Children's home run by Motivations Activity Projects Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC470284 1 SC470284 Registered provider: Motivations Activity Projects Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It provides care for three children who have experienced childhood trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2022.

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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: 3 February 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC470284 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/02/2022 Full Good 25/11/2019 Full Good 03/12/2018 Full Good 25/07/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC470284 3

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improvement to be good

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home. All the children have lived in the home for over three years.

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improvement to be good

Progress for the children is mixed. Two of the children are making good progress in all areas. They are attending school, have good relationships with family and friends and have few incidents. One other child, however, has been spending significant amounts of time away from the home. This has impacted on their progress. As a result, the manager has now served notice on the child ‘s placement. The child was due to leave the home in the next week.

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improvement to be good

Children’s educational progress varies significantly. For example, two children are well supported and are making good progress with their learning. One child’s educational progress has deteriorated. There has been a reduction in their school attendance. Staff are working with the child, the school and social workers to identify any barriers to their learning and are putting in place plans to support their learning and encourage attendance.

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improvement to be good

Children are in good health. Staff support children to register with local health services and attend routine health appointments. There are clear health plans in place to support staff to meet children’s specific health needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to see their families and friends. Staff encourage the children’s families and friends to visit their home to celebrate events that are important to the children. This ensures that children continue to build relationships and attachments with those people who are significant to them.

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improvement to be good

Children’s overall and day-to-day experiences of living in the home are positive. The inspector observed warm and affectionate relationships between staff and children. All the children were positive about the care that they receive and said they had staff who they could talk to if they had worries or concerns.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to develop their independence skills. Children learn life skills such as cooking, budgeting and decorating. This enables them to have positive childhood experiences and prepare for the next steps towards adulthood.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that the home environment is well maintained, clean and tidy. The home is nicely decorated, comfortable and homely. The staff support children to personalise their bedrooms and there are photos throughout the home of the children, staff and their shared adventures. This helps children to feel valued and live in an environment that they can be proud of. Inspection report for children’s home: SC470284 4

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improvement to be good

The registered manager and staff understand children’s behaviours and risks well. As a result, incidents have reduced overall. There has been an increase in missing- from-home incidents for one child.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always take appropriate action when children are missing or away from the home without permission. For example, on one occasion, staff failed to search the local area and, on another occasion, staff did not follow the child’s risk assessment by reporting the child missing to police. Missing-from-home protocols are not clear on what actions staff need to take when children are missing. This means staff are inconsistent in their approach, and does not give assurances that staff can keep children safe. The manager did update the missing-from-home risk assessment during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Managers respond appropriately to any concerns about staff practice or allegations. They refer any allegations to the local authority designated officer. However, managers do not keep a record of their decision making, actions taken in response to allegations made, the outcomes and any learning from these investigations.

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improvement to be good

Physical intervention is only used as a last resort. Since the last inspection, there has been one physical intervention. Records are detailed. Managers have oversight of all incidents, and they provide staff and children with a reflective debrief following the use of the intervention. Managers will challenge any poor practice identified. This ensures that, when used, physical intervention is proportionate and necessary.

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improvement to be good

Staff complete work with children to help them to understand their risks and make better-informed choices to keep themselves safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that the home environment is safe for children to live in. A range of health and safety checks are completed to assess whether there are any hazards which could pose risks to children.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment records show safe recruitment processes are in place. This reduces the risk of children being cared for by unsuitable individuals.

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good

There have been three managers at the home since the last inspection. This has impacted on the consistency of leadership and management in the home. The current manager has been in post since August 2022 and registered with Ofsted in December 2022. He has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. He is committed to ensuring that the staff team delivers good-quality care to children. The registered manager and staff speak positively of the children they care for. They want children to succeed and ensure that children are provided with clear and consistent boundaries. The manager and the responsible individual Inspection report for children’s home: SC470284 5 acknowledge that the managerial changes have impacted on the quality of management oversight in the home.

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good

Leaders and managers do not always take appropriate action to address poor practice. For example, when managers identify poor practice, they do not evidence the learning to ensure that poor practice is not repeated. This does not support staff learning and improve the quality of care given to children.

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good

There have been two occasions when managers have not reported safeguarding concerns to Ofsted. This means the regulator may not have all the relevant information to understand what is happening in the home.

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good

Staff have completed mandatory training. However, managers have not ensured that staff have additional training to meet children’s specific needs. For example, staff have not had training around children’s health diagnoses. Staff have also not completed training on missing-from-home incidents, despite this being a current known risk. This is a missed opportunity to raise staff awareness about children’s needs and areas of vulnerability.

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good

Managers ensure that the home is appropriately staffed with a core staff team. Agency staff are not used in this home. This provides children with consistent care from staff who know them well.

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good

Staff feel supported by the current management team. They receive regular practice-related supervision and annual appraisals. Team meetings are regular and reflective. This makes staff feel valued and supports their development.

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good

Managers and staff work in partnership with the placing authority, children, their families and specialist agencies. Professionals were positive about the communication and support provided by the staff and the manager. Inspection report for children’s home: SC470284 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that missing-from-home risk assessments are clear on the actions that staff must take when children are missing. 20 February 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response; and

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Requirement Due date

describe the measures which may be necessary to protect children following an allegation of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 34 (1)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager keeping adequate records of all allegations, which reflect their decision-making and any actions needed to improve the quality of care for children. In addition, they must ensure that any actions identified are completed. 20 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC470284 7 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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 (a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that monitoring systems are effective in identifying shortfalls in practice. Managers must take action when shortfalls are identified, to develop staff’s practice and improve the quality of care. In addition, managers must ensure that staff have additional training to meet children’s specific needs. 20 February 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

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

must include details of— 20 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC470284 8 the matter;

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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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: SC470284 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Motivations Activity Projects Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: St Matthews Business Centre, Duddeston Manor Road, Birmingham B7 4LZ

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Inspector

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC470284 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 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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