Children's Home run by Roundhouse Care in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC404983 1 SC404983 Registered provider: Roundhouse Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably experienced and is working towards their qualification.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC404983 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/10/2019 Full Good 31/12/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC404983 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were living at this home at the time of the inspection. One of the children has moved into the home since the interim inspection in March 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to overcome any barriers to them engaging with education. For one child, this has meant that they have been supported to transition to an alternative education provision. The registered manager is currently advocating for the children to have an assessment of their education and healthcare needs to ensure that all necessary support and services are in place for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s health and well-being. Staff work closely with relevant health professionals to review and meet children’s individual health needs. During the inspection, staff were observed to successfully encourage one child to wear their glasses. This is an example of how staff promote children’s understanding of the importance of maintaining their health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff. They are comfortable in the presence of staff, for example as they have fun with them, laugh and share jokes. This helps to promote children’s sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain relationships with the people who are important to them. For example, children regularly see their families and friends. Furthermore, staff work with children and their families to overcome any barriers or problems. This approach helps children to stay connected, and to reconnect, with the people who are important in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported to develop age-appropriate independence skills. These skills are learned from guidance from staff and participation in the home’s daily routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consult with children on an increasingly regular basis. The recording of direct work with children has improved and there are now detailed case meetings that occur monthly to ensure that these are planned, monitored and reviewed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Records of the assessment undertaken by the registered manager prior to children moving in are not clear. The assessments lack detail and do not reflect the information that the registered manager used to inform her decision to allow the children to move in.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. Staff understand children’s plans and can explain the actions they would take if children were to go missing. In one example, Inspection report children’s home: SC404983 4 the record relating to a child who went missing was poor, but the actions taken by staff were appropriate and ensured that the child returned home safely.

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

Staff are given clear and detailed guidance on how to keep children safe in the community. The strategies used include meeting children regularly when they are having planned time away from the home. This ensures that the children feel supported and cared for.

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

Consequences used are proportionate and fair, which helps children to understand their behaviour and learn from these incidents. Rewards are also used to reinforce these approaches.

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

Staff are effective at managing children’s behaviour. As a result, there has only been one incident of a child being restrained. This incident was well recorded, and the registered manager identified areas for staff development, which have been acted on.

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

Medication is stored and managed safely in the home and staff are trained in the administration of these medicines. In one example, an incorrect form was used to record the administration of medication. This has not compromised children’s safety and is an isolated issue.

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

Staff recruitment checks are carried out but, in some instances, there are administrative shortfalls which could lead to staff working in the home who are not appropriate to do so. For example, gaps in employment for one staff member have not been explored, and the registered manager has not documented that they have verified the reasons why staff have left previous positions of trust.

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good

The registered manager uses a range of monitoring systems to review the quality of care provided to children. In the main, these systems provide the registered manager with good oversight of the home. However, some shortfalls have not been identified by the manager and therefore have not been addressed. In other examples, required improvements have not been acted on in a timely way.

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good

Following the full inspection in May 2021, the provider implemented a plan to replace fire doors in the home. However, this plan has stalled, and some doors have not been replaced. This has the potential to undermine the effectiveness of the fire safety arrangements in the home. In addition, an action to implement an appropriate fire system where the boiler is located has not been undertaken. The registered manager and senior managers have been slow to resolve these shortfalls, which detracts from the other positive examples of good leadership.

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good

The reports provided by the independent person lack detail, are not always accurate and do not promote continuous development of standards in the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC404983 5 Consequently, the usefulness of the reports is reduced, and they do not support the registered manager effectively to make improvements.

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good

There are issues with the maintenance of the environment, which does not reflect the registered manager’s efforts to create a homely and welcoming environment. Broken furniture, a damaged light fitting and a poorly maintained garden detract from the rest of the home, which has been redecorated.

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good

Staff feel well supported by the registered manager. Staff have regular supervision sessions and appraisals to reflect on their practice. The registered manager uses team meetings to promote staff learning, which includes the dissemination of relevant research-based practice.

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good

Staff receive a range of training that helps them to meet the children’s specific needs. This includes a recently completed four-day training course to understand how to use the home’s therapeutic approaches. Inspection report children’s home: SC404983 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 30 November

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b)) 30 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to 30 November Inspection report children’s home: SC404983 7 any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual who is working at the home and who does not fall within paragraph (2) (a) and (b) is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties. (Regulation 32 (7)(a)(b)(c)(d) (8))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the independent person they appoint has the skills and understanding necessary to: relate to the children being cared for in the home; assess all relevant information; and form an impartial judgement about the quality of the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8)  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. The statement of purpose is an important document in the process of care planning as it sets out the needs of the children the home is set up and equipped to care for. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’,

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Recommendations

page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information about individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report children’s home: SC404983 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: SC404983 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Roundhouse Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ventura House, Ventura Park Road, Tamworth, Staffordshire B78 3HL

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Inspector

Mark Dickinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC404983 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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