Children's Home run by Mulberry House Care Homes Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC060554 1 SC060554 Registered provider: Mulberry House Care Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to three children who have been affected by adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022, and they also manage another children’s home in the same company.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC060554 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/04/2021 Full Inadequate 18/12/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC060554 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved into the home. Managers and staff are nurturing towards the children, which helps children to build trusting relationships. One child told an inspector, ‘Staff give me hugs and tuck me in at night. They tell me how much I am loved, which makes me feel loved.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to access specialist and universal health services. One child is receiving emotional support from an external organisation. Actions identified on children’s health plans are completed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager ensures that children are supported by staff to keep in touch with people who are important to them. Children’s family members value staff’s support in ensuring that they spend positive time with their child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive individualised care, and their views and wishes are understood by managers and staff. Children have access to a variety of leisure activities that provide them with opportunities to have fun and experience new things. Children develop age-appropriate independence skills that will help them as they approach adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experiences of accessing education are mixed. One child attends an alternative school with specialised subjects that are of particular interest to them. There are plans in place for another child, who does not have an allocated school, to complete some home tuition while a school place is identified. The child’s plan and daily routines do not include how the child will be supported by staff to work towards a full-time education programme, maximise learning opportunities and participate in structured activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers decided to move one child from the home as they were concerned that the child’s needs could not be safely met by staff. This practice did not provide other services who support the child with the opportunity to consider strategies to support and prevent a further move for the child. The registered manager did ensure that the child’s experience of moving from the home was positive, as they had the opportunity to say goodbye to staff and were given a leaving gift.

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

Safeguarding children is taken seriously. Managers and staff show professional curiosity when there are concerns for children’s safety. Managers have effective working relationships with partner agencies involved in keeping children safe. They share information without delay, and regular meetings are held for one child to assess risk and agree effective strategies to reduce risk. Inspection report for children’s home: SC060554 4 When children are not where they are expected to be, staff take appropriate action to locate them and ensure that they return home. Children are provided with an opportunity to speak with an independent person following missing-from-home periods. Information is shared appropriately and is used to manage and prevent missing-from-home periods in the future.

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

Managers responded well when a child informed staff that they were being bullied during an extracurricular activity that they attend regularly. Concerns were shared with the organisation, and the individuals who were involved were spoken with. This reassured the child, who was happy with the support they received.

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

Staff are trained in de-escalating behaviours that are complex to manage. As a result, there was a reduction in serious behaviours displayed by one child who has moved from the home. Physical intervention has not been used since the last inspection.

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

The fire risk assessment has been reviewed by a person who is not competent, and they did not identify actions that could reduce potential risks. Additionally, they did not take into account all relevant information known by the managers.

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

There has been no new staff recruited to work in the home since the last inspection. To provide additional staffing sufficiency, at times, agency staff have worked in the home. The manager does not ensure that the recruitment agency has completed all safe recruitment checks before the staff work in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals and family members of children who live in the home consistently reported to inspectors that managers communicate effectively with them and that ‘they go above and beyond for children’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring systems are effective in ensuring that children’s identified needs are supported well. Managers and staff attend monthly team meetings with two clinicians who provide consultation and guidance on supporting children who have experienced trauma. This helps managers to understand children’s early childhood experiences and how these present in their day-to-day life.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are reflective, and they use feedback from other inspections within the organisation to develop and inform practice. Staff receive the relevant training to meet the specific needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are sufficient experienced and qualified staff to care for the current child who lives in the home. Staff retention is good. However, recruitment remains ongoing to ensure that there are sufficient staff to support the number of children that the home is registered to provide care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision with managers, which provides them with opportunities to discuss children, the day-to-day operations of the home, training Inspection report for children’s home: SC060554 5 and development and their personal well-being. Systems are in place to ensure that staff can access support from managers out of their normal working hours. One member of staff who was spoken with also recognised good links with the organisation’s director. Inspection report for children’s home: SC060554 6

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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 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.

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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

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to one child experiencing an unplanned move before it was discussed in a care plan review. 3 October 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; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— 3 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC060554 7 full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must satisfy themselves that safe recruitment checks have been completed by recruitment agencies before agency staff start working in the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children who are not currently participating in education are supported to regain their confidence in education and engage in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that the fire risk assessment is carried out by a competent person and is reviewed without delay when new potential risks are presented. (‘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: SC060554 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Mulberry House Care Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Railway Street, Stafford, Staffordshire ST16 2EA

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Inspectors

Helen Dunn, Social Care Inspector Kev Brammer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC060554 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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