Children's Home run by Cove Care – Residential Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 1 Registered provider: Cove Care Residential Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to three children with social, emotional and complex mental health difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a manager who registered with Ofsted in February 2021.

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 requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 25 October 2022

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/10/2022 Full Inadequate 21/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children live in the home. No children have moved in or out of the home since the last inspection.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend time with children doing activities that the children enjoy. As a result, children benefit from positive relationships with the staff who care for them. Children can raise concerns and talk to staff about their worries. This contributes to children feeling reassured and safe.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to keep in touch with people who are important to them. This supports children’s identity and helps children to feel secure.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager ensures that the home is maintained to a reasonable standard. The home is decorated and furnished nicely and provides a warm and homely feel for children who live there.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children grow in confidence as the staff encourage them to develop independence skills that will help them in their adulthood.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children have a diagnosed medical condition, staff help them to understand this. Staff produce a child-friendly information leaflet about the condition and how the child’s medication will help them. As a result, children engage in health reviews and receive recommended treatment.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children are now registered with local health services and their general health is good. Children attend health assessments and visit the GP when they feel unwell. There has been a delay in one child attending a vision check. An appointment has now been made. Some staff are not familiar with all children’s health needs. For example, a staff member supporting a child during a health assessment was not aware that the child needed glasses.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made some progress with their education. One child continues to attend school daily and is making progress with his learning. There is a delay in finding a suitable education provision for another child. Although the child now has a maths tutor, plans to increase his access to education and identify an appropriate school place are not clear. In addition, the registered manager and staff do not have access to children’s education plans. This means that staff do not have a clear understanding of the subjects children are studying and the exams they are working towards.

p.3

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

Children’s behaviour that can be challenging has reduced. For example, the frequency of aggressive behaviour has decreased. Staff can identify triggers to Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 4 behavioural incidents and manage these to prevent them from escalating. Staff follow the guidance set out in children’s risk assessments, which promotes children’s welfare and safety.

p.3

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

The registered manager and staff work consistently and have clear expectations for behaviour. This means that children understand what is expected of them and helps them to develop socially acceptable behaviours that will support them now and in the future.

p.4

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

Children get on well together and there have been no incidents of bullying. Staff promote and model positive relationships, which helps children to learn from them.

p.4

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

When children leave the home without permission, staff follow them and encourage them to return home. This good work has prevented children from going missing from home.

p.4

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

The registered manager and responsible individual have reviewed how they respond to allegations made against members of staff and other safeguarding concerns that arise. They now have a clear audit trail of actions taken and the outcome of recent investigations. In addition, there is a system in place to involve an independent person to look into concerns, should this be necessary.

p.4

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

Children have access to smartphones and gaming devices with online capability and can access the home’s Wi-Fi. The registered manager has not put parental control measures in place to prevent children being able to access harmful content. No work is carried out with children to help them to understand the risks related to using the internet as well as the benefits, so they can learn about how to keep safe. This increases children’s vulnerability when using the internet.

p.4

good

Management oversight is not always effective in identifying areas that need to be improved. For example, managers have not recognised delays in identifying a school placement for one child. As a result, they have not escalated concerns about this with the child’s placing authority and local education authority in an effort to progress this child’s learning.

p.4

good

There have been no medication errors since the last inspection. Improvements initiated at the time of the last inspection have largely been maintained. However, the registered manager has not identified through monitoring that some information from the prescriber about a child’s medication was missing from the child’s medication record. This was rectified during the inspection.

p.4

good

Children receive care from a consistent staff team. Some staff are qualified and others are working towards completing a qualification. The registered manager ensures that staff undertake training to support them in their roles. However, staff need further support and development in understanding the specific needs of the Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 5 children who live in the home. For example, staff did not demonstrate an understanding of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, how this affects children and how to respond when caring for a child with this need.

p.4

good

Staff feel supported by the registered manager. He ensures staff receive regular supervision and attend team meetings. This provides staff with time to reflect on children’s experiences and develop plans that enable children to make progress. Staff receive an appraisal each year which enables them to review their contribution to the team and to children’s care and identify areas for development. This helps staff to improve their skills and learn new ones.

p.5

good

The registered manager seeks feedback from external professionals who support children. Feedback since the last inspection recognises good working relationships between staff and these professionals. The registered manager ensures that professionals are kept informed and their views are gathered. Good working relationships mean that children receive consistent messages and support from those involved in their care. Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 6

p.5

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.6

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

p.6

Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievements;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(vi)(viii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that children’s education plans meet the child’s needs and are accessible. Steps should be taken to escalate concerns when there are delays in children accessing a suitable education provision. 25 January 2023

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential and

p.6

Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 25 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home.

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, that managers use monitoring systems effectively to identify and act on shortfalls, including:

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensuring that a child is supported to attend optician appointments and that all staff are aware of all child’s health needs;

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensuring that information about children’s medication from the prescriber is retained;

p.7

Requirement Due date

reviewing the need for and implementing parental controls as needed to mitigate the risk of children accessing harmful content when using the internet;

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensuring that staff receive training to learn more about a child’s individual needs.

p.7

Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is repeated.

p.7

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: 1231311 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cove Care Residential Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 4BL

p.8

Inspectors

Helen Malanaphy, Social Care Inspector Jackie Line, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 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.

p.8

Inspectors

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.9

Inspectors

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

p.9

Inspectors

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

p.9