Children's Home run by Care and Management Services Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: SC419229 1 SC419229 Registered provider: Care And Management Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is one of a group of four run by the same organisation. The home provides care for up to four children who exhibit complex behaviours as a result of their childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2022 and is working towards a level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home.

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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: 27 January 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC419229 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/01/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 06/07/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/02/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/09/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC419229 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A dedicated staff team has been able to build positive relationships with the child. These bonds have enabled the child to trust the staff. In turn, staff are able to have conversations with the child about difficult topics. Staff use one-to-one sessions with the child to discuss all areas of their development. This helps the child to explore their own thoughts and feelings. As a result, the child receives the support they need when they are struggling to cope with their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child in a way that considers their needs. There is effective therapeutic support provided to the child and staff, which is underpinned by the model of care embedded at the home. Through this, staff have been able to successfully support the child with their emotions and to defuse incidents. As a result, there has been a significant decrease in incidents since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to the child. The child’s feelings, views and opinions are actively sought by staff. Regular key-worker sessions and children’s meetings take place. This provides the child with a voice and ensures that they are involved in their care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s quality of life has improved since moving into the home. They feel safe and are making progress. There has been an improvement in their sleep pattern. The child has also worked towards independent time in the community, and the manager and staff team are passionate about continuing to support the child to progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has worked diligently with the virtual school and the placing authority to try to secure a suitable education place for the child. As an alternative, a weekly planner is in place and the child is encouraged to take part in activities. However, the child remains out of education, which is detrimental to their academic progress, as well as their social and emotional well-being. The manager recognises this, and has strongly advocated on behalf of the child and has formally raised these concerns with the appropriate agencies.

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

The manager and staff demonstrate a great understanding of the vulnerabilities and potential risks posed to children. There is clear guidance with strategies to follow in the child’s written risk assessments. This helps ensure that the child is protected from harm.

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

When the child presents as unsettled, staff take prompt action in line with the child’s individual risk assessments and plans. This means that the child receives the support that they need to be kept safe. Inspection report for children's home: SC419229 4 Recruitment practices are strong and only suitable people work in the home. The manager has systems in place to support staff recruitment. As a result, staff who care for children have undergone the required checks to ensure that they are safe to work with children.

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

Staff rarely use consequences and focus on the child achieving positive outcomes. When consequences have been used, the manager has evaluated their appropriateness and has discussed them with the child. This has helped the child learn how to better regulate their emotions and understand consequences.

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

Staff use physical intervention only when needed. They use their positive relationships and communication and de-escalation techniques in response to the child’s behaviours. This helps maintain relationships with the child and avoids any serious escalation. When physical intervention is used, incident reports are detailed and include management oversight.

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

The manager ensures that the home environment is safe for children to live in. A range of health and safety checks are completed to assess whether there are any hazards which could pose a risk to children. However, the manager has missed an opportunity to further strengthen the safety of the environment by not consulting with relevant people or including local risks in the location risk assessment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably experienced and child-centred in their practice. The manager is aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development and is motivated to continue to make developments to the care and support provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal monitoring systems for the home are now well established. This comprehensive oversight makes sure that all aspects of care and the running of the home are maintained to a good standard. This better assists the manager to identify concerns and make prompt changes to maintain and improve good standards of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records are well organised and kept up to date. Staff are clear about the specific care, support strategies and goals for the child. This ensures that the child’s progress is methodically and closely observed, in conjunction with their individual and specific care and support plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision, which addresses the children’s care and any practice or performance concerns. Team meeting discussions are reflective and provide a comprehensive overview of the progress made by the child. This allows all staff an opportunity to discuss the child’s progress, generate ideas and have a consistent approach to the care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have the necessary skills and training to meet children’s needs. The registered manager uses additional resources to provoke thoughts and provide guidance to Inspection report for children's home: SC419229 5 develop the knowledge of staff. This helps to increase the staff’s awareness of risks and vulnerabilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provided Ofsted with an analytical quality of care report that included actions to improve or maintain the quality of care provided to children at the home. However, the report does not include feedback from children. This is a missed opportunity to show how feedback from children has been responded to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The external monitoring of the home does not meet requirements. An independent visitor has not visited the home since May 2022. This limits independent scrutiny of the effectiveness of the arrangements for caring for and protecting children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The full names of staff working at the home are not on the rota. This means that information is not readily available to review now or if needed in the future. Inspection report for children's home: SC419229 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

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (1)(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager should ensure that the full names of each person working at the home are recorded on the rota. 8 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

A visit by the independent person to the home may be unannounced.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. 8 January 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC419229 7 The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

The manager must ensure that there is an independent visitor appointed who visits the children’s home once a month.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2))

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Requirement Due date

The manager must ensure that the location risk assessment is updated and includes advice to staff about managing the risks to children in the local area. Also, that consultation with relevant people is evidenced. 8 January 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the regulation 45 report includes the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

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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: SC419229 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care And Management Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Park Business Centre, Hastingwood Industrial Park, Wood Lane, Birmingham, Warwickshire B24 9QR

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Inspectors

Melanie Griffin, Social Care Inspector Marianne Grandfield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC419229 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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