Children's Home run by High View Children's Services Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 1 Registered provider: High View Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three children or young people with learning disabilities. A private company runs the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in May 2022. A new manager has been appointed; however, she is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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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

Date of last inspection: 14 September 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/09/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home. The child is making good progress and enjoys positive experiences of living here. The child told the inspector that she feels safe and is able to talk to the adults who care for her. She said that living at the home ‘keeps getting better’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have continued to make improvements to the home environment. As a result, the home is warm and welcoming. The child’s views and wishes about the décor of her bedroom have been listened to and her room is personalised. This supports the child to develop a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s health needs are well met by staff, and additional support has been accessed from specialist agencies. Since the last inspection, staff have received training in the home’s therapeutic model of care. This has helped staff to build meaningful relationships with the child and provide a more consistent approach to meeting her emotional needs. As a result, incidents have reduced and the child has experienced a calm and settled period.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to the child’s education and there is evidence of good partnership working with the education provider. The child is engaged in education and attends school regularly. The staff support the child’s educational attainment by completing additional work with her at home. They have found creative ways to help her to learn and make learning a positive experience for her.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to stay in touch with people who are important to her. As a result, the child has reconnected with family members and is being helped to build on these relationships. Staff work well with families and keep them updated about the child’s progress. Keeping in touch with family members and key people is important to the child and it helps her to retain a sense of identity and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child benefits from a wide range of new and enjoyable activities. The child has enjoyed activities such as bowling, shopping and going to the gym. These activities also support her to build her self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s journey at the home is captured through a memory book. This is completed in partnership with the child, and the child’s personality is captured through pictures and artwork.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff empower the child to have a say over her future and they engage advocates to provide added support. There are regular children’s meetings where the child can have her voice heard in relation to day-to-day decisions, such as what activities they participate in and what meals they eat. Each week, the manager formulates a child- Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 4 friendly letter, which includes a personalised response following each meeting. This helps to ensure that the child feels valued and listened to.

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

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the child’s needs and vulnerabilities. This enables them to appropriately advocate for the child and challenge other professionals when they feel that decisions made do not keep the child safe. Managers recognise and call upon the support and expertise of others to manage risk.

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

The child benefits from consistent boundaries and expectations that focus on encouraging socially acceptable behaviour. A child-centred approach, combined with the use of rewards and consequences, helps the child to feel secure and to behave positively. As a result, incidents have significantly reduced and staff have not needed to use physical intervention to keep the child safe since the last inspection.

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

Since the last inspection, the child has not gone missing from the home. Leaders and managers have upskilled staff and worked in partnership with the local police department. As a result, staff know how to respond effectively should a child go missing from the home.

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

A wide range of educational work is completed with the child. For example, the child has engaged in online training courses in relation to healthy relationships and child exploitation. She also receives comprehensive education in relation to a wide range of issues. This is tailored to her individual learning needs and helps her to develop an understanding of risk and how to keep herself safe.

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

The child living in the home is vulnerable to online risks. There are some monitoring systems in place to keep the child safe online. These include a phone contract and a parental control app on the child’s mobile phone. Managers have also implemented preventive strategies, which include educational work. When incidents of concern have arisen, a robust multi-agency response has helped to keep the child safe.

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

Leaders and managers have ensured that they have oversight of risk management plans. Staff now have better guidance about how to manage risk to children. The manager has consulted with other professionals and it is clear that they have been involved in the review process.

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

Despite these improvements, inspectors found that the language used in a risk assessment was not always clear and is open to interpretation, and, in one record, not all risk management strategies used were included. These omissions mean that staff were not clear about how often to undertake phone checks. A recommendation is raised to support ongoing improvement in this area. Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 5

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good

The child has experienced three different managers since the home opened in May 2022. A new manager has been appointed and is in the process of completing her application to register with Ofsted. The current responsible individual and new manager are working hard to support the child and staff. However, more time is needed to embed changes and maintain the improvements that have been made recently.

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good

Children are cared for by an inexperienced staff team who have not yet obtained the relevant qualifications and are still learning. While it is clear that the staff are committed to the children, they are not yet confident in their skills and decision- making. As a result, they do not always make decisions that are in the best interests of children. For example, on one occasion, staff took the child out for a walk late at night rather than considering other strategies to help her regulate her emotions. Managers have responded to this by re-inducting the entire staff team and securing a wide range of training.

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good

Monitoring of the service by leaders and managers lacks robust scrutiny. Managers do not always pick up on shortfalls in staff practice when they reviews records. This prevents a consistently proactive response to reflection and learning that informs safeguarding work.

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good

Staff meetings are thorough and informative and focus on upskilling the staff team. Staff receive regular supervision and opportunities for reflection. This helps them to develop their skills and improve the care that they provide to children.

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good

The new responsible individual and manager recognise the home’s strengths and most of the weaknesses. Staff speak positively about the new manager and the changes that they have introduced so far. A staff member told the inspector that managers are supportive and organised, and that she now has a better understanding of her role. External stakeholders also commented on the progress of the home and the positive impact it has had on the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 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 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 promotes their welfare.

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The provider must ensure that managers and staff have the skills to meet the individual needs of children.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, ensure that incidents are thoroughly reviewed and that this informs plans to improve the care that children receive. 16 February 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, includes details of the steps that the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. In particular, risk assessments should include all risk management strategies that are in place for children, and ensure that language used is recorded in a way that is clear and helpful to staff and children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 7  The registered person should ensure staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the

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Recommendations

quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2655778 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: High View Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 9 Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 1EA

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Inspector

Natasha Skinner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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