Children's home run by Stepping Stones Care (Midlands) Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2620992 1 Registered provider: Stepping Stones Care (Midlands) 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 owned by an independent company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with emotional and social difficulties that are often related to their life experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered in January 2022. She has suitable skills and the qualifications required. She is on long-term leave, and an interim manager has been appointed. They are in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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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: 11 October 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: 2620992 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2022 Full Good 23/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 07/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2620992 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Since the last inspection, one child moved from the home after living there for a short period of time. Despite challenging circumstances for this child, he was supported to move into and on from the home positively and safely. A second child moved on from the home to be reunified with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with individualised care that promotes their welfare and progress. Staff receive specialist training to enable them to do so. For example, staff work closely with the clinical team and use a therapeutic approach, which incorporates elements of the PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy) model of care. This enables staff to provide positive parenting that takes account of children’s lived trauma. As a result, children’s emotional well-being and mental health are improving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have made good progress considering their starting points. For example, one child has been supported by staff to gain excellent independence skills, such as travelling independently, cooking, managing their finances, attending college, having a career pathway and making appropriate friendships in the community. Another child has been doing well with their education, and staff work well with teachers whenever any difficulties arise to ensure that the child’s needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and the manager support children to live a healthy lifestyle. Staff have implemented changes to meal planning that have had a positive impact on children’s experiences. For example, changes have improved the child’s eating habits at home and when in school or college. The child has subsequently been able to socialise with friends during mealtimes and has expanded their social network.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy ordinary childhood experiences. They celebrate their birthdays, go camping with friends, visit the cinema and go on day trips to areas that reflect their interests. Friends and family visit children at the home, and in turn, they are supported to visit their friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can express their wishes and feelings to staff, and they are involved in decisions about their care. Staff use a ‘you said, we did’ approach, which shows that they act on what children say, helping them feel valued and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the inspection, one child was in the process of moving on from the home in a planned way. An outreach plan has been put in place to enable staff to continue to support the child until they are assured that they have settled well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is mostly warm and welcoming, and children have been given opportunities to personalise their bedrooms, which was lovely to see. However, Inspection report for children’s home: 2620992 4 some areas in the home need improvement, such as the carpet on the stairs and some sofas in the main lounge that have stains on them. The dining room area houses a huge office printer, which is used by staff and managers. This does not give the room a homely feel.

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

Staff, with support from the clinical team, have a sound knowledge and understanding of children’s lived trauma and experiences. Robust therapeutic support plans, risk assessments and opportunities for staff to reflect on practice provide staff with sound guidance on how to support children and keep them safe.

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

Staff training continuously evolves to keep up with the children’s changing needs. This enables staff to support children well. Subsequently, children are beginning to understand their life experiences and risks a lot more. Some of their risk-taking behaviours are reducing, such as self-injurious behaviour and incidents when they go missing from home.

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

Staff role model positive behaviours and encourage children to have a structured daily routine. Consistent boundaries enable children to know what is expected of them. Good staff support has helped children to learn from incidents and manage their emotions better. Positive behaviours are also rewarded with a lot of praise and celebration.

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

Partner agencies report that managers and staff work collaboratively with them and follow safeguarding policies and procedures to keep children safe. When children go missing from home, staff promptly conduct local searches and communicate with relevant agencies, such as the police and children’s social workers. When children return home, staff exercise professional curiosity through speaking with the children and understanding where they went, why they felt the need to go missing from home and how staff can support them to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

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

Robust safer recruitment processes help to ensure that only safe adults care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager worked well with the interim manager before she went on long-term leave. Consequently, there has been a good transition, which has ensured consistency in the leadership and management of the home. Oversight of the running of the home continues to be effective and promotes the delivery of good- quality care to children. The interim manager knows the service well, is aware of the areas of strength and development of the home and has a good action plan in place to bring about continued improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The interim manager is child-focused and role models positive parenting, which ensures that the children receive good-quality care. She advocates on behalf of the Inspection report for children’s home: 2620992 5 children to ensure that they receive the right level of support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that they have a very positive working relationship with the interim manager and feel well supported by her. They have high-quality supervision sessions, where continual professional development and effective practice are discussed and promoted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have monthly team meetings that are chaired by the manager and fortnightly therapeutic support meetings with the clinical team. The meetings are in depth and have clearly set agendas. Staff training requirements are discussed in line with children’s needs and then implemented.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff and manager carefully track the children’s progress. They consider what the children’s targets are and how they can help them to achieve these. Staff support meetings with the organisation’s therapist are very reflective. Staff look at children’s behaviours and lived trauma, what they are doing to support the child and what they can do differently. Consequently, staff are able to provide children with more personalised and individualised support that helps them to make progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620992 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. It should be a homely and domestic environment. While the home should comply with relevant health and safety legislations, such as having alarms and following good food hygiene, it should maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ appearance. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2620992 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stepping Stones Care (Midlands) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Camomile House, 6 Embassy Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 1TP

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Inspector

Rumbi Mangoma, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2620992 8 regulates and inspects 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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