Children's Home run by Next Step Residential Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: 2684458 1 Registered provider: Next Step Residential Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and was registered with Ofsted in April 2023. It provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2023 and is working towards the required qualification. There is currently no responsible individual.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

p.1

inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

p.1

inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted, and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor.

p.1

inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2684458 2

p.1

inadequate

Three children have lived in the home since the home opened. Two children have moved on after a brief period due to staff being unable to meet their individual needs. As a result, children have experienced unplanned endings.

p.2

inadequate

Managers do not always request information from local authorities that is required to assess if staff are able to meet the needs of children before they move in to the home. This resulted in one child being placed in the home when their needs were not fully known, and staff were unable to provide the level of care that the child needed. This contributed to another child, who was settled, quickly becoming unsettled. Consequently, this had a negative impact on both children’s experiences, progress and safety, and left children in situations where they could have come to harm.

p.2

inadequate

The quality of relationships between children and staff varies. Despite the concerns identified in this inspection, positive relationships were observed between staff and children. Overall, children spoke positively of living at the home and told the inspector that they are ‘happy living in this home’ and had been able to personalise their rooms. However, children also told the inspector that they would like to have ‘regular children’s meetings and have more input into the weekly menus’. As a result of children not being regularly consulted, children do not feel that their wishes and feelings are always considered.

p.2

inadequate

One parent said that they were not made to feel welcome when they visited their child in the home. This does not promote positive relationships for children with those who are important to them. Staff generally understand the health conditions of children and the needs associated with these conditions, but there has been unsafe handling of medication and poor oversight of this. Staff support children to attend medical appointments to ensure that their health and well-being are promoted, and support children to take part in activities that promote an active and healthy lifestyle.

p.2

inadequate

Staff encourage children who do not have a school placement to engage in educational activities until formal education arrangements are in place. There is evidence of escalation and plans being progressed for children who do not have an identified school placement.

p.2

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

Children’s risk assessments fail to reflect their known risks or give guidance for staff on how risks should be managed. For example, on one occasion, staff took children out into the community on an activity without taking account of the known risks. The member of staff was unable to manage the children’s behaviour, which resulted Inspection report for children's home: 2684458 3 in the children running out into the road and disrupting traffic. The situation escalated to both children becoming physically aggressive towards staff to the point that a member of the public needed to intervene. This led to children being placed at risk of harm and the need for police involvement.

p.2

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

Incidents of challenging behaviour have escalated while children have been living at the home. This is because managers have failed to provide staff with the information and support needed to respond effectively when children are upset. Managers and staff do not always demonstrate professional curiosity when reviewing incidents. For example, following an incident in which staff were threatened and a theft took place, significant damage was also caused to the home. Managers did not investigate where children had got the items used in this incident. Incidents and concerns are not always acted on, investigated or escalated appropriately.

p.3

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

Restraint has not always been used well. The restraint records reviewed were not always clear and fully complete. During one incident, a person working in the home at the time, but not included on the home’s statement of purpose, was involved in the restraint of a child as staff were unable to manage the incident safely. The restraint was not carried out in line with the home’s physical intervention model. People who are not employed to care for the children should not be involved in the care and management of children within the home. This poor response to children’s behaviour has led to poor outcomes for a child who experienced an unplanned move because of this incident.

p.3

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

Managers have not notified Ofsted about a serious incident relating to a medication overdose. This means that the regulator does not receive the information that they require to monitor the home effectively. However, the manager and staff ensured that the child promptly received the appropriate support, and their local authority was notified.

p.3

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

In addition, the administration and recording of medication is poor. One child’s records contained errors, and the manager’s systems do not effectively monitor medication. When errors occur, the manager’s reviews do not provide clear actions to prevent further incidents. As a result, there is the potential for further errors to occur. This could compromise children’s safety.

p.3

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

Staff are aware of children’s missing-from-care protocols. However, the ability of staff to follow children effectively when they go missing is limited because staff do not have access to a car, which makes it difficult for them to support children who are missing.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders’ and managers’ decision-making in respect of care planning for children is inadequate. One social worker raised a concern about a lack of consultation relating to a decision made to move a child into the home. The child moving in contributed to their child experiencing an unsettled period. Inspection report for children's home: 2684458 4 Management oversight and monitoring systems are inadequate. Leaders have failed to identify several shortfalls, including gaps in risk assessments and ineffective medication monitoring systems. The lack of oversight of incidents of challenging behaviour and restraint has meant that there has been no reflection or learning to improve practice.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff team is relatively new and not sufficiently experienced to meet the needs of children. Shortfalls in staffing sufficiency has resulted in a consultant, who is employed to support the managers of the home, on one occasion working on shift. Inexperienced staff are not always provided with the information and guidance from managers to develop their skills in order to ensure that they can meet children’s needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are positive about working in the home and about the training available to support them to address shortfalls in their practice to meet the needs of children living in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Due to the significant concerns identified in this inspection, Ofsted has issued a notice to vary the conditions of registration of this provider, to reduce the registered number of children to two. Inspection report for children's home: 2684458 5

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, 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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe .

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph requires the registered person to ensure—

p.5

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;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)(vii))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that risks associated with children’s care plans are considered, and arrangements are put in place to reduce the risk of harm to the child. 11 September

p.5

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—

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensures that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the home has sufficient staff so that the care of children is undertaken only by employees who are employed by the provider to care for children. Also, 11 September Inspection report for children's home: 2684458 6 ensure that systems are in place to monitor, review and update practice as required to meet the needs of children.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that, the registered person must ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the relevant documents are received prior to a child’s placement, so consideration can be given to the child’s needs and whether they can be met by the staff as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. 11 September

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

p.6

Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that information relating to the circumstances of incidents that require children to be safeguarded are clearly recorded and contain full information. 11 September

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.6

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 11 September Inspection report for children's home: 2684458 7

p.6

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: 2684458 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Next Step Residential Care Ltd

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Wetherly Court, High Gate, London N6 4DP

p.8

Inspector

Sharon Bourne, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2684458 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.

p.8

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9