Birch Cottage

Inspection report for children’s home: SC421197 1 SC421197 Registered provider: ABC Care and Education Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is privately owned. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for up to four children who may have emotional or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is overseen by an experienced manager who registered with Ofsted in February 2022.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC421197 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/05/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/08/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC421197 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children move into the home in a well-planned way. Children already living in the home are involved in decision-making processes and participate in activities to welcome new children into the home. When children move on from the home, staff work hard to support them during their move. Staff visit children in their new placements and celebrate milestones with them after their move. Children who have left the home maintain contact with staff, demonstrating the strong relationships they developed while living in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The three children currently living in the home are happy and settled. Children said that they ‘love living here, and it is calm and relaxing’. As a result, children make good progress in all areas. Children are supported to develop positive relationships with each other. When issues do arise, staff support children in restorative work to overcome any difficulties.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop positive and trusting relationships with children. They invest time in them. Consequently, children are able to talk to staff and develop a sense of stability and belonging. Children said that they feel listened to. This supports children to feel safe and to develop strategies to manage their emotions. However, records do not consistently demonstrate the work that staff undertake with the children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with family when it is safe to do so. Staff respect children’s relationships with those important to them. Staff are flexible and responsive to the individual child’s arrangements and plans for spending time with family members. Staff work hard to develop positive relationships with children’s families, and advocate for children when it is their wish to spend more time with family. Staff support children in their requests to transition back to their family home. As a result, plans have changed for one child, and there is now a plan for her to return to the care of her mother.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home access educational placements that meet their individual needs. Staff work hard to identify placements specific to children’s needs and advocate on their behalf to ensure that any additional support required is implemented. Staff have supported one child to re-engage with education after a long period of not attending.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to complain. There have been no formal complaints from the children currently living in the home. Children are provided with regular opportunities to raise any concerns or issues they may have.

p.3

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

Staff know the children well. They have a good understanding of their individual risks and difficulties. Staff work hard to understand children’s backgrounds and Inspection report for children’s home: SC421197 4 histories. This supports them to respond to children in line with children’s wishes and preferences. Risk-management documents are comprehensive and provide detailed strategies for staff to follow.

p.3

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

Since moving to the home, incidents of going missing from home have significantly reduced in number for the children currently living here. Consequently, incidents of going missing from home are rare. When incidents do occur, staff manage these well. Staff have access to detailed and clear guidance to follow if children do go missing.

p.4

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

Staff advocate for children’s independence. This provides children with opportunities to demonstrate their ability to control and manage their emotions when legal restrictions have been imposed. One child commented that ‘the belief and trust in me let me show social work professionals that restrictions are not needed’. As a result, the child has been able to enjoy increased freedom with friends in the community and to have access to a mobile phone to maintain contact with people who are important to them.

p.4

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

As a result of the positive relationships they develop with children, staff are able to de-escalate any challenging behaviour. Incidents of physical restraint are rare. When incidents do occur, staff manage them well. However, records do not consistently include children’s views or oversight from the manager.

p.4

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

Staff focus on promoting positive behaviour at all times, and consequences are rarely used. Staff treat children with respect. As a result, children treat staff and their home with respect. Staff are proactive in addressing unacceptable behaviour, responding with clear boundaries. They have a good understanding of children’s individual triggers for behaviours. This supports children to manage their behaviours and feelings safely and promotes mutual respect between staff and children.

p.4

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

The recruitment practices for new staff are safe. This ensures that the staff working in the home are suitable to care for the children.

p.4

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

The home environment provides children with a comfortable and spacious living space. Staff are alert to any potential risks posed by the rural location of the home. Staff support children to access local amenities safely as transport links are limited in the area.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably experienced manager. Children and staff spoke highly of her. Children are supported by a stable staff team. New staff are supported into their roles with a thorough induction process, which includes shadow shifts, helping them to get to know the children and the home. Children provide written feedback to the manager in respect of new staff on completion of shadow shifts.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s views are sought on a regular basis through monthly ‘gatherings’ and questionnaires on their experiences of living in the home. Children provide monthly Inspection report for children’s home: SC421197 5 feedback on individual staff members to ensure that they are being cared for well by the team.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is able to identify when children’s needs are not being met and when the safety and well-being of other children in the home are compromised. Concerns are escalated when action is not taken to identify alternative placements for children who can no longer remain in the home. However, concerns have not been escalated in respect of the delays in obtaining children’s placement, health and education documentation. As a result, staff do not have access to the necessary documentation to ensure that the care being provided to the children is in line with the local authority’s care plans.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said that they feel supported in their roles and the manager is diligent in providing good care to children. Staff benefit from regular supervision and team gatherings. Team meetings are reflective, and the manager uses these opportunities to raise concerns regarding staff practice and record-keeping. When children move on from the home, staff are supported to reflect on the difficulties and challenges that led to the child's placement ending. However, not all staff have completed training specific to children’s needs. This means that some staff may not have the skills required to fully support children in certain aspects of their care. Furthermore, staff rotas do not identify the hours worked by staff, or those who have completed first-aid training.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managerial oversight is inconsistent in some areas and has failed to identify a number of matters identified at this inspection. These include confidential third-party information contained in another child’s case record; key-working sessions not being completed; and no management evaluation for one physical intervention.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal quality-of-care reports are descriptive in respect of the progress of the child. They include clear targets for moving forward. However, the independent visitor does not consistently obtain feedback from professionals. This limits their ability to provide independent scrutiny of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC421197 6

p.5

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

p.6

Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5(c))

p.6

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that local authority placement plans, health reviews and personal education plans are obtained and maintained in children’s records. The registered person must challenge and escalate concerns if these documents are not provided by the local authority. 4 November 2022

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all staff undertake training specific to the children’s needs; all key- work sessions are recorded in records; children’s records include up-to-date information; and that children’s records do 4 November 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC421197 7 not include any confidential personal information relating to other children.

p.6

Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

p.7

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

p.7

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children are spoken to following incidents and their views recorded, and that records are signed and dated. 4 November 2022

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home is kept up to date and should include a record of hours worked by staff and identify staff who are first-aid trained. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The independent visitor should ensure that feedback is obtained from social workers and other professionals involved in children’s care in order to provide independent scrutiny of the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

p.7

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: SC421197 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: ABC Care and Education Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: International House, 61 Mosley Street, Manchester M2 3HZ

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Kennedy

p.8

Inspector

Claire Hobbs, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC421197 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9