Children's Home run by Excel Residential Care Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2631698 1 Registered provider: Excel Residential Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for three children who have had adverse childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 22 May 2022. She holds a level 5 diploma in leadership, health and social care.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 6 September 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2631698 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2631698 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, two children’s placements have ended because their needs were not fully assessed. This resulted in one child’s unplanned move from the home, while the other child made a planned move to another home in the organisation. At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home.

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improvement to be good

Some aspects of the home environment are pleasant, with the lounge, kitchen and dining areas being nicely furnished. However, some aspects of the home require improvement. For example, the window restrictors in upstairs rooms are damaged, there is damage to some of the plaster in a hallway and a bathroom has mould on the shower tiles. This environment is not conducive to creating a homely environment where children feel valued.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. They support children to attend health appointments. Children have access to therapeutic support, which promotes their emotional well-being. Medication is stored safely and records are kept on the administration of medication.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that children’s education is promoted. Children attend school and staff explore alternatives for children who are excluded from school or have a reduced timetable. Consequently, children are supported with their education, and staff think creatively when there are any barriers to learning.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to spend time with their families and friends when it is safe to do so. This helps the children to have a sense of belonging and enables them to have positive experiences and maintain links to significant people in their lives.

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improvement to be good

Children who go missing from care are not safeguarded effectively. Staff do not consistently follow the strategies provided in the risk management plans for each child. This is significant, as three of the four children who have lived at the home have had episodes of going missing, either on their own or together. Management oversight of some of the incidents has not been effective and the manager has not supported staff to reflect and learn from incidents. These shortfalls compromise children’s safety.

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improvement to be good

Tailored risk assessments help to inform staff about the issues pertinent to each child. However, not all risk assessments reflect all known risks. This means that staff are not informed of all risks or the actions they should take to protect children. Inspection report for children's home: 2631698 4 Behaviour management plans provide staff with safe ways of managing children’s challenging behaviour. Staff make good use of their positive relationships with children and de-escalation techniques to manage conflict and confrontation. Staff promote the use of restorative techniques to promote good behaviour. Children are encouraged to contribute to the repair of any damage they may have caused. This means that children are able to see a direct link between their behaviour and the restorative technique used.

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improvement to be good

Children live in a home that is physically safe and secure. Regular environmental safety checks are undertaken, and staff and children regularly practise emergency evacuation procedures.

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improvement to be good

Children are protected by the organisation’s effective recruitment practices. Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. This helps to prevent unsuitable adults working with children.

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good

Some records are poor and lack clarity. For example, some documents give conflicting details about what action was taken when a child was missing from home. Furthermore, records are not checked for accuracy and lack management oversight. This demonstrates a lack of knowledge and skills in understanding the importance of keeping accurate and factual records.

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good

The manager submitted their six-month review of the quality of care at the home to Ofsted. However, this report lacked evaluation and analysis of specific areas, including the education status of all the children, staffing information and information on behaviour management. The manager therefore failed to give an accurate account on the quality of care provided and the way the home is managed.

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good

Monthly staff meetings take place and staff receive regular supervisions. Staff receive training that supports them in their roles. All staff are qualified to level 3 in residential childcare or are working towards the qualification within the regulatory timescale.

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good

The staff and manager have established good working relationships with a range of agencies and external professionals who are involved in children’s care. Staff work closely with teachers, social workers and the police. This ensures that appropriate support is in place to encourage children’s progress and maximise their potential. Inspection report for children's home: 2631698 5

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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

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

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to areas of the home requiring repair or updating. 3 September 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— that staff—

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; 19 August 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2631698 6 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that assessments of risk are carried out effectively to support any child moving into the home. Also, that staff have the skills to identify and take effective action over a child’s welfare when they go missing from home.

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that management oversight of incidents is effective, and the staff are supported to reflect and learn from incidents. 3 September 2023

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that children have a positive experience of arriving at the home. 19 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating— 3 September 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2631698 7 the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4) (5))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that the review of care report includes evaluation and analysis of specific areas, including the education status of all the children, staffing information and information on behaviour management.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2631698 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Excel Residential Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Office, 5 Rockside, Stoke-on-Trent ST7 4PG

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Inspectors

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Dean Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2631698 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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