Children's Home run by Progress Children’s Services Ltd in Coventry

Inspection report for children’s home: 2515609 1 Registered provider: Progress Children’s Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private company. The home is now registered to provide care for up to six children, who may have learning disabilities, physical disabilities and/or sensory impairments.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a permanent registered manager, who is suitably experienced and qualified.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2515609 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/06/2022 Full Good 03/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/09/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2515609 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This home comprises of two buildings adjoined by gardens. In a change since the last inspection, the two buildings are now registered and operate as one. This change took place in April 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are currently four children living at the home. The staff work across both buildings. As a result, staff have good knowledge of the needs of all children at the home. Staff are attentive to children. Children have good relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well designed around the needs of the children. For example, one child has been unable to tolerate the shower at the home. Some alterations to the shower room have now taken place to try to alleviate the difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms are personalised and reflect their hobbies and interests. The gardens provide pleasant spaces for relaxation and enjoyable activities. One child makes good use of the outdoor fitness equipment. Children’s artwork is displayed around. As a result, children feel a sense of belonging at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s methods of communication. Staff really encourage children to develop their communication skills. Staff are proactive in producing resources to assist children’s communication, such as symbols and picture cards. As a result, children can communicate their wants and wishes and make choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has been well supported to excel in his independence skills, despite the complexity of his needs. This has prepared him well for moving on from the home as a young adult.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good routines that ensure that their daily needs are met. Staff respect children’s privacy, and care tasks are carried out in a dignified way. Staff are knowledgeable about children’s healthcare. Staff are competent in managing children’s healthcare needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend education. Staff accompany one child in their school taxi. This ensures that they can safely manage their journey and continue to attend school. Staff are in regular communication with schools. This ensures that the schools and home keep well informed about children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The three children that live together in one area of the home get on well together. One child helps another child by passing him his sensory toys if he drops them or wishes to change toys. He delights in being able to help. The manager recognises that the child living in another part of the home is quite isolated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy activities at the home. New activity boxes have been set up, ready to increase the activity choices children can make. Children’s opportunities to go out of Inspection report for children’s home: 2515609 4 the home are limited at times. Some of the children enjoyed a trip to the seaside recently. Overall, children are accessing enjoyable activities and experiences. There are plans to enhance these opportunities further.

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

Staff understand the risks and vulnerabilities for children. Children’s plans provide guidance to staff around actions to take to keep children safe. There have been no allegations or complaints at the home. Staff know how to respond in these instances.

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

The manager ensures that there are sufficient staff, so children are kept safe and have their needs met. Staff know when children need more than one person to help them, including when they go out of the home or for moving and handling care.

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

Security of the front of the home has been improved. There are now gates in operation for car park access and a keypad for the internal front door. This prevents children accessing the road without the required supervision to keep them safe. Health and safety is monitored at the home. Action is taken to address any concerns in a timely way. As a result, the home environment is a safe place for children.

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

In the main, staff do promote positive behaviour through a calm and consistent approach. Staff constantly encourage one child to use ‘kind hands’ and make ‘good choices’ around behaviour. As a result, the child understands what is expected of them.

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

However, staff do not always know what consequences are appropriate to use in response to children’s behaviours. This does not promote children’s learning. Staff do not have a clear understanding around what behaviours should be recorded as an incident. This reduces the opportunity for management review and learning from incidents.

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

There have been two occasions when children’s medication supply has run out. On each occasion, staff have taken prompt action to address this. Medical advice was sought to ensure the child’s well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual has supported the development of the manager well, and the provider has appointed a mentor. As a result, the manager is a confident leader, who has embraced the opportunity to bring the two homes together. The manager can identify the strengths of the home and areas for development. She is motivated to build on the strengths, with a focus on developing the staff team. A team leader has recently been appointed, strengthening management at the home. Staff feel well supported by leaders and managers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2515609 5 The manager is a strong advocate for children. For example, she advocated for a child to attend mainstream education. As a result, the child is currently undertaking his final college exams and is aspirational for the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff induction is well organised. Staff receive training that equips them to meet children’s needs and keep them safe. Training is enhanced by scenario-based discussions in team meetings. Staff speak positively about training and how this helps them in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Permanent staff receive supervision. Staff feel well supported through supervision and understand the tasks that are allocated to them. As a result, staff are developing in their roles and taking on specific responsibilities. The manager will take swift action to address any issues of staff practice through a single-subject supervision. However, agency staff working at the home have not received supervision or had their induction documented. This is a missed opportunity for staff to receive the necessary support to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager monitors children’s progress and quality of care at the home on an ongoing basis. The manager shares a monthly report with the responsible individual. This provides an additional layer of scrutiny. As a result, children’s progress is understood. The manager has listened to the results from the staff well-being questionnaire. As a result, she has increased allocation of specific tasks to staff. This has increased staff motivation in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some parents and professionals reported that communication with the home is poor. Parents do not always feel well informed. Professionals are frustrated by the delay in information being provided. This can cause delay in progressing care planning for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2515609 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all staff, including regular agency staff, receive supervision to ensure that they have the skills to meet the needs of each child and provide continuity of care.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that communication and partnership working with professionals and families is achieved, as per the home’s statement of purpose. 31 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out— 31 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2515609 7 how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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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

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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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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Requirement Due date

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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2515609 8 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)(a)(b) (2) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii) (viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that there is a consistent approach to behaviour management in the policy and training so that staff understand the approach, and in particular the appropriate consequences.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that behavioural incidents and measures are recorded and reported in a way that ensures that they are reviewed by managers.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that medicines are administered in line with the child’s medically approved protocol. The registered person must make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. Measures must be in place to ensure that medication supply is managed so that supplies do not run out. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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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: 2515609 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Progress Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Progress House, 127 Millfields Road, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire WV4 6JG

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Inspector

Alison Snell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2515609 10 inspects 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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