Children's Home run by Bedspace Resource Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 1 Registered provider: Bedspace Resource Limited Full inspection 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. It provides care for up to three children. Children may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in November 2022. An experienced manager is registered to manage the home. The manager has a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child currently lives in the home. The manager ensured the child had a well- planned move. She liaised closely with the social worker and ensured the child had important information. The manager also encouraged the child to visit the home to meet staff. This provided reassurance and enabled the child to quickly settle and build relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is an established team of staff, who are nurturing in their approach. This helps the child to develop positive relationships with the staff, who they trust. The inspector observed warm and good-humoured interactions between staff and the child. These relationships provide the child with the stability and security they need to make progress in important areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s social worker told the inspector that staff ‘supported and nurtured’ the child and that the child has made significant progress. Managers share information with the social worker when incidents occur. However, staff do not routinely share information about the child’s day-to-day care. This means that the social worker does not have all the information they need for effective care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to attend routine health appointments and they prioritise the child’s emotional health needs. Staff work with professionals and clinicians to understand the child’s complex behaviours, to ensure the child’s emotional needs are met. This enables staff to support the child during times of crisis and helps the child to regulate their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff prioritise the child’s education. When the child does not have a school place, they support them with a structured education routine. The registered manager then strongly advocates for the child to ensure that they can access a school as quickly as possible. Staff work closely with teachers to settle the child. As a result of this strong partnership working, the child is making good progress at school from their starting point.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child’s hobbies and interests and take pride in their achievements. The child is a keen horse rider and regularly goes to the local stables. During the inspection, staff encouraged the child to show the inspector awards the child had won at a recent gymkhana. The child goes to the gym and goes running with staff. Staff are also teaching the child to play the piano. Supporting and sharing the child’s hobbies and interests builds strong relationships and increases the child’s self- esteem and sense of self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly consult with the child and encourage them to contribute to all aspects of their care. They support the child to attend their statutory review and express their views. They work with the child and set individual goals which are recorded in child-friendly internal placement plans. Staff regularly review these with the child. Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 3 This helps the child to develop a sense of ownership of their progress and take pride in their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well furnished and maintained and is a warm and welcoming place for the child to spend time with staff. Staff help the child to personalise their bedroom and communal living areas. The child’s pet dog recently visited for a week and the child’s pet fish are kept in tanks prominently on display in the living room. This personalisation allows the child to have a sense of pride in their home and promotes their well-being.

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

Detailed risk assessments and behaviour management plans reviewed with clinicians promote the home’s therapeutic ethos and guide staff to manage the child’s complex behaviours. Regular consultation with clinicians is effective in improving staff practice and allows staff to understand the reasons behind some behaviours and provide a nurturing environment for the child. As a result of this highly attuned care, incidents are rare, and staff have not used physical restraint to manage the child’s behaviours.

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

Managers fail to ensure that risk assessments are regularly updated with important changes in the child’s life and with strategies to keep the child safe. This means that staff do not always have all the information to manage risks and to safeguard the child.

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

Although the child has not been missing from the home, protocols are in place which tell staff what to do should the child go missing. Additionally, the manager has shared information with the police. This proactive approach ensures that the child is safe and protected.

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

Staff are vigilant to risks and act quickly to keep the child safe. Staff use their knowledge of the child and their strong relationships to support the child’s emotional health and well-being needs, calm them and help them to relax. Staff then ensure that the child receives care and support in response to their individual needs. This nurturing approach means that the child feels confident about asking staff for help when they need it.

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

Managers can demonstrate that good systems are in place to ensure the safe administration and storage of medicine. They also ensure that staff are safely recruited. This means that only the most suitable people work in the home with vulnerable children.

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good

Managers’ recording and monitoring systems are chaotic. For example, they cannot easily locate information on the electronic recording system. Systems for recording and monitoring staff training are not effective because they are not up to date. The Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 4 workforce development plan has not been updated with details of the current staff team or their training and development needs. This compromises the manager’s ability to effectively monitor and improve the quality of care that the child receives.

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good

Managers do not update the regulator with important information about the child and the staff team. They do not ensure that the independent person always has access to information such as records of staff supervision and of meetings with the child. A report by the independent person is not submitted to the regulator each month. Additionally, managers do not send the regulator an updated statement of purpose when there have been changes to the staff team. These shortfalls mean that the regulator does not have information they need to assure themselves of the safety and well-being of the child.

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good

The manager is a leader who has high aspirations for the child in her care and her staff team. The manager’s commitment to providing the child currently living at the home with safe and nurturing care attuned to their needs informs the culture in the home. The manager is supported by a deputy who works with her to provide consistent leadership in the home.

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good

Feedback gathered during the inspection was positive. An education professional told the inspector the manager attended the child’s education reviews and was ‘a big part of the meeting’. They said that managers and staff supported the child to aspire to a future career working with horses.

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good

The home is fully staffed and no agency or cover staff are used to care for the child. This consistent care means that the child is developing relationships with people they know well.

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good

The manager leads a team of well-motivated staff. Staff say they like working in the home and morale is good. Managers support staff through regular supervision, in line with the home’s policy.

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good

Staff receive a thorough induction, with training in the home’s therapeutic model of care. Managers further promote a learning environment by upskilling staff through additional workshops delivered by clinicians in team meetings. Staff talk knowledgeably about the therapeutic model of care and the training. This means that the child is supported by staff who are equipped with the skills and have the experience they need to perform well. Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 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 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

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that risk assessments are updated with strategies to manage the risks to the child from self-harm, online risks and the risks from unsupervised family time. 27 August 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

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 specifically relates to the manager ensuring that systems monitor staff’s access to and completion of training effectively. 27 August 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 6 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

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that a report from an independent person is filed with the regulator every month. Additionally, that managers support the independent person to access all necessary information. 27 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers updating the statement of purpose with changes to staffing and sending the updated document to the regulator. 27 August 2023

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Recommendations

Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 7  The registered person should ensure that records that are kept electronically (regulation 38), can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view the record and, if required, be reproduced in a legible form. Electronic records should be held at the individual home in accordance with data protection principles. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that they regularly provide social workers with information about the child’s progress. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3)

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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: 2689205 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bedspace Resource Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 473 Chester Road, Manchester M16 9HF

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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