Children's Home run by Staffordshire County Council in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC028905 1 SC028905 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

A local authority owns this home. It provides care for up to five children who have experienced childhood instability which has resulted in trauma and associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager holds a level 5 qualification.

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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: 25 January 2023

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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: SC028905 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/01/2023 Full Good 15/02/2022 Full Good 22/05/2019 Full Good 16/11/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC028905 3

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improvement to be good

At the time of this inspection, four children were living in the home. Since the last inspection, five children have moved into the home and three children have moved out. Two have moved on to other residential homes and one child has moved to supported accommodation. Children’s progress is mixed. Children have made good progress in some aspects of their lives. However, at other times, children have not received the help and care that they have needed.

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improvement to be good

Children’s overall and day-to-day experience of living in the home is positive. The inspector observed warm and affectionate relationships between staff and children. Children were positive about the care that they receive and said they liked living in the home. One child told the inspector, ‘I love it, I feel safe. Staff really care for me, make me feel loved.’

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improvement to be good

Children are registered at local healthcare services and are supported by staff to attend routine appointments. Staff help children to access specialist services, when needed. However, staff do not consistently complete direct work with children on important topics, such as substance misuse, smoking and healthy relationships. In addition, staff have not implemented clear reduction plans for children who smoke or use e-cigarettes. As a result, there are missed opportunities to develop children’s understanding of risk and encourage children to make healthier lifestyle choices.

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improvement to be good

Children’s education outcomes have improved for most children. One child is now back in full-time education, after being out of school for a prolonged period. Three of the children are now taking their GCSEs. However, one child is struggling to engage in their education. Staff are working with the child and health professionals to improve their daily routine, so that they can return to education and improve their learning outcomes.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy various activities including trips to the seaside, meals with staff and ice-skating. The means that children get to have fun and make memories with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that children have opportunities to express their views, wishes and feelings. Children said they felt listened to and had staff they could talk to if they had any worries or concerns.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to spend time with people who are important to them. As a result, one child is having an improved relationship and is spending more time with their family. The child’s parent said, ‘[name of child] has blossomed. [Name of child] has come full circle.’

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improvement to be good

The environment is spacious, and most areas are well decorated. There is space for children to be together or spend time alone. However, there has been some damage Inspection report for children’s home: SC028905 4 caused to the kitchen and the TV in the lounge was broken. This does not provide a welcoming environment for children.

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improvement to be good

There have been no allegations or complaints. Incidents of missing from home are rare. However, there has been an increase in incidents of self-harm, ligature and physical intervention.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff do not consistently take effective action to mitigate risk and keep children safe. For example, staff do not always complete a room search after incidents of self-harm or ligature. This has led to inconsistencies in staff’s responses. There have been some significant incidents, which may have been avoidable.

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improvement to be good

Children’s written support plans are of poor quality. They are confusing to the reader and do not contain all the actions that staff should take to mitigate risk and keep children safe. This means that staff do not have all the information about how to respond to children’s known behaviours and has contributed to inconsistency in staff’s practice. This approach to risk management does not promote children’s well- being.

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improvement to be good

There has been one occasion where staff failed to follow a child’s support plan. This led to the child going missing from the home. Staff were diligent in following the missing from care protocol, ensuring that the child was quickly located. The manager has not reviewed this incident and taken action to prevent this shortfall in practice from reoccurring. In addition, the manager has not ensured that the child was offered an independent return home interview. This means that the manager is not able to fully evaluate and understand the reasons why the child was missing.

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improvement to be good

Restraint is used as a last resort to keep children safe. However, restraints are not consistently recorded in line with regulation. For example, some records lack detail, it is not always clear if staff have been spoken to after incidents and do not include if there have been any injuries or if medical attention has been offered. This does not give assurances that the manager’s review of incidents is effective and if intervention used is proportionate.

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improvement to be good

Some consequences for children’s behaviours are not child friendly, are punitive and ineffective. This approach is not in line with the home’s model of care, which is for staff to have a restorative approach.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide a safe environment for children to live in. Staff conduct regular health and safety checks to ensure that the home is safe.

