Children's Home run by Steps 4 Life Care Limited in Walsall

Inspection report for children's home: 2503605 1 Registered provider: Steps 4 Life Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is part of a private organisation. It provides care for up to five children who have experienced childhood adversity.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The current manager has been registered since April 2020. He holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management in residential care.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2503605 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/04/2021 Full Good 18/12/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2503605 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, five children were living at the home. Children enjoy good relationships with staff, who understand their needs. The children receive individualised care and contribute to their plans. One child told the inspector, ‘I love it here and I love the team, they care for me.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children with their education and work well with other professionals to ensure that children have the resources that they need. This helps the children to make progress with their learning. For example, one child has achieved better grades since living at the home, due to the support of staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy good health. Staff support the children to attend their appointments and to understand the importance of routine health checks. Staff prepare the children to keep up to date with their appointments once they move on from the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote each child’s cultural needs. For example, for one child, support to celebrate a religious celebration in a personal way helped them to feel accepted and to build memories with the staff team.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff creatively support children to learn about independent living. A weekly cooking club, hosted by staff, helps the children to cook new recipes and to develop their skills, including cooking on a budget.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Joined-up work with family members and direct work with the child has helped to prepare one child to return to live with their family. The child’s parent said, ‘They are preparing my child to come home. They have given me the tools to support them.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has ample space for children to spend time together and to have time alone. Children are involved in decisions about the decor of the home. They choose the style of their bedroom and are working with staff on developing the garden into a perfect space. Being involved in decisions about their home gives the children a sense of belonging.

p.3

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

Staff promote positive relationships between children. Staff encourage children to be respectful towards each other’s differences. The children get on well together and there is no bullying.

p.3

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

Staff respond therapeutically when children present with complex behaviours. When staff have held a child to support their safety, staff focus on the child’s welfare and restoring positive relationships. This includes children being independently spoken to and being given help to understand the reason for being held. Inspection report for children's home: 2503605 4 The registered manager has reviewed the use of consequences by staff when children’s behaviour has fallen below expected standards. This review has led to staff developing better ways of working with children and staff giving fewer consequences to children. Consequences are now planned and agreed with the child. This approach helps children to learn from their actions.

p.3

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

Staff educate the children about how to keep themselves safe. For example, one child has benefited from time away from the home with staff, to give them an opportunity to reflect on recent incidents when they have gone missing from the home. During this time away, staff supported the child to explore topics including healthy relationships, mindfulness and internet safety. The child said this has helped them and that they understand that staff will continue to support them.

p.4

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s missing-from-care plans. They respond promptly and ensure that all is done to locate children when they are missing from the home. As a result, children are always returned home at the earliest opportunity. However, the registered manager’s review of the associated records lack evaluation in respect of the actions of staff. This is a missed opportunity for the registered manager to review the effectiveness of staff practice in supporting children’s safety.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A passionate and committed registered manager leads the staff team well. He is enthusiastic about the development of staff and works collaboratively with the senior management team to continuously develop the service. As a result, staff are engaged and enthusiastic about the vision to achieve good outcomes for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is tailored to meet the individual needs of children and includes training from the in-house clinician. This bespoke approach helps to ensure staff practice addresses children’s specific needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager works well with the wider professional network. He meets regularly with the relevant professionals for each child and is a good advocate for children. This ensures that the children have timely access to the services that they need.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recruitment of staff is carried out safely. Managers have developed and implemented a system to improve the recording of recruitment checks to make them clearer.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervisions are regular, of good quality and are practice-focused. Through supervision, the registered manager and senior managers have worked together to support the deputy manager with their development. As a result, the deputy manager has learned more about the different aspects of their role and is developing in confidence. Inspection report for children's home: 2503605 5

p.4

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that an evaluation of incidents of children going missing is undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31)

p.5

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: 2503605 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Steps 4 Life Care Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Arbor House, Broadway North, Walsall, West Midlands WS1 2AN

p.6

Inspector

Chanel Bryant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2503605 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7