Children's home run by Archways Care Limited in Wolverhampton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC429918 1 SC429918 Registered provider: Archways Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company that runs two children’s homes. This home provides care for up to four children who need support with their complex behaviours and emotions.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a registered manager who is experienced and suitably qualified.

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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: SC429918 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2022 Full Good 24/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 18/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/12/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC429918 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are four children currently living at the home. Since the last inspection, two children have moved in and two children have moved out. These moves have been well planned. Staff worked with partner agencies to support one child to transition back to the care of their family and another to move on to independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children who move to the home at short notice are as prepared as possible in the circumstances. For example, one child was able to see a video of the home and the staff they would meet on arrival. As a result, the child was reassured about moving to the home and settled quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children moving on from the home receive leaving gifts. These include items to help them with their independence but also gifts that relate to memories of their time living at the home. Children who have left had a leaving presentation to celebrate their time at the home. As a result, children feel valued and supported as they transition into independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and have a good understanding of their starting points. Children are supported to develop positive relationships with staff and feel that they can talk to staff when they feel worried. During the inspection, staff were observed to be warm and nurturing towards children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend school or college. One child’s school informed the inspector, ‘The child often speaks positively about living at the home. The home has been very open and approachable, sharing strategies with school to support with plans to meet the child’s educational needs.’ One child gave extremely positive feedback on the support they had received with their education, stating, ‘I was feeling unsettled. Staff supported me to pass my exam.’ This support helps children to grow in confidence, improves their self-esteem and contributes to their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff provide children with support to pursue their individual interests and encourage children to try new and exciting activities in and around the home and out in the community. Two children spoke to the inspector about a recent trip to an inflatable water park and a recent holiday they both said they enjoyed. As a result, children are being supported to take part in activities that create happy memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a warm and welcoming feel. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their taste. There are photos of children displayed in the home, which helps children to feel a sense of belonging. The manager has plans in place to make some areas of the home more homely. Inspection report for children’s home: SC429918 4

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

There have been a low number of safeguarding concerns since the last inspection. When incidents do occur, managers and staff work hard to keep children safe. Staff have a good knowledge of the strategies in place to manage risks. Staff follow child- protection procedures when required.

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

Staff know the children well. They understand the children’s personalities and what impacts their mood and feelings. Consequently, incidents are responded to and quickly de-escalated when possible. Children feel well supported. One child told the inspector that, when she moved into the home, she was scared, so would often go missing from care. Now that she knows the staff and the other children, she feels safe and likes living at the home so no longer goes missing.

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

Risk assessments provide clear strategies for staff to follow. The staff team ensures that restrictions and safeguarding strategies are age-appropriate and do not hinder development or independence. This allows children to develop their confidence and understanding of danger in a supportive environment.

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

Staff regularly use key-working sessions to explore and understand children’s behaviours. The sessions are also used to educate children on how to keep themselves safe, including risks associated with going missing from care, online safety and mental health. This supports children to make positive choices, enhances their resilience and helps them learn how to manage potential risks.

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

Managers respond to allegations immediately. When these do occur, staff prioritise the safety and well-being of children. Managers liaise with the local authority designated officer as required and are thorough in any required investigations.

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

Children told the inspector that they are regularly supported by staff to share their views at weekly children’s meetings. However, children did not know how they would make a complaint outside children’s meetings, highlighting that children were not aware of the complaints procedure and did not have access to complaint forms.

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

Children are supported by staff to understand why door alarms are used. However, the use of door alarms is not regularly reviewed, to consider whether they are still required. This was identified as a shortfall during this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is appropriately qualified and has been in post since 2019. As a result, she knows the home, staff team and children well. The registered manager has created a homely environment where children enjoy living and staff enjoy working.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a stable staff team. This is because staff retention is high, as staff told the inspector they feel valued and supported by the management team. This provides children with a level of stability that supports their positive outcomes. Inspection report for children’s home: SC429918 5 The registered manager ensures that staff have regular supervisions, to support staff to develop their skills further. The registered manager is also well supported by senior managers and receives regular supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff receive training relevant to the needs of the children. Regular team meetings, alongside recently introduced weekly consultations with a commissioned psychologist, help staff to reflect on the care provided to children. The consultations with the psychologist aim to support staff to develop their practice and use the home’s chosen model of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight and monitoring processes allow the registered manager to know the home’s strengths and weaknesses. This enables managers to take action to address any shortfalls and identify areas for improvement or development. This inspection highlighted shortfalls in the use of language in several documents reviewed. Therefore, the manager’s systems have failed to identify some shortfalls in recordings, and they continue to work at making improvements in this area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals are complimentary about the care the registered manager and staff provide. One social worker informed the inspector that managers and staff work collaboratively with other professionals who work with his child. The managers and staff know the child well, which helps to ensure that the best decisions are made for him. This means that children benefit from well-coordinated care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC429918 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are aware of the complaints procedure and are reminded of it as necessary. In addition, managers and staff should ensure that complaint forms are available for children should they wish to use these to complain. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)  The registered person should ensure that the use of monitoring equipment is kept under regular review, and that its use continues to support the safeguarding and well-being of the children living in the home. In particular, managers should ensure that the use of door alarms is regularly reviewed to evidence that their use is still necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and that they record information on individual children

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Recommendations

in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC429918 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hill Farm, Shawbury Lane, Shustoke, Coleshill, Birmingham B46 2RN

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Inspector

Sharon Bourne, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC429918 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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