Children's Home run by Nottinghamshire County Council in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC036732 1 SC036732 Registered provider: Nottinghamshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides short breaks for up to eight children with learning disabilities at any one time.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably experienced and 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC036732 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/04/2019 Full Good 17/04/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC036732 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the children well. They ensure that children are supported with a child-centred approach to meet their individual needs. This supports children to make excellent progress. Children have the chance to embrace new experiences. Staff make sure that children’s complex needs do not stop them from accessing activities and facilities that they enjoy. The range of activities provided helps children to develop social skills and achieve positive outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff want the best for children. They persevere through challenging times. Staff are passionate and motivated. They always recognise the progress that children make, no matter how small this might be. For example, one child is now able to use cutlery independently, and another is spending more time with peers and staff. This is good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff enjoy warm and affectionate relationships with children and each other. Good staffing levels mean that children enjoy quality time with staff. Staff ensure that they recognise and celebrate each child’s unique differences and personality. Children’s progress is captured well using photos and memory books.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have extensive knowledge about children’s communication needs. They ensure that communication does not become a barrier to children’s success. Children are supported to develop and maintain friendships. Groups of children are carefully matched and, where possible, this is consistent during each stay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Partnership working is a strength of the home. Staff work effectively with partner agencies, particularly health professionals, schools and families. This ensures that all agencies work extremely well together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of careful transition planning. They use their skills and experience to support families with future transitions. Parents appreciate the knowledge and experience of the team. One parent said: `It’s one of the very few places where my child goes that we don’t worry, they know him so well.’ Another parent said: `Staff love my child like he is their own; they are just amazing.’

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

Risk assessments are high quality. They provide evidence that staff know the children well and identify potential risks and triggers. Plans to reduce risks are detailed and highly effective, providing staff with guidance on how to keep children safe. Risk assessments detail children’s physical and emotional presentation when anxious. These documents evidence how well staff know the children and understand their needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036732 4 Staff have a good understanding of children’s risks and vulnerabilities. There is a comprehensive risk management plan in place for each child. These include behaviour management strategies that help to keep children safe. However, missing-from-care procedures are not in place for children. It is not clear what staff should do if a child goes missing from care, and the children would be particularly vulnerable due to their complex needs.

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

When there are safeguarding concerns, there is a swift and effective response from managers and staff. Staff at all levels take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously, working together to ensure that safeguarding responses are thorough. This creates a culture where safeguarding children is central to staff’s practice.

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

Complaints and allegations are escalated and investigated appropriately. Managers ensure that they promptly inform the local authority designated officer following any allegation. Safeguarding protocols are consistently followed.

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

Managers have improved their evaluation of incidents, including the use of physical intervention. This has enabled staff to reflect on their responses and develop and improve their practice. As a result, there has been a reduction in the number of incidents, improving children’s safety.

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

The manager places the safety and welfare of children first and recruits new staff in accordance with safer recruitment protocols. New staff undergo a range of checks that are designed to minimise the likelihood of children being harmed by those caring for them. Work is being undertaken to ensure that staff from overseas are suitably checked.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a high turnover of staff since the last inspection. Staff spoke of feeling unsupported by managers, not feeling appreciated and do not always feel their voices are heard. This has resulted in low staff morale. Managers have not recognised the emotional impact of the work on staff, contributing to a breakdown of the relationships between staff and managers. However, this has not impacted on the care provided to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses a range of systems to ensure that she has good oversight of the quality of care provided. Checklists are used to ensure that daily tasks are completed, and various audits take place monthly. The manager ensures any concerns about staff are followed up with them and the appropriate external professional agencies when appropriate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers encourage children to develop the service. This has resulted in children choosing colour schemes for the home and personalising their bedrooms. Bedroom plans have been designed with the consultation of children. Children’s preferences are implemented, for example how they would like to be settled to bed each night, favourite bedrooms and ensuring they have a voice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036732 5 Staff understand children’s individual healthcare needs. Staff receive regular, up-to- date training, and they work closely with health colleagues. Consequently, staff are trained and equipped to meet children’s health needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Not all staff have received regular supervision meetings with their manager. However, supervision is good quality, includes reflective practice and promotes an open forum to discuss any concerns staff may have.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some areas of the home are currently looking tired. There are stains on some carpets and marks on paintwork. Some maintenance tasks were found to be incomplete, including a missing ceiling tile and a shed door which had blown off and had not been repaired or replaced. A development plan is in place to refresh all areas of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036732 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 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff feel supported and listened to by management and that they feel able to approach managers. 7 November 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. They will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Registered persons should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression and ensure that the decor in the home is improved. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission and how staff should support the child on return to the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and

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Recommendations

experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children’s home: SC036732 7

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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: SC036732 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nottinghamshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 7QP

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Inspectors

Zoey Lee, Social Care Inspector Linda Mason, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC036732 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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Inspectors

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