Children's Home run by Cove Care – Residential Limited in Worcestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC403789 1 SC403789 Registered provider: Cove Care Residential Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned. It provides care for up to four children who may have a combination of mental health, psychological, emotional and complex care needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager’s post has been vacant since March 2023. Two deputy managers have been overseeing the home. A new manager has been appointed and is currently going through safer recruitment processes.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

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

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC403789 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/09/2021 Full Good 12/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 03/09/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC403789 3

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inadequate

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Three children have moved on from the home since the last full inspection. Two of these children had positive experiences of moving on from the home. One child’s time at the home ended abruptly. Managers failed to plan for her move into the home effectively. Consequently, staff did not have the necessary skills, nor did they receive relevant training to enable them to meet her complex needs. This led to a further move for her, thereby creating more instability.

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inadequate

Staff and managers do not support children to have good, structured routines. During the inspection, both children were asleep in their bedrooms and did not get up until late in the afternoon. They were not encouraged to engage in any meaningful activities to help them make progress educationally, socially or to improve their independence skills.

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inadequate

Managers and staff do not adequately support children with their education. Poor communication with teachers means that teachers are not kept up to date about difficulties that may affect children in school. Consequently, the support that children need and receive is not well coordinated.

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inadequate

Children do not receive good help from staff to enable them to lead a healthy lifestyle. Furthermore, staff and managers failed to support a child with his physical health needs, and in turn, this has negatively affected his emotional well-being. Neither of the children living at the home have received health assessments, and managers have failed to effectively challenge partner agencies when there has been drift and delay. As a result, staff do not know if the children have any outstanding health needs, and there are no up-to-date plans to help children improve their health.

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inadequate

Although some areas of the home are generally well maintained, others are not. For example, one child’s bedroom had a strong, unpleasant smell that staff were not dealing with. The home requires some restorative decoration as there are dirty carpets, some walls need repainting and there are marks on the ceilings due to previous leaks. In addition, there are overgrown weeds almost covering the office and annex windows, as well as discarded cigarette butts in the garden. This does not create a homely and welcoming environment for children that they can take pride in.

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inadequate

Staff and managers have not consistently supported a child to develop good independent living skills to help him with his impending move. This has led to the child feeling anxious about and ill-prepared for his next steps. Inspection report for children’s home: SC403789 4 Children have opportunities to express their wishes and feelings through key-work sessions and children’s meetings. One child has access to an independent visitor. Children are involved in making decisions about some aspects of the day-to-day running of the home, but this does not go far enough.

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inadequate

Children have access to different leisure activities, such as going to the cinema, shopping, day trips and meals out. This gives children some positive experiences.

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

Managers and staff do not always refer allegations made by children to the designated officer in line with statutory guidance. When allegations are referred, recommendations raised by the designated officer are not consistently actioned by managers. In addition, poor record-keeping means that there is no clear audit trail of what actions leaders, managers and staff have taken when concerns have been raised by children. This poor practice does not help to safeguard children and show them that their concerns are taken seriously.

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

Staff do not always respond promptly to safeguarding concerns. For example, when inappropriate content was found on a child’s phone, relevant professionals were not notified for several days. This does not ensure a coordinated response to significant incidents that happen, and so leaves children at risk of continuing harm.

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

Managers and staff do not understand and manage risk well. Leaders and managers do not provide staff with some specialist training to help them to understand children’s lived trauma. Consequently, staff struggled to manage one child’s behaviour, which contributed to the child moving on from the home quickly.

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

Children do not receive good support to help them learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, staff have not been proactive in supporting one child to learn about healthy relationships, and this left the child vulnerable.

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

Staff and managers do not consistently use the home’s rewards system to reinforce positive behaviours. This shortfall was identified by the independent visitor and remains unaddressed. Staff are failing to put consistent boundaries in place for children to enable them to learn what appropriate and inappropriate behaviours are.

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

The arrangements for handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines require improvement. Staff do not consistently sign children’s records after medication is administered, and on some occasions, there was no evidence that medication was offered to children as needed. Managers did not know where records are kept of audits completed by an external auditor and the clinical nurse. Consequently, they did not know if there are any recommendations that require addressing.

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

Managers have recently reviewed the locality risk assessment. However, they did not consult partner agencies when compiling this assessment to ensure that it contains information about all current and known risks within the local area. This does not show good partnership working to help inform staff and children about Inspection report for children’s home: SC403789 5 potential risks that children may face when they are out in their local community and how they can keep themselves safe from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A lack of clear management arrangements in recent months has affected the quality of care provided to children. A new manager has been appointed and is going through safer recruitment processes. A new responsible individual is in post, and she is beginning to develop an understanding of the needs of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers, including senior managers, do not act on recommendations raised by the independent visitor following their monthly visits to the home. As a result, managers are not using feedback to develop the service and improve the poor quality of care being provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

When managers are involved in restraint incidents, they review the incident records themselves. This does not allow for independent oversight to ensure that such incidents are handled appropriately and any learning is understood and acted on.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have shown some resilience through a challenging period, though the accumulative effect of this has left them tired and demoralised. This has had an impact on the overall quality of care given to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not always notify Ofsted about significant events. This means that the regulator is not given relevant information to inform its monitoring of the service and assessment of whether staff respond appropriately when serious incidents occur.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have failed to review and update the home’s statement of purpose to reflect changes in management arrangements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are receiving regular supervision and support from the in-house clinical team. However, there is no review of input to staff from the clinical team to understand what, if any, impact this has on staff’s practice and care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Following this inspection, a restriction of accommodation has been issued and two compliance notices have been raised. Inspection report for children’s home: SC403789 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities in order to live their comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iv)(vi)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is repeated. 12 November Inspection report for children’s home: SC403789 7 *The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi)(vii)) 12 November

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(vi)(viii)(x))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that managers and staff provide children with good routines and constructive educational activity when they are not in school, to understand children’s academic progress, and link in with children’s teachers and placing authority to provide additional support as necessary. 12 November Inspection report for children’s home: SC403789 8 This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is repeated.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well- being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iv)) 12 November

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is repeated. 12 December

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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 12 December Inspection report for children’s home: SC403789 9 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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is repeated. 12 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23 (1)) 12 November

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e)) 12 November

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC403789 10

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when establishing the home, it is suitably located so that children are effectively safeguarded and can access services to meet needs identified in their relevant plans (see regulations 12(2)(c)). Under regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: SC403789 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cove Care Residential Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV1 4BL

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Inspectors

Rumbi Mangoma, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC403789 12 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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