Children's Home run by My House Calow Limited in Derbyshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2660470 1 Registered provider: My House Calow Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to three children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The suitably qualified manager is registered with Ofsted.

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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the full inspection on 1 and 2 August 2022, Ofsted identified serious safeguarding shortfalls which left a child suffering significant harm. As a result, Ofsted issued compliance notices in relation to the protection of children and the leadership and management of the home. A suspension of the provider’s registration was also issued, alongside a restriction of accommodation notice. Therefore, no children lived at the home between 2 August 2022 and 4 November 2022. Inspection report for children's home: 2660470 2 A monitoring visit carried out on 5 September 2022 identified improved safeguarding practices and strengthened leadership of the home. Consequently, the compliance notices were found to be met and the suspension was lifted on 14 October 2022. The restriction notice was also lifted on 14 October. Inspection report for children's home: 2660470 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/08/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 2660470 4

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improvement to be good

One child was living at the home at the time of this inspection. He was welcomed to the home sensitively and with good planning. Staff visited the child and spent time with him before his arrival, reading a social story with him. This helped prepare the child for his new home.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child with his lifelong health conditions. His specific health needs are identified and adequately described in his care plans. Communication with local health services is good. This is no longer a shortfall in practice as identified at the previous inspection.

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improvement to be good

Communication systems for children who communicate non-verbally are being developed in the home. The use of the Picture Exchange Communication System allows the child to communicate his views and wishes without relying on speech. Pictures and symbols have been introduced around the home to encourage the child to have a voice in his home life and his care.

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improvement to be good

The child attends a special school. He has experienced some recent disruption to his education. Staff want the child to do well in education and are liaising effectively with education professionals.

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improvement to be good

The child regularly spends time with his family. This helps support his cultural and religious needs while living away from home. The manager and staff ensure that regular communication with the family takes place and that they are kept informed of their child’s progress.

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improvement to be good

Serious safeguarding failures previously resulted in the suspension of the home’s registration with Ofsted. Managers have worked hard to rectify these shortfalls and drive improvements in the home. As a result of this hard work and improvements in care practice, there are no longer serious or widespread failures and children are safer.

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improvement to be good

Staff are learning to support the child with his behaviour and feelings. When new behaviours emerge, staff are exploring different ways of responding and managing these, while seeking to understand the triggers for the child’s changes in behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Standards of safe recruitment fall short of good practice. Some staff’s required Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks have expired and managers do not have a clear recording system for keeping a check on these expiry dates. These poor recruitment procedures do not ensure children’s safety. Inspection report for children's home: 2660470 5 Since the previous inspection, staff have revisited safeguarding training. This formed part of a wider investment by the organisation in upskilling the workforce. Staff working in the home are now clear about safeguarding procedures. There is evidence that staff have learned from previous experiences where children were not safeguarded in the home. As a result of this, child protection has become a priority for everyone, and this is no longer a shortfall.

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good

Following the previous inspection, managers have worked hard to improve standards of care in the home. They have learned from previous serious events and have carefully considered feedback from professionals. They have implemented new auditing systems and improvements have been made to how managers review and evaluate incidents, to ensure action is taken promptly when any issue of concern arises. The child currently living at the home has only been there for a week. These changes need to be embedded to ensure that the quality of care is good.

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good

The manager’s most recent full quality assurance review of the home does not contain other professionals or staff’s views and does not consider how to capture children’s views or feedback. This is a lost opportunity to further improve the home.

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good

Leaders and staff are working positively with other professionals. Care and behaviour support plans have considered the local authority’s care plan for the child. Managers want to establish effective working relationships with social workers and parents to achieve the best outcomes for the child. A parent said, ‘I trust them to look after him, he feels at home here.’

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good

Managers and staff receive regular supervision which now focuses on children’s experiences and progress. Team meetings have been used as opportunities for learning and sharing new ideas. The emotional impact on staff of a previous serious event has been acknowledged by managers. This has created a culture of support and empathy throughout the staff team.

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good

Leaders and managers have identified areas of weakness in practice. Additional training and mentoring are being provided to strengthen those areas. An experienced independent visitor now provides regular external monitoring of the home, which is an improvement since the last inspection. Inspection report for children's home: 2660470 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers having systems in place to ensure safe recruitment procedures are followed and regularly monitored. 4 January 2023

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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

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 33 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that all staff have a valid DBS check in place. 4 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children; 28 February 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2660470 7 the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (2)(a)(b)(c) (5))

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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: 2660470 8

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Inspector

Rachael Sprigg, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2660470 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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