Children's home run by Progress Children’s Services Ltd in Wolverhampton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC020859 1 SC020859 Registered provider: Progress Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private provider and is registered to provide care for up to six children with learning disabilities and associated emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has submitted an application to register 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

Date of last inspection: 22 September 2021

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

In September 2021, the home was judged as inadequate. A suspension notice was served along with three compliance notices. A monitoring visit took place on 2 November 2021. The compliance notices were found to be met and the suspension notice lifted. However, the home was undergoing refurbishment and could not accommodate children safely. The home closed while this work was undertaken.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 4 July 2022, a monitoring visit took place. This visit demonstrated that the home was ready to reopen. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020859 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/09/2021 Full Inadequate 12/06/2019 Full Good 14/12/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/04/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC020859 3

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improvement to be good

The home was closed for a period of time while refurbishment work was carried out and new staff recruited. The home reopened and the first child moved in, in August 2022. Three children currently live at this home.

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improvement to be good

The environment is not to a good standard and is poor in places, and this has had a negative impact on children’s experiences. Repairs required to a fire door and broken toilet have not been prioritised. One child’s furniture has an institutionalised feel to it and does not take into consideration the child’s abilities. Furthermore, one child’s clothes were scattered over a bed in a spare room and not carefully stored in their wardrobe, and a child’s socks had been left outside in the rain. Although managers took some quick action during the inspection to address the concerns, further consideration is required to ensure that the environment meets the needs of the children.

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improvement to be good

On the day of the inspection, children’s access to the laundry was restricted by a locked door. Managers are of the view that this is not common practice. However, this demonstrates that children could not access the room without asking staff. A recommendation has been made as a result.

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improvement to be good

Despite staff wanting the best for children, this is not always demonstrated in the care they provide. For example, children use communication tools to support their verbal communication. These tools are not consistently used. On the second day of the inspection, staff could not locate the child’s picture routine that is used to support him. In addition, written guidance for staff to follow is not clear or up to date. This has led to inconsistences in practice.

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improvement to be good

Children are making some good progress. For example, one child is able to eat a better variety of food. A social worker stated that her child sees this as his home, when he has previously struggled to settle in other homes where he has lived. A social worker also shared that her child benefits from the structure, nurture and emotional warmth that staff provide.

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improvement to be good

A social worker told inspectors about the excellent planning that the manager and staff did to help her child to move into the home. This included good information- sharing between family, professionals and working with his school to fully help them to understand his needs. However, this good work is not captured within the child’s plans. Managers were also unable to demonstrate how they decided they are able to meet the needs of the children that live in the home.

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improvement to be good

On the whole, children enjoy positive relationships with staff. Children were seen to be happy in staff’s care. One child was seen thoroughly enjoying singing and Inspection report for children’s home: SC020859 4 dancing with the staff that were caring for him. Children also enjoy a range of activities such as a cooking and visiting local parks.

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improvement to be good

There have been two occasions where children have gone missing from the home. This has been due to staff not carefully supervising children in their care. Learning has taken place with individual members of staff and with the wider team to help ensure this does not happen again. However, written guidance for staff to follow when a child does go missing to ensure a prompt and coordinated approach remains unclear.

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improvement to be good

On one occasion, a child made an allegation about a member of staff. Although prompt action was taken, there was a delay in sharing this information with the social worker, designated officer for the local authority and Ofsted as necessary. This was identified as part of the independent visitor’s monthly visits. Learning has taken place as a result.

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improvement to be good

Not all staff have had all of the training they require to fully understand and support the children’s individual needs. The manager is aware of this and is working hard with the home’s therapist to support and upskill the staff team. Team meetings are used as a forum for learning, but staff have also benefited from some learning on an individual basis.

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improvement to be good

Some staff have lacked professional curiosity with regards to safeguarding children. For example, inspectors observed a child watching an online video via the internet. When asked, staff were not able to assure themselves that the content of the online video was appropriate and safe for the child to watch. The manager took action during the inspection regarding this.

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improvement to be good

More positively, children’s incidents and the severity of these reduce over time. When incidents have occurred, good-quality work takes place with the child to help them to understand positive behaviour. There have been no medication errors, and staff have obtained their level 3 qualification or are working towards this within required timeframes .

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good

A manager was recruited for the home, but did not take up the post. The deputy manager has been promoted to the manager post and has applied to register with Ofsted. A new deputy has just been appointed and is now working in the home. The manager foresees this will strengthen their capacity to bring about the improvements in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020859 5 The manager has worked hard to address the shortfalls identified during this inspection. There is a plan to make the necessary improvements, but this is taking time to implement and embed.

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good

The manager has been working to support staff in the day-to-day care of children. This has had an impact on her monitoring. For example, not all incidents have had the manager’s oversight, and documents such as the statement of purpose and location risk assessment are not up to date.

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good

All staff speak positively about their experiences of working in the home, their passion to care for the children and the level of support they receive from each other and the manager. The manager has not been afraid to both support and challenge staff practice where necessary. Although staff feel supported, new staff have not had supervision every two weeks as required in the home’s policies.

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good

Professionals speak positively about the level of communication from the staff and manager at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020859 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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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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

that the care is approved, and kept under review throughout its duration, by the placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that the care is delivered by a person who—

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Requirement Due date

has the experience, knowledge and skills to deliver that care; (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(c)(i) (3)(a)(b)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the home is furnished to meet the needs of each child. That the 27 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC020859 7 statement of purpose is applied, that staff receive fortnightly weekly supervision when first joining the home, and that staff have the necessary skills to care for children.

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that maintenance issues are quickly repaired, that staff supervise children in line with their agreed plans and that children’s communication aids are constantly used. 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

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 ensuring that documents such as the location risk assessment and statement purpose are up to date. 27 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. 27 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC020859 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the matching process for children in the home, to take into consideration staff training needs, and the needs of the other children already living there.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 27 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e)) 27 January 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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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: SC020859 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Progress Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Progress House, 127 Millfields Road, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire WV4 6JG

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Inspectors

Louise Battersby, Social Care Inspector Carl Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC020859 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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