Children's Home run by Shropshire Council in Shropshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 1 Registered provider: Shropshire Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home offers support and care for up to two children who may have experienced neglect, abuse or trauma which has left them vulnerable.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2022 and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/05/2022 Full Good 27/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have left the home and two children have moved into the home. Children’s moves into and out of the home have been well planned and positive experiences. Children currently being cared for are settled and feel well supported. Children say they like living in the home and that they like the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is currently preparing to leave the home and return to live with their family. Staff are working closely with the placing authority, family and other external agencies to ensure that the child is helped to move home in a positive way. This means that children have a positive experience when leaving the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of children’s complex needs. They work closely with the child psychologist to develop ways to support children. They attend team development meetings each month to provide staff with support and guidance to better understand children’s presenting behaviours. This approach ensures that children receive individualised care to meet their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s physical health needs are met. Children are registered with local health services and attend appointments when needed. Where a child requires more specialist support, staff are proactive in securing the services to meet the child’s needs. This ensures that children’s emotional well-being can improve over time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has been redecorated since the last inspection. The home is comfortable, homely and well maintained. The manager is proud of the changes he has made to the environment and has further plans to redevelop the home. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms with a choice of decorative features and other personal items, such as posters and family photos. Staff encourage children to sit together at the dining table to enjoy their evening meal.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have full-time education placements. They regularly attend and are making progress. Staff help children to understand the importance of education and have high aspirations for them. When children face challenges in school, staff are proactive and work alongside the school to ensure that children are supported. One child has maintained 100% attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children’s hobbies, interests and talents. Staff arrange for them to attend after-school and local activities, such as drama club and swimming. Children also enjoy various activities with staff. Staff capture these moments with photos and memory books. One child has recently been growing vegetables and sunflowers and to transform the garden. Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 4

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

Children have detailed risk management plans, which are regularly reviewed. They provide very clear guidance and strategies for staff to follow to keep children safe. Staff are also proactive at following children’s risk assessments. As a result, staff know what to do to keep children safe.

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

Staff follow procedures to ensure that important information is recorded and shared with relevant professionals when incidents occur. This means that effective decisions are made regarding the safety arrangements for children.

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

Staff support children with their behaviour and heightened emotions. When consequences are used, they are restorative in nature. This approach encourages children to take responsibility for their actions and offers them the opportunity to repair relationships.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. When children do go missing, staff are usually proactive and follow protocols to ensure that children are located and returned swiftly and safely. However, on one occasion, the decision-making from staff was not appropriate, which could have placed a child at risk of harm. In addition, the child did not receive a return home interview. These shortfalls were not identified and challenged by the manager. This means that there was no reflection or learning for the staff member and a missed opportunity for the child to speak to someone independent.

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

When restraints are used, they are proportionate and well managed. Staff use de- escalation techniques and communicate with children in a nurturing and reassuring manner to reduce risks where possible. However, recording of restraints does not meet the regulatory requirements. In addition, following a serious incident involving restraint, the manager did not notify Ofsted.

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

Recruitment checks are not always fully carried out as required. Where staff have not provided a full employment history, the manager has failed to identify or follow up on this.

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good

The manager has recently registered with Ofsted. The previous manager resigned on 21 March 2022 and has become the responsible individual. The registered manager is supported by a suitably qualified and experienced staff team.

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good

Leaders and managers are not monitoring the quality of care effectively. The registered manager is not always identifying some areas for development in staff practice when he carries out his review of incidents, such as missing-from-home incidents and incidents of restraint. In addition, the registered manager fails to Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 5 demonstrate that he can recognise and challenge poor practice in the home. For example, on one occasion, a record was not made following a room search.

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good

The independent person does not regularly speak to parents or professionals when they visit the home. Leaders and managers have not taken action to address this to ensure that the appropriate people are given the opportunity to share their views with the independent person.

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good

Staff speak positively about working in the home and the support they receive from the manager. Staff receive regular supervision sessions and annual appraisals, which are reflective and assess staff’s performance. The manager is passionate about staff’s development and encourages them to progress in their roles. Some staff have recently been promoted in the home.

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good

The manager demonstrates effective partnership working. Feedback gathered during the inspection is very positive. Professionals told the inspector that communication with staff and the manager is good. They are positive about the care and support children receive, and children have made progress from their starting points.

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good

Staff receive an in-depth, good-quality induction. Training is delivered to ensure that the needs of the children who are living in the home are understood and well managed. The registered manager secures training from various sources, including online and face to face. This tailored approach ensures that staff have the skills to care for children effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)) 8 June 2023

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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 8 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 7 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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 8 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 8 confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they maintain good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a) to (d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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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: 2558682 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY2 6ND

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Inspector

Carl Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2558682 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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