Children's Home, Residential special school run by Staffordshire County Council in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 1 SC415138 Registered provider: Staffordshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This resource centre is managed by a local authority. It provides a short-breaks service for up to six children who have learning and/or physical disabilities and/or sensory impairments.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since July 2022 and holds a relevant qualification at level 5.

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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: 1 December 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: SC415138 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/12/2021 Full Good 29/01/2020 Full Outstanding 31/01/2019 Full Outstanding 27/10/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The service is currently providing short breaks for 13 children. The number of stays at the centre is different for each child depending on their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff have created a welcoming environment. The bedrooms used by the children are bright and colourful and have their own individual themes. The children love to choose their own rooms. This helps them to feel settled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are dedicated to the children. They know the children very well and have a good understanding of their needs. Staff use their knowledge, skills and experience to meet the needs of the children in a nurturing manner. This helps children to feel safe and reassured.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy spending time at the centre. During their short breaks, the children take part in a number of activities in the centre and in the community, including arts and crafts and going to the bowling alley. The inspector observed children and staff engaging in quality time together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to provide non-verbal children with a voice. The staff are creative in their approach and have used several different methods to support the children to be heard. For example, the staff have created a visual voting system whereby the children use different-coloured balls to express their views about their time at the centre. This results in children feeling empowered and able to express their views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff pay close attention to children’s complex health needs. They have a good understanding of the children’s needs and how to manage them. They act promptly when children require medical attention and ensure that they receive the right treatment without delay. Children’s emotional health and physical health are very well supported and promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and carers speak highly of the service. One parent informed the inspector that the centre and its staff are like family. Another carer informed the inspector that the staff have a good understanding of their child’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The use of the short-breaks service for emergency placements has, at times, prevented some children from being able to access planned short breaks. When these placements are required, the registered manager does not always ensure that the needs of the child are considered alongside the skill set of the staff.

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

Staff work hard to provide children with a safe and supportive environment where they can spend time. Staff have a good understanding of the children’s behaviours Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 4 and vulnerabilities. Clear and detailed behaviour management plans provide staff with guidance on how to keep children safe.

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

Staff use a range of communication tools to support children to express their feelings and behaviours when they are anxious or upset. Staff have a good understanding of children’s triggers and respond accordingly. The use of worry dolls and feeling fans supports children to talk through their feelings.

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

Medication is safely stored and administered. Staff regularly consult with health professionals when children require specialist support. For example, staff have sought specialist advice and received additional training to support one child who uses a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy feeding tube. This improves children’s well-being.

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

Since the last inspection, there has been one incident of children going missing from the home. Staff responded quickly and searched for the child, using their knowledge of the likely places that the child would have gone to. They contacted the relevant professionals and reported the incident to the police. When the child was located, staff took the time to understand the reasons why he may have gone missing.

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

Staff encourage children to form positive relationships. Incidents of bullying at the short-breaks centre are rare. Staff carry out interactive workshops with the children to help them to develop their understanding of bullying and positive friendships.

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

On one occasion, an incident of physical intervention was carried out by an agency member of staff who had not received the required training as set out in the home’s own behaviour management policy. This does not promote safe practice or ensure that the intervention is appropriate and in line with the child’s own behaviour support plan. In addition, when physical interventions are used, children and staff do not always receive debriefs. This means that opportunities to reflect on such incidents are missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is appropriately qualified and experienced. He is passionate about the service and the children who use the centre.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight and monitoring processes are effective. The manager has good insight into the home’s strengths and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All but one member of staff hold the required level 3 qualification. Staff are provided with a wide range of training that informs their practice and meets children’s individual and diverse needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A strength of the service is its staff team. The members of staff are passionate about their role. They enjoy working at the centre and feel supported by the registered manager. The stable staff team knows the children well and works hard to Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 5 ensure that they receive the right support. This provides children with a level of stability which supports their positive outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals are positive about the short-breaks service and the support provided to children. One social worker informed the inspector that the support provided to the families is invaluable. Another social worker described the centre as ‘fantastic’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has failed to provide staff with regular supervision sessions. The lack of effective supervision means that the staff are not being provided with an opportunity to reflect on their practice and identify any further training they may need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Formal annual appraisals are not utilised at the service. Although the service has adapted its own appraisals, these are not routinely carried out. This is a missed opportunity to formally review staff’s practice and developmental needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 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 registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(b)(3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that only trained staff use physical intervention techniques.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that debriefs take place with children and staff and are recorded. 8 March 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that systems are in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 7 qualified and experienced professional which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance and

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Recommendations

fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. As part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: SC415138 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Wedgwood Buildings, Tipping Street, Stafford, Staffordshire ST16 2DH

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Responsible individual:

Registered manager: Zouhaier Ben Cheikh Mohamed

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Inspector

Lydia Isaac, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC415138 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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