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improvement to be good

The manager follows safer recruitment practices. As a result, she has confidence that the staff working in the home are safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC028905 5

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good

Since the last inspection, there have been changes in the leadership and management of the home. The registered manager has not been present in the home since January 2023. The deputy manager has been responsible for managing the home. She is caring and committed. She wants the home and children to do well. She encourages the staff team to share this ethos.

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good

Monitoring systems are not effective. The systems in place have not identified the shortfalls in this inspection. This impedes managers’ ability to improve children’s experiences, as managers’ understanding of the day-to-day care that children receive is limited.

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good

Staff receive mandatory training. However, not all staff have received training on the home’s therapeutic model. Furthermore, it is not clear from the training records if staff are up to date with all their training. This does not give assurances that staff have been provided with the skills and knowledge to keep vulnerable children safe and to provide consistent care.

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good

The workforce development plan is not effective. The plan in place does not include information about the staff structure, qualifications, training and performance management. It does not include how the management intends to develop staff to meet children’s needs.

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good

Most staff say they feel supported by leaders and managers. Staff receive regular supervision, and their performance is appraised twice yearly. However, supervisions lack reflection on practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. This does not support staff to develop their practice, to work as a team and improve the quality of care that children receive.

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good

The manager has not ensured that the children’s guide contains information in line with regulation. It does not include details on how children can make a complaint and important contact details, such as Ofsted and the Children’s Commissioner.

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good

External professionals involved with the home commented positively on the communication skills of the staff team and its commitment to supporting the children. During the inspection, a professional for one child said, ‘Feedback from my team is, we have been impressed with [name of home] and how good they have been with [name of child] and meeting their needs.’ Leaders and managers will challenge those that they feel are not effectively meeting children’s needs.

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good

A new responsible individual has recently been appointed. She is working closely with the deputy manager and has started to address some of the shortfalls. Inspection report for children’s home: SC028905 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2) (a) (i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that children’s support plans are clear on the actions that staff must take to support children and keep them safe from harm. In addition, staff must undertake direct work with children around their needs and risks to support children to keep themselves safe. 07 July 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

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; 07 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC028905 7 ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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; 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 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(f)(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 there are shortfalls identified in staff practice, to develop practice and improve the quality of care. In addition, managers must ensure that staff have the training to enable them to meet children’s needs.

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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

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. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that all records of restraint are consistently in accordance with regulation 35. The manager must ensure that they review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective 07 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC028905 8 practice, and respond where issues or trends of concern emerge.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 07 July 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing environment that meets the needs of the children. In particular, they should ensure that the kitchen and all communal areas of the home are maintained to a good standard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s home’s staff encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day-to-day health and well- being. Where children have specific health needs or conditions, they should be supported to manage these, subject to their age and understanding. In particular, the registered manager should ensure that children’s health plans are updated with all known health risks, including smoking and e-cigarettes. In addition, the registered person should ensure that prompt action is taken to support children to reduce their use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes

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Recommendations

Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.10)  The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour, and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing

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Recommendations

risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person must ensure that the home produces a children’s guide. The children’s guide should help children to understand: Inspection report for children’s home: SC028905 9 - what the day-to-day routines of the home are (‘what happens in the home’); - the Statement of Purpose of the home (the care they can expect to receive while living there); - how to make a complaint in line with the home’s complaints procedure; - how they can access advocacy support or independent advocacy if eligible; and - how to contact the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)  The registered person should ensure that they have a workforce plan which can

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Recommendations

fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20) The plan should: - detail the necessary management and staffing structure (including any staff commissioned to provide health and education), the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s Statement of Purpose; - detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications); - detail the process for managing and improving poor performance; - detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice (see regulation 33 (4) (b)) and keep appropriate records for staff in the home. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and used to record the ongoing

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Recommendations

training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: SC028905 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Staffordshire County Council, 1 Staffordshire Place, Stafford. ST16 2DH

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Inspector

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC028905 11 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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