Children's home run by Albrighton Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 1263329 1 Registered provider: Albrighton Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for two children with learning disabilities and complex needs. The home is privately owned.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is currently not working at the home, due to sickness absence. The registered manager is serving his notice period and is soon to leave the organisation.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1263329 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/03/2022 Full Good 07/01/2020 Full Good 14/11/2018 Full Good 26/02/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1263329 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During this inspection period, one child has moved on from the home. This was a planned move to another home in the organisation. The child was well supported with introductory visits to their new home. Some familiar staff transferred with him and this supported him to settle at the new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is now one child living at the home. The staff understand his needs well, and provide individualised care to meet these. The staff provide care in a sensitive and respectful way, for example being discreet and using private spaces for personal care tasks. This maintains the child’s dignity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Promoting independence is a key focus of the care provided at the home. There are routines in place for the child that encourage the development of his skills, such as putting away his clean washing and making drinks and snacks. As a result, he is making progress with basic life skills in line with his starting point and abilities. This is supportive of his preparation for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are targets in place for the child. Staff measure and record his progress and achievements. Staff celebrate progress with the child, through daily praise and rewards of his choice. The provider hosts a Christmas party awards evening, and staff have nominated the child for an award for his progress. These gestures make him feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have a good working relationship with the child’s school. They have daily communication. He attends full time and enjoys school life. The manager has escalated an issue with transport to ensure that this meets the child’s complex needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment reflects the child’s interests and hobbies. There are books, activities and DVDs throughout the home. This gives him a positive sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a communication board in place that enables the child to use the Picture Exchange Communication System. As a child who does not use verbal communication, he uses this board to make choices around food and activities. As a result, staff understand his views and choices and act on these. For example, he selected the ‘garden’ image and added this to the communication board. Staff supported him to enjoy time in the garden.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have not ensured that the child’s prescribed medication has had a review. As a result, he has continued to take medication he may no longer need. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263329 4

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

The home is a safe environment for the child to live in. The staff view the home as the child’s own area. Work is being undertaken to provide a larger office. This will prevent intrusion on his space by incoming staff and visitors.

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

The home is well maintained. Managers and staff monitor health and safety. There are systems in place for making checks, and these are consistently carried out. Staff highlight concerns and they are promptly addressed. There are no unnecessary restrictions in place for the child. As a result, he can safely access all spaces of his home.

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

Managers and staff fully recognise the child’s vulnerability. They identify the risks for the child. There are clear measures in place to manage these risks. Managers review these measures and modify them in line with the child’s changing needs. For example, his supervision levels have been reduced. Additional staffing is made available when required, such as for longer days out. As a result, the necessary measures to manage risks are in place.

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

Staff use creative ways to help the child to learn about keeping himself safe. This includes use of video clips, images and practical methods, such as going for a walk to learn about road safety. This supports the child’s understanding of risks.

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

The staff take action to ensure that risks around internet access are managed. They ensure that necessary safeguarding settings and restrictions are in place on the child’s devices.

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

The are few behavioural incidents involving the child. The child’s plans provide guidance for staff and set out the boundaries they must put in place. Staff communicate these clearly to the child. As a result, he understands what is expected of him. When staff have needed to physically intervene, the least restrictive options have been used. Managers review all incidents and learning is shared with the staff.

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

The provider takes allegations seriously. There have been two allegations of misconduct by staff. Safeguarding action has been taken through suspension of staff and full externally commissioned investigations.

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good

There is a temporary manager at the home. A new and experienced permanent manager will be joining imminently, and they intend to apply for registration with Ofsted. These changes have led to an ongoing period of instability in leadership and management. Managers have not completed the quality-of-care review for the home.

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good

The registered manager failed to follow a risk assessment that stated he was not to undertake supervision of one staff member. This was in place to ensure that he Inspection report for children’s home: 1263329 5 remained objective in managing the staff team. This shortfall has resulted in concerns around staff practice not being addressed appropriately. There was a delay in this being known by the provider, which potentially led to a continuation of poor practice.

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good

There has been significant movement of staff across the organisation. Some staff have moved from, and others to, the home in recent months. The child has had many changes to adjust to and, as a result, he reduced his interaction with staff for a period.

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good

The changes in the staff group have resulted in a deficit in qualified staff. For a period, there were no qualified staff at the home, apart from the manager. This is an improving situation and most staff are now undertaking their relevant qualification.

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good

The provider is committed to restabilising the management and staffing. An example of this is that the home is now often overstaffed. This enables staff to work together as a team and supports newer staff to build confidence and knowledge in caring for the child.

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good

Staff do not receive induction or supervision when transferring from other homes. There are shortfalls in supervisions for all staff. Although staff have completed training in a wide range of topics, they have not received training in using Makaton. This reduces staff’s ability to communicate with the child. Managers have not ensured that all staff have the experience, skills and qualifications to meet the needs of the child at the home.

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good

The registered individual knows the strengths and shortfalls of the home. She is currently actively involved in the daily running of the home. The temporary manager is being well supported with external professional supervision to support her development in the role. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263329 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to completing actions identified in children’s health assessments. 27 January 2023

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; 27 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1263329 7 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 27 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and 27 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1263329 8 make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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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 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (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: 1263329 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Albrighton Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 4, Bermar House, Rumer Hill Business Estate, Rumer Hill Road, Cannock, Staffordshire WS11 0ET

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Inspector

Alison Snell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1263329 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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