Children's home run by N H Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: SC446152 1 SC446152 Registered provider: N H Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to three children with learning disabilities and/or emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered on 23 April 2021.

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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 December 2022

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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: SC446152 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/12/2022 Full Good 01/09/2021 Full Good 12/05/2021 Full Inadequate 24/09/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC446152 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, there were three children living at the home. No children have moved on from the home since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children are making good progress in relation to their education, emotional and physical health. One child has disengaged from the support given by staff, managers and teachers. Though he is still on roll at his school, he has not attended for over three months. Teachers have arranged for him to undertake online learning but his engagement with this is limited, despite encouragement from staff. Teachers and staff are working in partnership to try and motivate this child to reinvest in his learning. Alternative learning provisions are being explored.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Inspectors observed positive relationships between staff and the children. The children told inspectors that staff look after them very well and, as a result, they feel cared for. This was corroborated by professionals such as social workers and teachers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff understand the children’s emotional and attachment needs. For example, one child brought a pillow from home which has sentimental value for him. Staff and managers were creative in incorporating this pillow with his new pillow so that he could still keep the scent from home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers consider one child’s cultural and religious needs, which form part of his identity and are important to him. For example, they have employed a male staff member who has knowledge of his religion and is able to take him to the place of worship. This enables the child to practise his religion a lot more. Staff and managers are also ensuring that the child has the appropriate toiletries to meet his needs. Staff have done some work with the children around promoting equality and diversity to enable the children to understand differences and respect each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are given opportunities to express their wishes and feelings, through children’s meetings, one-to-one conversations with staff and key-work sessions. The children can contribute to the day-to-day decisions about their care and they feel listened to and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment, though clean and tidy overall, does not provide a warm and welcoming environment for the children. For example, one of the children’s bedrooms has not been personalised and in the lounge and kitchen some damage was evident. The manager has an action plan to address these shortfalls.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Though children have access to some activities, they said they would like to do more. The manager acknowledged that this was an area for development. As part of the home’s development plan, she wants to explore the children’s interests more and support them with joining new clubs and pursuing new interests. Inspection report for children's home: SC446152 4

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

Staff and managers work in partnership with agencies such as police, social workers and teachers when there are significant safeguarding incidents. This ensures that strong safety plans are put in place to try and minimise risks to children and appropriate support is swiftly provided.

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

Staff are proactive in looking for children whenever they go missing from home. They follow the children, search local areas and contact relevant agencies. When children return home, staff exercise professional curiosity as they ask them who they met and whether they have suffered any harm. When children return home, they are warmly welcomed and given a lot of reassurance, which makes them feel safe and valued.

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

Staff and managers do a lot of educational work with the children to help them to learn from their behaviours, including on road safety, substance misuse, going missing from home, gang affiliation and internet safety. Consequently, children are starting to learn from their behaviours and understand and reduce potential risks.

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

Staff use physical restraint as the last resort. When used, this is proportionate to behaviours being displayed by children at the time. Staff and managers take the time to speak with the children about the use of the restraint, why this has been used and gain the child’s view, which gives them the opportunity to raise any safeguarding concerns.

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

Since the last inspection, one complaint has been received from an external agency regarding a staff member’s practice. Managers responded appropriately and similar concerns have not been raised since.

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

Safer recruitment processes are effective and help to ensure that only safe adults care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about her work with children. She cares for them a lot and wants them to achieve the best outcomes. Partner agencies report that she has excellent communication skills and she keeps them up to date with what is happening in the children’s day-to-day care. The manager advocates for the children and seeks support from partner agencies whenever this is required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring of the home is effective overall. She is aware of the strengths and areas for development of the service. She has an action plan in place to improve the home environment for the children to make it more welcoming and homely and to develop children’s engagement in leisure activities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel supported by the manager and can approach her when they need support. There have been few changes in staffing. When the manager does Inspection report for children's home: SC446152 5 need to use agency staff, she uses the same staff, to provide children with consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses staff meetings to discuss the children’s needs and staff practice, and to reflect on incidents in the home. This helps to continually improve the quality of care given to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision records are detailed and of a high standard. However, not all permanent and agency staff are receiving supervision in accordance with the frequency set out in the organisation’s policy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff are up to date with their mandatory training. However, one staff member has not completed the level 3 qualification or equivalent within the required timescales. Inspection report for children's home: SC446152 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, The 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(i)) 30 June 2023

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualifications and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate 31 August 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC446152 7 qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (Regulation 32 (2)(a)(b) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should seek to identify and provide appropriate opportunities for children to develop themselves in accordance with their wishes and feelings and as part of the home’s plan for their care. Each child’s talents and interests should be understood and nurtured, with children selecting activities based on their personal preferences and abilities, so far as is reasonable. Staff should also support children to try activities that are new for them, where appropriate. The registered person should ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities both inside and outside of the home (where appropriate) and are encouraged to participate in those activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraphs 6.4 and 6.5)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and

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Recommendations

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)

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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: SC446152 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 69 Steward Street Business Lofts, Steward Street, Birmingham B18 7AF

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Inspectors

Rumbi Mangoma, Social Care Inspector Jas Nahar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC446152 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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