Children's Home run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report children's home: 2484586 1 Registered provider: Stoke-on-Trent City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by the local authority. It provides care for up to two children who have experienced early childhood trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since September 2020.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2484586 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/07/2021 Full Good 10/12/2019 Full Good 15/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2484586 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home. One child had moved out of the home sooner than anticipated. However, this was a planned and well-managed move, where staff supported the child to move to live with family members. Children are making some progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The transition for the one child moving into the home was well planned. The registered managers ensured that they received all the information required to inform the care process. This meant that the child moving into the home was prepared and felt welcomed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between one child and staff have improved since the last inspection, which is having a more positive impact on the child’s lived experiences and progress. One child told the inspector that they liked living at the home and that staff provided a good quality of care. They said that they missed some staff who were away from work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff continue to work closely alongside the in-house clinical team and other professionals to provide children with specialist and informed care. For example, staff receive bespoke training on the therapeutic model and are committed to developing their practice in the model. This helps them provide good care to meet children’s emotional needs. As a result, children are better supported to manage their emotions and reflect on their behaviours and choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to ensure that children’s health needs are met to a good standard. Children have individual health assessments, and the recommendations from health plans are acted upon. However, when children have missed routine appointments with the dentist, general practitioner or optician, staff do not always pursue these. As a result, children’s health needs are not always monitored effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children well to maintain important and positive relationships with family members. They communicate effectively with social workers to review the arrangements for children to spend time with their families. Staff show a very good understanding of the importance of children spending meaningful time with their families. As a result, children benefit emotionally from this care and understanding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the physical environment of the home is welcoming, comfortable and nurturing. Children have more pride in their bedrooms and are encouraged to personalise them with different themes, in line with their wishes. There is some minor maintenance work to be completed inside the home. However, the registered manager has plans to address this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite this positive progress, children’s educational progress is poor. Staff do not support one child successfully with their education. This child is not doing well or Inspection report children's home: 2484586 4 making good progress with their learning and school attendance. In addition, not enough has been done to support this child, who is not attending school regularly and has made limited progress. For example, when the child is not in school, staff have not completed sufficient work to support them with alternative learning. Consequently, this limits the child’s opportunities and development.

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

The registered manager has improved how they assess risk and impact when new children move into the home. Staff ensure that all known risks are identified, and they also consider the impact of the risks in relation to the location of the home. Managers carefully consider how the new children’s behaviour may affect the other children already living at the home before they move in. This level of scrutiny resulted in a better understanding of known risk when one child recently moved into the home.

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

Some staff show a better degree of knowledge regarding children’s vulnerabilities. They use the learning and support from the in-house clinical services well to identify emerging needs and risks to children. This learning improves their practice to protect children.

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

Staff are skilled in supporting children with their behaviours. They know how to de- escalate behaviours which may become challenging or potentially harmful. Restraints are used proportionately when there is a risk or serious concern about children’s or staff’s safety. Furthermore, staff ensure incidents are recorded accurately. This means that the registered manager can review all physical interventions, using records that contain all the relevant information.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. On the occasions when they do, staff are responsive and follow children’s missing-from-home protocols successfully. Staff escalate concerns by working in partnership with the local authority, local services and the police to ensure that children are returned home safely. This means that risks to children in the community are vastly reduced.

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

Staff’s professional curiosity about the safety of children in their care has improved. Staff are more inquisitive about children’s use of their devices and mobile phones and undertake some checks. However, this has not gone far enough and, on occasions, staff have not completed regular checks. This lack of action makes children more vulnerable to harm when online.

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

Overall, staff use praise and reward to encourage children to display positive behaviour. This has been effective on occasions. However, on one occasion, a consequence used was punitive rather than restorative in nature. For example, one child was expected to contribute from their pocket money towards the cost of repairs to damage to the home. This does not help children to recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. Inspection report children's home: 2484586 5 Medication practices in the home are not always safe. For example, staff do not ensure that medication is administered as prescribed to the child. There have been repeated occasions when staff have administered medication to the children incorrectly. On one occasion, a child was given an overdose. On this occasion, the child did not experience an adverse reaction.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has identified the strengths and weaknesses at the home. An action plan is ongoing to address areas for improvement. This leadership approach means that shortfalls are acted on quickly, which improves children’s progress and experiences. Requirements raised at the previous inspection have been deemed met at this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has an in-depth understanding of the therapeutic approach used at the home. She continues to create a positive culture at the home. This enables staff to support children to make progress physically, socially and emotionally.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children know how to make a complaint. The registered manager is quick to review information, act on complaints and investigate. She provides feedback to children and staff about the outcomes of investigations. As a result, children feel listened to and that their views are important. They also know that the registered manager will take complaints seriously.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, staff provide positive feedback and confirm they are well supported by the registered manager. Staff benefit from regular reflective team meetings. In addition, the registered manager uses supervision sessions effectively, to monitor staff progress and professional development. This means staff development and learning are actively promoted and improve practice at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and the registered manager develop and maintain positive working relationships with local services, children’s families and external professionals. This further improves the experiences and quality of care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager does not always ensure that staff have the skills and training to meet the needs of the children. For example, not all staff have received bespoke training on understanding children’s emotional well-being and mental health needs. In addition, the inspector found that some staff had not received training on child sexual exploitation and safeguarding. Knowledge and skills in these areas are relevant to meet the needs of children at the home. This lack of training leaves staff without the necessary knowledge base and ability to care for children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff do not always have a good understanding of how to support children with their mental health. For example, staff have not provided a consistent approach when children have difficulties in managing or regulating their emotions. This has resulted in situations escalating for longer periods, with children becoming further distressed. Inspection report children's home: 2484586 6 Although the registered manager has taken some action to address this practice, this has not gone far enough to change this culture completely at the home. Inspection report children's home: 2484586 7

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

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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

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to the registered manager and staff ensuring that children are supported to overcome barriers to their learning. 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 27 January 2023 Inspection report children's home: 2484586 8 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to the registered manager ensuring that staff have a consistent approach in managing children’s behaviours.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to the registered manager ensuring that all staff receive essential training to meet the needs of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that medication protocol is followed, and recording is accurate. 27 January 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have sufficient understanding of relevant health services, and should support children to navigate these services, advocating on their behalf where necessary and appropriate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.8)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report children's home: 2484586 9  The registered person should ensure that staff provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming. ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations,

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Recommendations

including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: 2484586 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stoke-on-Trent City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City of Stoke-on-Trent, Swann House, Boothen Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 4SY

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Inspectors

Patrick McIntosh, Social Care Inspector Carl Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2484586 11 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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