Children's home run by Nottingham City Council in Nottingham

Inspection report children’s home: SC424280 1 SC424280 Registered provider: Nottingham City Council 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 a local authority. It provides care for up to two children. These children may have emotional, social or behavioural needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by an experienced registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to the specific needs of one of the children being cared for, this inspection was completed in one day.

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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

Date of last inspection: 7 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: SC424280 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2022 Full Good 16/10/2019 Full Good 12/06/2018 Full Good 19/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC424280 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with consistent care from staff, who know them well. Children are encouraged to develop their own sense of identity and to take pride in their appearance. Children have decorated their bedrooms in accordance with their wishes and preferences. For example, one child has posters displayed, whereas another child has chosen to paint their bedroom black.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good educational progress. They wake up on time for school and apply themselves to learning. Children are supported to recognise what they are good at. For example, one child has been incentivised by staff to build furniture in the home. This has given the child a sense of achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health appointments are up to date. A health professional said that staff have supported one child to make ‘remarkable progress’ since being cared for in the home. Children are supported to have a healthy routine and to eat balanced meals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children spend time in the community, they usually answer their mobile phones and tell staff where they are and what they are doing. Children bring their friends to the house and, on these occasions, staff make them food and give them space to socialise independently. This indicates that children like where they live and are comfortable introducing their friends to those who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During this inspection, there was a good example of staff supporting a child’s family in a time of crisis. This demonstrated that staff are there for children when children need them the most.

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

The manager is good at recognising how risks for children can change over time. For example, where one child’s relationship became controlling, the manager spotted this and took effective action to keep the child safe.

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

Wider professionals describe communication as good, and they are confident that they are made aware of any new concerns. However, paperwork for children is not consistently updated when new risks occur, and staff do not always sign children’s paperwork to confirm that they have read it. This is necessary to ensure that staff know what plans need to be followed to keep children safe.

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

One child has been supported by staff to engage in a service that educates people about what coercive relationships may look like. Through accessing this service, the child feels more empowered to make better choices and to say no to things that they do not agree with. Staff have a good relationship with this child, and they recognise when there may be a new cause for concern. Inspection report children’s home: SC424280 4 On occasion, children’s bedrooms have needed to be searched to ensure that there are no items that could pose a risk. However, when this has happened, the record- keeping has not yet been good. For example, there is not a clear rationale as to why children are not present. Furthermore, children are not consistently consulted after a room search has taken place. There was one room search that was not recorded, despite an item having been removed from the child’s bedroom. The manager has

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

agreed that this is an area for development.

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

Overall, children are involved in few incidents and, when these do happen, they receive a good level of support. However, there is not yet clear recording to evidence that children have had the opportunity to discuss incidents after they have occurred. Also, there is variability in how injuries for children are recorded. This is necessary so that the manager can determine how children have sustained all injuries.

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

Although there are some areas for development, these are primarily recording issues as opposed to safety concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good relationship with the children, and he knows what is important to them. The children’s guide is clear, and children know what to do if they are unhappy about anything.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, staff supervisions and team meetings are happening on a more regular basis. Staff are happy with the support offered by management, and they feel confident to share any concerns that they may have. Staff describe team dynamics as good. Although steps have been taken to improve recruitment processes for staff, there are still some gaps that need addressing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s records have improved since the last inspection. However, they are not consistent as some documents still contain jargon. Also, it is sometimes unclear who the record is being written for. There has been a good example of one child’s plan for independence being personalised and shared with relevant professionals. This is a useful document as it captures the child’s personality and what their needs are going forward.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the leadership and management of this home have improved. Children like where they live, and wider professionals are complimentary about the care being provided to children. Since the last inspection, the manager has improved their communication with Ofsted. Inspection report children’s home: SC424280 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a child’s bedroom should not generally be entered without their permission. Usually, rooms should only be searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Immediate searching may be necessary where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, 3.20)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them, making sure that risk assessments are up to date and include relevant information and complete body maps when required. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should seek to ensure that the local authority regularly consults the child and the home about the child’s relevant plans. If the child raises concerns about the content of any of their plans, their implementation or the process of review, staff should advocate for the child and seek to ensure that their concerns are addressed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.11)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should maintain good employment practice. They must ensure that the recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: SC424280 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Nottingham City Council, Loxley House, Station Street, NOTTINGHAM NG2 3NG

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Inspectors

Andi Lilley-Tams, Social Care Inspector Lizette Watts, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC424280 7 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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