Children's Home run by High View Children's Services Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 1 Registered provider: High View Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to three children who have learning disabilities. A private company runs the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in May 2022. Since the last inspection, a new manager has been appointed and has submitted his application to register 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 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: 2655778 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/01/2023 Full Good 14/09/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home. The processes when children move into the home are thorough and thoughtful. Managers visited the child before he moved into the home, and he was introduced to the home through creative visual resources, such as a virtual tour. The manager carefully considered the child’s needs alongside the needs of the child already living in the home. This approach creates the best opportunity for children’s moves to go smoothly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is warm and homely, and the manager has plans to develop the home further. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, and there are toys and a games room that is used by the younger child. This provides the child with opportunities to engage in fun activities with staff and has supported him to settle into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff build positive relationships with children. Children have enjoyed activities that they have chosen, and they are encouraged to try new things. For example, one child has had opportunities to try activities such as trampolining and going to the gym to support a healthy lifestyle. Another child has enjoyed a trip to a theme park in line with his hobbies and interests. These experiences support children’s identity and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend school, and they work closely with education professionals to provide additional support to children when needed. Children who move to the home are helped to maintain their school placement, and this prevents any further disruption to their daily routine. Education professionals are positive about the staff’s communication and involvement in children’s educational progress. One child has received good support in preparation for a move to college in the coming year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend statutory health appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to keep in touch with people who are important to them. However, one parent expressed to the inspector that they did not currently feel involved in their child’s care. A meeting has taken place to review the ways in which the staff can better support the parents. A recommendation has been made to support ongoing improvements in this area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Records accurately detail the needs of children in terms of their day-to-day care and how they need to be looked after. However, targets and goals are not clear and measurable. It is not always clear how staff support children to contribute to their care planning documents. This is a missed opportunity to encourage children to invest in decisions about their life. Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 4

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

When concerns have arisen about staff’s conduct towards children, managers ensure that consultations with the local authority designated officer happen quickly. The manager has worked closely with partner agencies to manage risk, and actions have been carried through in a timely way to reach a conclusion. The good safeguarding practice in the home helps to protect children from harm.

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

Children benefit from clear and consistent rules and boundaries and positive relationships with staff. The home adopts a restorative approach to managing children’s behaviour. When children receive consequences for negative behaviour, they are supported well to understand the reasons for this. This promotes positive behaviour, and as a result, staff have not needed to use physical intervention with children.

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

There has been an increase in incidents since one child moved into the home. Staff are developing their understanding of the child’s needs and are reflective when incidents occur. There is a concern about another child’s inappropriate use of their phone and the internet at times. Staff have consistently worked with and supported the child to develop an understanding of online risks and of making safer decisions around this.

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

Children receive frequent direct-work sessions, which supports them to reflect and understand their behaviours. These sessions help to provide children with opportunities to gain knowledge and understanding to keep themselves safer now and in the future.

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

Children’s risk assessments are of variable quality. They are not regularly updated when risks change or when new risks emerge. Written guidance and plans for one child are poor. Risk management strategies associated with personal care, physical intervention and electronic devices are not detailed in the child’s plans. In addition, when new risks have emerged, staff are not provided with guidance around them. This means that staff are not provided with sufficient guidance to help them keep children safe.

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

Staff have received safeguarding training on internal policies. However, not all staff have a good understanding of the roles of partner agencies, such as the local authority designated officer. This does not support staff to develop multi-agency working and stronger safeguarding practice.

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good

Management arrangements have remained inconsistent since the last inspection. The previous manager left, and a new manager was appointed. At the time of this inspection, the new manager has been working in the home for four weeks. He is Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 5 knowledgeable about the children and has clear ideas about how to improve the care they receive. However, plans are in the early stages, and new developments and ideas have not yet been put into practice.

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good

Monitoring by the leaders and managers requires improvement. Their monitoring lacks rigour and has failed to identify the shortfalls raised at this inspection. The manager has not yet completed an audit of the home, and the responsible individual has not completed an audit since March 2023. These are missed opportunities to identify where improvements are needed and generate actions to address shortfalls.

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good

The home has an independent visitor to provide external scrutiny of the home. However, their reports are not submitted to leaders, managers or Ofsted on time. The manager has not been proactive in challenging these delays. This does not support leaders and managers to develop practice in the home, and it limits regulatory oversight.

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good

The manager is in the process of reviewing the current staff’s training and development needs. The staff team has access to a wide range of online training. However, because there is no clear recording system, the manager found it difficult to evidence staff training during the inspection. It is therefore unclear what training staff have completed. Based on the available information, not all staff have undertaken the training to support children and meet their needs. This compromises the staff’s ability to provide effective and consistent care.

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good

Four members of staff hold relevant qualifications. This includes the responsible individual and the manager of the home. Five members of staff are working towards completing their qualifications. Two members of staff plan to enrol on the course in the future. Not all unqualified staff enrolled on the required residential childcare course in a timely way. This causes a delay in getting staff the qualification that they need to work at the home.

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good

Although most staff are new to the role and unqualified, they are enthusiastic to learn and demonstrate a commitment to their role. They are caring and child- focused and have a good understanding of the children’s needs, interests and talents.

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good

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended by the staff team. Staff use this time to reflect on their day-to-day practice and discuss how they can best support children. Staff are positive about the new manager of the home and the support they receive. Staff receive regular supervision, and plans are in place to ensure that staff receive annual appraisals to support their development.

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good

External stakeholders have provided positive feedback to the inspector. All professionals reported positive working relationships, and one education professional spoke of a positive approach towards developing a child’s independence. Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 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 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

The provider must provide staff with written guidance or plans that include how to protect children. They must be reviewed regularly and updated when new risks emerge. 6 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;

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 6 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 7 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The provider must develop action plans to ensure that staff achieve the appropriate qualification in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

The provider must ensure that all staff have received the training necessary to carry out their role and that care is delivered in line with the statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

The provider must ensure that they review, implement and make use of monitoring and review systems to ensure shortfalls are identified and rectified.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

upon request, the local authority for the area in which the home is located;

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Requirement Due date

the registered provider and, if applicable, the registered manager; and

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Requirement Due date

the responsible individual (if one is nominated). (Regulation 44 (1) (7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The provider must ensure that they obtain the independent visitor’s report in the appropriate timescale, and that the report is sent to HMCI and children’s placing authority without delay. 6 July 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should encourage staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’, supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19) Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 8  The registered person should have a key role in seeking to develop the home’s effective working relationships with each child’s placing authority and with other relevant persons, including parents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.3)

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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: 2655778 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: High View Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Azzurri House, Walsall Road, Aldridge, Walsall WS9 0RB

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Inspectors

Natasha Skinner, Social Care Inspector Nurul Kabir, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2655778 10 regulates and 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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