Children's Home run by Roundhouse Care in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC478852 1 SC478852 Registered provider: Roundhouse 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 operated by a private provider and is registered to provide care and accommodation for three children with social and/or emotional difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

A suitably qualified and experienced manager is in post and is 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 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: 15 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: SC478852 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/09/2021 Full Good 11/12/2019 Full Inadequate 28/01/2019 Full Outstanding 01/02/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC478852 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who move into the home receive planned and thoughtful transitions. The manager carefully considers the needs of children and ensures that these can be met by staff. Children’s transitions into the home are individualised and cater to their needs. For one child, the staff and the manager met them and their family several times before the child moved in and created a child-friendly welcome book for the child to help them get to know the staff team and the home. Children who move from the home generally leave in a planned way. One child had lived in the home for several years and was supported to move into suitable independent accommodation. Staff keep in touch with this child regularly, which makes the child feel connected to the home even when they have moved on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. They said they like living in the home and can talk to staff about how they are feeling.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have secure and positive relationships with staff. Staff offer individualised care to children. They write lovely individual letters to children daily to summarise what has happened. These letters are child-friendly and really capture the warm and nurturing environment the staff and the manager have created for children, as well as the positive experiences that children have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of children’s emotional well-being. They monitor children’s moods, understand their triggers and offer nurturing care to children to help them feel better. Children are supported to develop better strategies to manage their worries.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend school. Staff and managers work closely with teachers to ensure that children have the right support in school and that their interests are encouraged. For example, in their personal education meeting, one child said they were interested in photography. The manager has been proactively working with the virtual school to consider resources being made available to the child so they can pursue photography as part of their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met, regularly taking them to the dentist, optician and general practitioner. When one child needed medical treatment in hospital, staff were attentive to the child, ensuring their aftercare was maintained to support their recovery.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff undertake direct work with children that links in with their care plans. Staff also use opportunities to talk to children individually about issues such as online safety and identity and difference. These discussions help children learn and develop skills to keep themselves safe and learn about themselves and others. Inspection report for children's home: SC478852 4 Staff and the manager have a good understanding of children’s needs, especially in relation to their identity. They support children with their choices, seek external support for children as needed and ensure that children live in an environment that is non-judgemental and respectful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities, such as go-karting and going to the trampoline park, the cinema and the gym. This enables children to have memorable experiences and promotes their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children see people who are important to them. Staff build positive relations with family members and work together to support children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all the information contained in children’s files is up to date. For example, one child’s most recent care plan and the last two sets of their children in care review minutes were missing. Although this has not had a direct impact on the care and support provided to children to date, the lack of up-to-date statutory documentation means that the manager may not have key information they need to follow up on decisions from care review meetings.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the missing-from-care protocols. When children go missing from home, staff search for them until they are found and returned safely home. Staff welcome children back, offer them reassurance and work with them to try and understand why they went missing and what happened while they were away.

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

Children’s risk assessments are detailed and well written. They give staff the information they need to understand children’s risks and behaviours and what support they need to offer children to keep them safe. Staff implement the strategies outlined in these documents and so manage difficult situations well.

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

The location risk assessment is appropriately detailed and provides relevant information about the local area to children and to the staff working in the home.

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

Staff only use physical intervention as a last resort to keep children safe. There have been two physical interventions since the last inspection. The records show that the interventions were necessary to keep children safe. When the manager was involved in one of the interventions, there was oversight from someone independent of the incident. In addition, the records do not include staff reflections and debriefs to act on and implement any learning as necessary.

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

Staff respond to unwanted behaviour by children by giving them logical and proportionate consequences. This enables children to learn from things that happen and understand the impact of their unwanted behaviour on themselves and others. However, staff are not always evidencing the good work they do with children to show how they promote positive behaviours through rewards. Inspection report for children's home: SC478852 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. They have high aspirations for children and staff. The manager has worked hard to create a warm and nurturing home environment for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A real strength of the home is the staff team. Many of the staff, including the manager, have worked in the home for several years. All the staff were keen to provide feedback to the inspector. Many described their love and joy in seeing children make progress in their care. A dedicated and committed team offers stability and consistency of care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have completed training relevant to their roles, including therapeutic training. The staff are qualified and have the skills and knowledge to care for and support children well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective monitoring systems in place which ensure that they retain good oversight of the home. These systems enable the manager to address any issues as they arise and implement changes to further improve the service offered to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are provided with regular supervision and new staff are supported through a robust induction and probation process. The staff say they feel valued and supported by the manager, who enables them to learn and develop in their practice. Inspection report for children's home: SC478852 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff document when children receive rewards to celebrate positive behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards,’ page 46, paragraph 9.39)  The registered person should ensure that if the manager is involved in an incident involving physical intervention with a child, this incident is reviewed by someone independent. In addition, ensure that the staff involved in the incident are spoken to, to implement any further learning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure children’s files are kept up to date and contain up-to-date local authority care plans and minutes of statutory care reviews. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: SC478852 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Roundhouse Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ventura House, Ventura Park Road, Tamworth, Staffordshire B78 3HL

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Inspector

Shazana Jamal, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC478852 8 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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