence, self-esteem and social skills are improving significantly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to live a healthy lifestyle. They provide her with balanced meals and support her to attend boxing sessions. The child is registered with all relevant health professionals such as the doctor and dentist, and all her appointments are up to date. She has access to resources that support her with her emotional health. The child’s emotional and physical health needs are being met well by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is mostly warm and welcoming, and provides ample space for the child to unwind and relax. However, the manager and staff were aware of an improvement needed to the child’s bedroom and this was in the process of being addressed.

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

Staff and the manager are aware of their roles and responsibilities in keeping the child safe. They follow safeguarding processes and procedures. Behaviour management plans and risk assessments give staff clear step-by-step guidance on how to keep the child safe and this guidance is implemented. Inspection report children’s home: 2645281 3 Staff role model positive behaviours for the child. They have done a lot of one-to- one work with the child and this has helped the child to learn to regulate her emotions better. Subsequently, there has been a decrease in the child being verbally and physically aggressive.

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

The child told the inspector that staff only use physical restraint as a last resort to keep her safe. She stated that staff explain why they are using physical restraint when they use it. Records are mostly good. However, on one occasion, staff involved in the physical restraint undertook the debrief with the child as well as management oversight. This does not promote independent scrutiny of incidents to ensure that any potential shortfalls in practice are promptly identified and addressed.

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

The manager responds to complaints meticulously. For example, when a neighbour raised concerns regarding the child’s behaviour, he acknowledged receipt of the complaint, and staff completed some restorative work with the child and the neighbour. This work helped to repair relationships with the neighbour and the child learned the importance of treating others with kindness and respect.

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

The manager’s safer recruitment processes are thorough and ensure that only safe adults care for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is new to the role. However, with senior management support, he has good monitoring systems in place. He is child focused and wants to continue improving the quality of care given to the child. He knows his service well and so is aware of its strengths as well as the areas of development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager challenges partner agencies to ensure that the child’s voice is heard, and professionals fulfil their obligations as set out in the child’s care plan. Partner agencies report that the manager and staff work with them well and they keep them updated about the child’s care and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are receiving regular supervision and they are well supported by the manager. They state that they are given opportunities to learn and reflect on their practice and for career progression.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When the manager reviewed the statement of purpose, he did not provide an updated version to Ofsted as required by regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have completed most of their mandatory training to help them to meet the child’s needs. However, out of the 11 staff employed, only two staff have the relevant children’s qualification and five staff are out of timescales to complete this. This has not yet had an impact on the level of care given to the child, but has the potential to if not promptly addressed. Inspection report children’s home: 2645281 4

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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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it;

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Requirement Due date

and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 31 October 2022

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Requirement Due date

employ an 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—

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Requirement Due date

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

The relevant date is— 28 March 2023 Inspection report children’s home: 2645281 5 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 (2)(a)(b) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is a clear plan, that is kept under review, to help staff to complete 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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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment throughout. Specifically, complete improvements to the child’s bedroom as needed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that someone not involved in a restraint undertakes the debrief with the child and that the management review is completed appropriately. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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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 children’s home: 2645281 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cove Care Residential Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 4BL

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Inspector

Rumbi Mangoma, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2645281 7 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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