Children's home run by Stepping Stones Care (Midlands) Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2620992 1 Registered provider: Stepping Stones Care (Midlands) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned by an independent company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with emotional and social difficulties, often related to their life experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered in January 2022. She has suitable skills and the qualifications required.

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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: 2620992 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 07/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2620992 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. Since the last inspection, four children have moved out of the home. Transitions are managed well. The needs of some children are more complex, and every effort is made to care for these children. When this is not possible, creative, robust and bespoke planning is in place. This allows children to have a smooth, informed transitions with positive endings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A dedicated staff team develops positive relationships with children. These bonds enable children to trust the staff. In turn, staff are able to have conversations with children about difficult topics. Staff listen to children and actively seek out how they are feeling and their views about things. This promotes the children’s voice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they are happy living in this home. One child told the inspector, ‘I love it here. Staff tell me how proud they are of me. It makes me feel really good about myself.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s memories are captured through photos and are stored in beautiful and personalised books. These books provide children with a valuable record of the time they spent living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Access to activities outside the home is excellent. One child said, ‘I have swimming and singing lessons, which I love.’ Other children participate in guitar lessons and mixed martial arts classes, as well as going shopping and spending time with their friends. This helps children to build social networks outside the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children attend school or college regularly and are making good progress from their starting points. Staff do their best to motivate another child who needs more support and encouragement with their education. Staff are ambitious for children and the manager challenges others when they feel improvements are needed. One teacher told the inspector, ‘Despite the child not wanting to do education, they [staff] are very good at encouraging them to attend and work tirelessly to ensure their safety.’ Because of the staff’s proactive approach, children make measurable progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children well with their health and well-being. Staff demonstrate an ability to seek specialist help when this is necessary and have undertaken research to meet the specific needs of the children they care for. The multi-team approach means that children’s needs are responded to effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to support children to keep in touch with people who are important to them. Staff take time to plan visits to these people carefully. This enables children to have positive experiences with their families. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620992 4

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

The manager and staff demonstrate a great understanding of children’s vulnerabilities and potential risks posed to them. Clear guidance and strategies to follow are recorded in written risk assessments. This helps ensure that children are protected from harm.

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

When children go missing from care, staff follow the joint protocol effectively. Searches conducted by staff and persistent attempts to make contact show children they are cared about. Proactive collaboration with parents, local authorities and police supports children to return home safely. Missing-from-care incident records are clear, enabling thorough monitoring of these events by the manager.

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

Staff rarely use consequences and focus on children achieving positive outcomes. Managers have good oversight on the rare occasion consequences are used. This includes discussing them with the child and evaluating their appropriateness. Children regularly receive praise and encouragement.

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

Staff use their positive relationships, communication and de-escalation techniques to support children. Restraint is only used when needed. This helps maintain positive relationships with the child and avoids any serious escalation. When physical intervention is used, incident reports are detailed and include good 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 not consulted children when reviewing the location of the premises.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably experienced and child-centred. She is aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development and 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

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 registered manager to identify concerns and make prompt changes to improve and maintain good standards of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision, which addresses children’s care and any practice or performance concerns. Team meeting discussions are reflective and provide a comprehensive overview of the progress made by children. This allows all staff an opportunity to discuss children’s progress, generate ideas and have a consistent approach to the care provided. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620992 5 Staff receive training that reflects the individual needs of the children. Consequently, staff have the required knowledge and skills to help them to meet children’s needs. Staff told the inspector that they feel supported by managers at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has established strong connections with partner agencies. Professionals are unanimously positive about the communication with the staff team and about the care provided for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620992 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 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

This especially relates to ensuring that children are consulted in the review of the premises and their views are taken into consideration. 1 January 2023

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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: 2620992 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stepping Stones Care (Midlands) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Camomile House, 6 Embassy Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 1TP

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Inspector

Marianne Grandfield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2620992 8 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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