Children's Home run by R.E.A.C.H CHC LTD in Sandwell

Inspection report children’s home: 2674591 1 Registered provider: R.E.A.C.H CHC LTD Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and may care for up to three children who may have emotional, social or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since 16 September 2022. A new manager has been in post since 19 September 2022 but has not yet applied to Ofsted to be registered.

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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: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2674591 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected. Inspection report children’s home: 2674591 3

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improvement to be good

At the time of the inspection, there was one child living in the home. One child had previously moved out of the home as the registered manager did not feel that they could support the child’s needs. There are currently no plans for any more children to move in to the home.

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improvement to be good

There has been a recent change in the management of the home, and the former deputy manager is currently the interim manager. The manager has only been in post for a short time and, while they have begun to make improvements, there is more work to do to ensure that children receive consistent quality of care.

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improvement to be good

The manager was not in post when either the current or previous child moved in to the home. The one child who has moved out, experienced an unsettled period while living at the home. This is because the registered manager who was in charge at the time, did not fully consider the needs of the child or assess staff’s ability to care for the child. During the child’s time at the home, the child did not make progress and they had an unplanned move out of the home.

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improvement to be good

Poor planning by the previous registered manager meant that, prior to the current and previous child moving in to the home, there were no plans in place to meet the children’s educational needs. As a result, neither the current nor previous child have attended education while living at the home. The current manager’s efforts to identify suitable education provision for the child who now lives in the home has been ineffective.

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improvement to be good

The manager has supported the child to have time with their family. When planning for this, the manager has taken into consideration the child’s views to ensure that the child has a positive experience of spending time with those people who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

The home is clean and tidy, and there are plans to modernise the communal areas and to convert the garage into a more-useable space. However, some aspects of the home need repair due to water damage, and the lounge floor needs extensive repair. This damage detracts from the manager’s recent efforts to improve the home environment and make it a more welcoming and homely place for the child to live.

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improvement to be good

The child told the inspector that he was well supported by staff. He said, ‘I’m happier now I’m living here.’ The staff understand the child and are creative in the activities that they plan with him, which are making the child’s experience in the home more positive and nurturing. Inspection report children’s home: 2674591 4

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improvement to be good

One child, who no longer lives at the home, was not effectively safeguarded. This is because staff lacked professional curiosity and did not act on signs that the child was at risk of exploitation when they were missing from the home. Staff have now received training in child exploitation, which is improving their awareness and understanding of how to safeguard children.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not always given clear guidance on how to keep children safe. For example, strategies to improve children’s understanding of how to keep themselves safe and recognise the signs of exploitation are not well documented. This is an improving situation, but further work is required to ensure that staff are supported to protect children.

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improvement to be good

The child who currently lives in the home has not gone missing since living at the home and his behaviour has been relatively settled. Staff are generally successful in de-escalating the child when he is anxious or upset. As a result, physical intervention is not often used. However, when a physical intervention is needed, the staff do not record what happened in a clear way. Since the change of manager, there have not been any physical interventions. However, previously, the registered manager’s oversight and evaluation of physical interventions were poor.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment checks are not fully compliant with regulation. For instance, one staff member’s records indicate that there have been no checks of their Disclosure and Baring Service record and there was no evidence of the manager verifying the reason why the staff member had left a previous employment.

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good

The manager has worked with the staff team and senior leaders to gain an understanding of the home’s areas for improvement. Time has been taken to reflect on this and to identify and act on learning for the staff and the management of the home.

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good

The manager’s lack of experience and confidence means that she has not always challenged professionals when required, such as escalating concerns about the current child’s lack of education. This is an improving picture, and the manager is becoming increasingly settled in her role and is more able to challenge other professionals.

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good

The manager does not have a system to monitor the experiences and progress of the child. This limits the manager’s ability to ensure that children’s plans are relevant and up to date.

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good

The home’s workforce development plan does not detail staff’s training and professional development needs. Despite this, staff feel appropriately trained and Inspection report children’s home: 2674591 5 supported to care for the child. The manager provides regular supervision sessions to staff, which provide staff with the opportunity to reflect and learn through discussion. This allows the manager to monitor professional development and offer support to each staff member. Inspection report children’s home: 2674591 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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)) 8 November 2022

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 8 November 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or 8 November 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2674591 7 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 is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home’s workforce development plan is updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and is used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home meets children’s basic day-to- day needs and physical necessities. Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met. Doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7) Inspection report children’s home: 2674591 8

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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: 2674591 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 322 Gravelly Lane, Birmingham B23 5SB

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Oliver O’Connell

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Inspector

Mark Dickinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2674591 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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