Children's home run by Archways Care Limited in Wolverhampton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC061837 1 SC061837 Registered provider: Archways Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is part of a small organisation. It can care for up to four children who have had adverse childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management and registered with Ofsted in July 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

Date of last inspection: 7 September 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC061837 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/09/2021 Full Good 18/12/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/09/2019 Full Inadequate 02/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC061837 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children live in the home. The home environment is warm and cosy. Children feel welcomed when they move in and are able to personalise their bedrooms. The home is spacious and has several communal areas. This helps to provide children with their own space and privacy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff form positive and open relationships with children. The children trust the staff and confide in them about their worries. They understand that staff may need to share their worries with other professionals, and there are clear plans in place for staff to follow should children raise any concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff listen to and act on children’s views, wishes and feelings. As a result, children influence positive changes in the home. For example, the children identified a need in regard to their personal care. They now have better access to items that meet these needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide clear and consistent boundaries for children. The manager recognises when boundaries are ineffective at keeping children safe. They consider the needs of all children living in the home. They escalate any concerns with professionals as soon as possible so that children’s care plans are reviewed to ensure that they continue to meet children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to learn the life skills that they will need to live independently. Children practise cooking, budgeting and other general life skills. One child attends a youth club. The youth club works with children who face challenging circumstances. They advocate and support children to access community-based programmes. As a result, one child is studying public speaking and media, which is something they aspire to do in the future. Other children have hobbies such as netball or boxing that staff attend with them. As a result, children develop confidence and improved self- esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to develop a positive sense of their identity. Staff help and support children to attend their place of worship. Children have items that are familiar to them to meet their cultural needs. Staff ensure that children are able to safely spend time with the people who are important to them. As a result, children grow up with an understanding of their life story. This helps them to feel secure and confident about their future. However, there was a delay for one child in spending time with their siblings in line with their care plan. The manager had not escalated this enough with professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are ambitious for children in regard to their academic achievements. They advocate and challenge education providers to support children in school. Some children have improved their attendance and are making good progress with their Inspection report for children’s home: SC061837 4 education. One teacher said that staff always demonstrate a calm and trauma- informed approach.

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

Staff respond well to safeguarding concerns. They have a good understanding of the risks to children and the action they need to take to safeguard them. Staff work well with professionals such as social workers and the police. As a result, staff understand and manage risk effectively.

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

Staff take appropriate action when children go missing from home. They follow the children and persuade them to return home. If they lose sight of them, they continue to look for them by searching areas where they think they may go. When children return home, staff welcome them back. This approach helps children to feel a sense of belonging and reduces the frequency of missing-from-home incidents.

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

The manager and staff use professional curiosity to identify risks to children. Staff notice significant changes in children’s behaviour, which may mean children are unsafe. For example, on one occasion, they noticed a change in a child’s appearance. The child was also being secretive with their mobile phone. Staff responded immediately and identified concerns around their online use. As a result, staff were able to implement restrictions to ensure the child was safe.

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

Children who have a history of self-harm are well supported. One child has made good progress and is now more able to safely manage their feelings and emotions. As a result, there are fewer incidents of self-harm.

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

Staff sensitively support children who experience traumatic events. One child has experienced a bereavement. Staff undertook training to support their understanding of how children process grief. They respond sensitively to help children process their thoughts and feelings safely.

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

Children’s risk assessments do not contain the rationale for bedroom door alarms. Children are not helped to understand why the alarms are in place. Neither do they know when staff will review them. As a result, children are under the impression that the alarms are always in place when they are not.

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

Leaders and managers report allegations appropriately to the relevant professionals. They ensure that measures are in place to keep children safe. However, in regard to one allegation, the action taken was not recorded clearly. The records were confusing, and the timeline of events was unclear. Although this did not result in a failure to act, this is contrary to the home’s policy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a new responsible individual who is enthusiastic about their role. They are aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development. The responsible Inspection report for children’s home: SC061837 5 individual plans to implement a new therapeutic approach in the home. This will enhance the quality of care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear understanding of the progress children are making. They have monitoring systems in place to evaluate the care children receive. The manager regularly meets with children to explore their views on how they are being cared for. As a result, children feel valued and listened to and are supported to progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s oversight of safeguarding incidents is good. This helps them to identify any shortfalls in staff practice quickly. The manager shares any learning from incidents with the staff team. As a result, children’s plans and risk assessments accurately reflect children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff complete a wide range of training that informs their practice. The manager is proactive in sourcing additional training when needed, such as training about support networks for bereaved children. Staff value training and say this supports them to meet children’s needs. Training creates a learning culture in the home which makes staff feel valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision that helps them to reflect on their practice. Regular team meetings take place that encourage staff to share information. This supports consistent practice in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC061837 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 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that risk assessments of children’s bedroom door alarms are reviewed and that the rationale for them being in place is clear. In addition, ensure that children understand the rationale and when this is likely to be reviewed.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 20 March 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

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep under review and, as necessary, revise the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 34 (1)(a) (2)(d) (6)) 20 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061837 7 In particular, leaders, managers and staff should ensure clear recording of any action taken following an allegation against a staff member, including the manager. Thus, evidencing a clear timeline from when the allegation was made and subsequent action to ensure children’s safety.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they escalate concerns about the placing authority when there is delay in plans being implemented for children to have contact with their family members.(‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.14)

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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: SC061837 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Archways Care Limited

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Inspectors

Sharon Bourne, Social Care Inspector Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC061837 9 inspects 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. 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

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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