Children's home run by Dove Adolescent Services Limited in Wakefield

Inspection report for children’s home: SC057703 1 SC057703 Registered provider: Dove Adolescent Services 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 managed by a private provider. The home provides care and accommodation for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties. There are currently two children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager.

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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 outstanding

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC057703 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/07/2022 Full Good 08/12/2021 Full Good 26/11/2019 Full Good 31/07/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC057703 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is clean, spacious and comfortable. The children contribute to the decor of the home by sharing their ideas with staff and one child helped to decorate part of the home. The presence of photos of the children and their artwork makes the home feel and look like a family home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their individual tastes. This promotes a sense of belonging for children. One child said that the staff are ‘constantly trying to keep a nice home and they try their best to make it very homely’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s needs and risks are known and understood prior to them moving into the home. Staff receive appropriate training to ensure that they have the skills to meet these needs. Children are welcomed into the home in a sensitive manner and receive individualised care from the start.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff treat the children with dignity and respect. The staff understand the children’s preferred ways of communicating and consistently support these. Staff adjust their communication approaches to align with the children’s individual needs. One child said that they like living in the home as the staff give them their ‘own space’ and privacy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are encouraged to share their views in a meaningful way. This helps staff to support the children to take part in a range of activities that are of interest to them, enhance their life experiences and improve their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to have ownership of their progress and to celebrate their achievements. The children contribute to their care plans and can identify the progress that they have made. One child said that, since living in the home, they have made progress with their independent living skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the children’s physical and emotional needs and support them in accessing routine and specialist health appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to attend and do well in education. When children are not in formal education, the registered manager makes sure that children have access to alternative educational opportunities. The registered manager is proactive in working with education professionals to ensure that the children’s education needs are met. This has helped one child to make sustained progress with their education, and the other child is looking forward to enrolling in college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have life-story books that contain photos and stories of their time in the home. The books are a celebration of the children’s lives and their achievements. This helps the children to develop a positive self-view and promotes their sense of identity. Inspection report for children’s home: SC057703 4

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

The children are helped by the registered manager and staff to build trusting relationships with them. The children feel able to talk to them if they need help or have any worries. One child said that they ‘feel safe in the home’ and they know that the staff will keep them safe. Another child described the registered manager as ‘great’ because they know that he will ‘sort things out’ for them.

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

The registered manager and staff have a good understanding of the children’s known and emerging risks. Risk assessments are individualised and reflect each child’s specific vulnerabilities. They are up to date and are reviewed following any incident to ensure that they are accurate. This assists staff to take a proactive role in responding to and reducing risk. One professional said that there is ‘nothing’ that the staff would not do to ensure [their child’s] safety.

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

When children go missing from home, the registered manager and staff take effective action to safeguard them, including escalating concerns to the children’s social workers. The home has a clear missing-from-home protocol. Children’s individualised plans are reviewed and updated following any missing-from-care episodes. Children are consistently offered return home interviews and these help to inform the children’s risk assessments and individualised plans.

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

Staff promote positive behaviour in the home by providing the children with clear and consistent boundaries and rewards and providing an environment that meets their needs. This has reduced the need for physical restraint to take place. Children are only held when there is the need to safeguard them and others. Children are spoken to in a sensitive manner after any hold. Staff receive debriefs after being involved in the use of physical restraint, to promote their learning.

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

Room searches are proportionate and only undertaken when there are concerns about a child’s safety and welfare. The reason for the room search is clearly recorded by staff. Consent is gained from the child where possible and the reason for the search explained to them. This allows children their right to privacy while promoting their safety.

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

The registered manager follows safer recruitment processes when appointing new staff. All staff undergo a comprehensive induction and undertake training that supports them to meet the needs of the children living in the home.

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

Staff are clear about the procedures for responding to concerns about the safety of a child. However, on one occasion, staff did not report concerns to the registered manager in a timely way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed by a permanent, qualified and suitably experienced registered manager. He inspires confidence in his staff and the children living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC057703 5 The registered manager has sustained a learning culture within the home. Staff have numerous opportunities to reflect on their practice and learn and develop through regular practice-based supervision, appraisals, clinical supervision and team meetings. Staff feel valued and supported by the registered manager and this is reflected in the high morale within the staff team. One member of staff said that they ‘feel able to go to the manager with any issue, at any time’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff enjoy working in the home and spending time with the children. They know the children’s needs well and derive great satisfaction from seeing the children make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is visible within the home, and this ensures that he has strong oversight of both staff practice and the children’s care. Effective internal monitoring and evaluation mean that the registered manager understands the impact of the care on children’s experiences and progress. The registered manager is relentless in learning from feedback to improve the quality of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The professionals spoken to were extremely positive about the home, the registered manager and the staff and the positive impact they have on children’s lives. One professional said that the progress that [their child] has made is ‘significant’. Another professional stated that ‘[their child’s] life is better as they have stability and access to a range of activities’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children’s records are clear, accurate and up to date. They capture the voice of the children and are written with care and sensitivity. The records will help the children in the future to understand their time in the home and support them to develop a positive self-view.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager ensures that notifications of all significant events that relate to the welfare and protection of the children are made to the appropriate authorities. The registered manager takes the necessary action following an incident to ensure that the child’s needs are met and that they are safe and protected. However, on one occasion, there was a delay in the regulator being notified. Inspection report for children’s home: SC057703 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)  The registered person must ensure that the policy for the protection of children from abuse and neglect is available and explained to all staff, whatever their role. The registered person must make sure that all staff are familiar with this policy and act in accordance with it, in particular with regards to how to use it to report a concern. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.21)

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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: SC057703 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Dove Adolescent Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4AD

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Inspector

Shirin Khan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC057703 8 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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