Children's Home run by Forte Care Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2618553 1 Registered provider: Forte Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for one child who has experienced social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is a suitably experienced and qualified manager appointed to the home. The manager is in the process of becoming registered with Ofsted.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Ofsted did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at an assurance inspection on 29 June 2022.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 8 February 2022

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2618553 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2618553 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has experienced a period of significant change and there has been a change of staff and manager.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is currently living in the home. They had a short but planned introduction to the home. The child enjoyed a virtual tour of the home and a visit from staff before moving in. This helped to reduce their worries about moving in and supported them to feel happy and safe at the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has good relationships with staff. The child is confident and comfortable in the company of staff and can make their needs and choices known. Staff respond in a timely way when the child makes requests and choices.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment reflects the child’s hobbies and interests. For example, there is a trampoline and art equipment at the home. As a result, the child has a sense of belonging. The home has the facilities and furnishings to meet the child’s needs. This provides a comfortable and safe home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff measure and reward the child’s progress through clear targets and incentives. Staff record and celebrate the child’s progress and achievements, including with certificates and a monthly newsletter with photos of positive experiences.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has local health services in place. They are waiting for an appointment with one health specialist. Staff have escalated this and put in place interim arrangements to support the child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child accesses full-time education via online learning and twice weekly visits from a tutor. The child is making good academic progress from their starting point. The home provides space and equipment to support online learning. Staff know the child’s aspirations for future education. Staff are working with partner agencies to identify future education options.

p.3

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

The child feels safe living in this home. There have been no incidents of the child going missing. Protocols are in place for staff to follow in the event of a child going missing.

p.3

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

Staff have received training in the management of violence and aggression. There has been no need for any physical intervention. Procedures are in place for the recording and oversight of any use of a physical intervention.

p.3

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

There are systems in place to manage health and safety in the home. Staff complete required checks consistently. The home is well maintained and is a safe environment. Inspection report for children’s home: 2618553 4 Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and are provided with a range of training in safeguarding.

p.3

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

All staff are subject to employment checks before they start working in the home. This ensures that staff are suitable to work with children.

p.4

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

The manager and staff understand potential risks for the child. Care plans detail the actions staff must take to manage these risks. However, in a few cases, there is a lack of clarity about the strategies needed to protect the child, for example, the number of staff required to supervise and support the child when they are away from the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home benefits from an experienced and skilled manager. The manager has worked hard to develop the new staff team. The manager and staff team all show enthusiasm and commitment in their roles.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is appropriately staffed and there has been no need to use agency staff. The manager and staff team understand the ethos and models of care outlined in the statement of purpose.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that there is good communication and partnership working with professionals. Professionals say that staff are very responsive to the needs of the child.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has systems in place that provide her with full oversight of the home and the child’s progress. The manager identifies and acts on areas for development.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff feel well supported by the manager and receive regular supervision. However, records of supervision are not always detailed enough to show outcomes and actions of concerns discussed. Furthermore, supervision sessions are not always provided by a qualified or experienced person. Inspection report for children’s home: 2618553 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.5

Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2) (a)(i))

p.5

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring risk assessments provide clear and consistent arrangements for reducing risk of harm. 16 December

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there are systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and 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)  The registered person should ensure that records of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions are kept and are sufficiently detailed, and ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4) Inspection report for children’s home: 2618553 6

p.5

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: 2618553 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 213 Station Road, Stechford, Birmingham, West Midlands B33 8BB

p.7

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Victoria Chinchen

p.7

Inspector

Alison Snell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2618553 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8