Children's Home run by Cove Care – Residential Limited in Wolverhampton

Inspection report for children’s home: 2645281 1 Registered provider: Cove Care Residential Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home is registered to provide care for up to two children with mental health emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in December 2021 and is suitably 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

Date of last inspection: 6 September 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: 2645281 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/09/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2645281 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, there was one child living in the home. The child likes living in the home. She has sustained her placement because staff provide a nurturing environment where relationships flourish.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has positive experiences living in the home. Staff offer her a broad range of activities that enhance her social and emotional development. The child told the inspectors that she likes going to karate, swimming and playing computer games.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child expresses her views, wishes and feelings during planned house meetings and in discussions with staff. As a result, the child feels listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have gone above and beyond to help the child access education and improve her education outcomes. A staff member said, ‘We have weekly feedback reports from tutors. This gives us a view of [name of child]’s strengths and weaknesses. This allows us to see what she needs and has helped her pass her mock exams.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is fit and well. Staff have a good understanding of the child’s emotional, physical and mental health needs. This is because the manager and staff work closely with external health professionals and their own therapy team. A mental health practitioner said, ‘They fought hard to get [name of service] involved. They are proactive and have secured a cognitive assessment.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support arrangements for the child to keep in touch with family members who are important to her. As a result, the child continues to build bonds and strengthen relationships.

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

To safeguard the child, she is subject to several restrictions to her liberty. These restrictions are frequently reviewed to ensure that they are appropriate. Staff give the child opportunities to have fewer restrictions in place, and, when needed, these are reintroduced. This is something that is under continual review.

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

Staff work hard to manage the child’s complex needs that affect her behaviour. Staff use a variety of de-escalation techniques. They are often successful, although sometimes the child’s actions result in her or others being harmed or at risk of harm. When such incidents occur, staff act swiftly, reflect on their actions and consider ways to learn and improve.

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

Staff have not always been able to prevent the child’s behaviours from causing distress and alarm to others, including some of the home’s neighbours. The manager continues to work with the police, the local authority and others to review Inspection report for children’s home: 2645281 4 the plans in place to manage the child’s behaviours and reduce any potential upset caused by the these.

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

Physical intervention is sometimes required to manage the child’s behaviour, and there has recently been an increase in its use. However, physical intervention is used only as a last resort and for the shortest duration possible. The child and staff are debriefed following the use of any measures. The recording of physical intervention is good. However, the electronic recording system does not provide a clear chronology of when actions such as debriefs and the recording of events have taken place. This makes it difficult to understand whether there has been a delay between the intervention occurring, the debrief taking place and the time when these were documented.

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

The child is increasingly safe and protected from harm. Risk assessments provide a clear overview of known and potential risk. Significant events are captured clearly and provide a helpful chronology for staff. The plans to manage risk are well informed, with input from the team around the child.

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

Medication arrangements are safe. Staff are trained to safely administer medication. External services supply audits to ensure that the receipt, storage, administration and disposal of medication are safe. This protects the child from any potential risk of misuse of medicines.

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

The manager ensures that staff are safely recruited. This means that staff working with the children have been suitably checked to ensure that they do not pose any risks to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced registered manager. He is undertaking a suitable qualification in the management and care of children in residential care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and responsible individual oversee the home and spend time with the child. They are skilled at checking the home to ensure that it is running effectively. For example, they have implemented new ways of monitoring the manager’s practice. These new ways of working are innovative in helping leaders and managers track the strengths and weaknesses of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are supervised, appraised and supported to further develop the skills required to support the child’s needs. During supervision, the manager tracks and reviews the progress of staff who have exceeded the expected completion date of their relevant qualification, or who are new starters and have recently enrolled.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive good-quality training to enhance their skills in relation to the child’s individual needs. However, staff have not received training around global developmental delay. This has the potential to hinder staff’s ability to manage the child’s needs effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: 2645281 5 The home uses paper and electronic records. Paper records are not always updated and, therefore, contain inaccurate or out-of-date information. This is because the manager does not always have time to print off the most up-to-date information. This undermines the usefulness of having a paper-based version of the electronic record and has the potential for staff to review incorrect information. This may impede their ability to provide the child with a consistent quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is a real strength of the home. The manager and staff work well together and share good practice. This improves the child’s experience and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met the two requirements and one recommendation from the previous inspection. As a result of this inspection, two recommendations have been raised. Inspection report for children’s home: 2645281 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there are enough suitably trained staff on duty to meet the assessed needs of the child, particularly in relation to global developmental delay. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1)  The registered person should ensure that records are kept up to date. This relates to the use of both electronic and paper records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 2645281 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cove Care Residential Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 4BL

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Inspectors

Michelle Spruce, Social Care Inspector Paul Robinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2645281 8 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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