Children's home run by Birmingham Children’s Trust Community Interest Company

Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2711552 1 Registered provider: Birmingham Children’s Trust Community Interest Company

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by Birmingham Children’s Trust as part of the local authority and has been registered with Ofsted since December 2022. The home provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager holds a level 5 qualification.

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This monitoring visit

This children’s home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 9 and 10 May 2023. Due to the concerns identified during the inspection, Ofsted issued a compliance notice under regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard) of The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was carried out to monitor the provider’s progress towards meeting the steps in the compliance notice. Although the provider had made some progress, the compliance notice was not met because the provider had not completed all of the steps set out in the notice. As a result of this, the compliance notice has been reissued.

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This monitoring visit

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home. At the time of the visit, no children were living in the home.

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager has not undertaken a full review of the skills and ability of the staff to undertake their roles and responsibilities. Specifically, it is not yet clear that staff have the required skills and knowledge to meet children’s needs. This has the potential to compromise the safety of children. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2711552 2 Staffing arrangements within the home remain inconsistent. During the inspection, the inspector noted that on a number of occasions there had been only one member of staff working on shift. This was disputed by senior managers. However, observations of staff rotas, signing-in records and children’s daily logs confirmed that staff have worked alone in the home. In addition, staff spoken to during the inspection also confirmed that they have worked alone in the home. This does not ensure that children are provided with a continuity of care.

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This monitoring visit

Senior leaders and the registered manager are working hard to recruit staff and, positively, three new members of staff have joined the home.

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager understands the strengths and areas of development in the home. However, he has not yet embedded a system to regularly monitor and review the quality of care provided to children. This means that monitoring systems are not sufficiently robust to identify potential shortfalls in care arrangements. As a result, this step remains unmet.

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This monitoring visit

Staff said that they are supported and feel positive about plans to continue to develop the home. The staff have received additional training, for example self- harm, positive behaviour management and safeguarding. This training is necessary to ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities for safeguarding children.

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This monitoring visit

The requirements were not reviewed during this monitoring visit. For this reason, they are restated. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2711552 3

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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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles . (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff ensuring that children are supported to lead a healthy lifestyle. 13 August 2023

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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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff understanding and implementing children’s risk assessments, staff’s monitoring and supervision of children and their role in keeping children safe. 13 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2711552 4 *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

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;

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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)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h)) 13 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that staff are safely recruited. 13 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2711552 5 The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

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 (3)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that debriefs are carried out with children and that these are recorded. 13 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children having up-to-date records that are reflective of their needs. 13 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2711552 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Birmingham Children’s Trust Community Interest Company

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Third Floor, Zone 16, 1 Lancaster Circus, Birmingham B4 7DJ

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Inspector

Lydia Isaac, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2711552 7 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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