Children's Home run by AMMA Childcare Services in Solihull

Inspection report for children’s home: 2668686 1 Registered provider: AMMA Childcare Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to three children who may have emotional, social or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted since 8 March 2022.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 20 September 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: 2668686 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/09/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2668686 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, three children continue to live at the home. Children receive a good quality of care and speak fondly of the staff. Children said they like living at this home as staff keep them safe and care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The care planning arrangements for children are effective and well considered. Social workers said that children are thriving and that a key strength of the registered manager and staff is the way they advocate for children and actively involve them in their care plans. As a result, children are making good progress. A teacher said of one child that ‘he is a different boy since living at this home’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive help and encouragement to do well in their education. Children are supported to attend education and do their best. One child has been successful in completing her course and progressing on to another course. Two children are exceeding in some of their educational targets and working towards national qualifications. This is a testament to the overall progress they have made in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have been successful in supporting children to understand their adverse childhood experiences. This is a result of children having access to weekly therapy sessions. Staff work closely with the therapist through monthly therapy consultation meetings. These meetings help staff to understand how they can tailor the support they provide to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are prioritised. Staff have been successful in ensuring that children are referred to specialist health care professionals to address their health needs. This has resulted in children enjoying a healthy lifestyle and having a better understanding of their own health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of leisure activities with staff and other children. Children have had the opportunity to go away on holiday and one child was supported to go aboard on a school trip. This supports their overall development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have developed their independence skills since living at this home. Staff have been successful in supporting children to gain life skills. This has resulted in children going to school independently, cooking meals, speaking to health care professionals without staff support and one child gaining employment. This supports children in preparation into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to keep in touch with their friends and family. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the children’s relationships with their friends and family. This has helped strengthen their relationships with their friends and family. Inspection report for children’s home: 2668686 4 Children’s care records cannot be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view them. At the time of the inspection, managers had difficulty locating care records that were stored electronically. This prevents the leaders and managers from being able to monitor, review and evaluate the quality of care provided to the children.

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

Detailed behaviour and risk management plans for children provide staff with the necessary strategies to minimise potential dangers and protect the children. One child said that staff provide boundaries, and they know why staff want to keep them safe. This helps children feel reassured that staff will keep them safe.

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

Staff look beyond children’s presenting behaviours, to try to understand what may cause them to be upset. Staff provide reassurance and strategies to help the children to express themselves without causing harm to themselves or others. There have been no missing from care or physical intervention incidents since the last inspection and significant incidents are rare.

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

The registered manager is effective in responding to complaints from children. The registered manager ensures that she completes an internal investigation and uses restorative meetings to help the staff and children to repair relationships. The learning from the internal investigations is shared with all professionals. Children know that their voice is heard, valued and respected.

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

Discussions with children promote positive and healthy relationships with staff. Children feel comfortable to talk to staff about what is worrying them. Staff provide children with guidance in making better choices. This has helped children develop trusting relationships with staff, and their emotional well-being has improved.

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

The registered manager does not provide the local authority designated officer with a full description of their concerns, when reporting allegations of harm. The designated officer said that there is a lot of chasing of information to better understand the concerns. This has resulted in a delay in taking immediate action. Despite this, all allegations of harm are reported.

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good

The registered manager’s oversight of significant incidents and reporting allegations of harm requires improvement. The registered manager does not always capture the action they have taken to remedy shortfalls they have identified. This is a missed opportunity for the registered manager to demonstrate the lessons learned that then inform future practice.

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good

Staff do not receive training in the organisation’s therapeutic model of care, as outlined in their workforce development plan and statement of purpose. Staff are not all equipped with the appropriate training and skills to adequately carry out their Inspection report for children’s home: 2668686 5 roles and responsibilities. However, this has not impacted on the quality of care that children receive.

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good

Staff do not receive supervision in accordance with the organisation’s internal policy. This means staff are not provided with supervision that encourages reflection, development and learning. Despite this, staff spoke positively of the management support that they receive from leaders and managers.

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good

There has been high turnover of staff and three new staff members have joined the team since the last inspection. A child said that they were sad that the staff had changed. The leaders are aware of this shortfall and monitor the service regularly to ensure that children receive consistent care.

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good

The registered manager has been absent from the home since August 2023. The staff are supported by a deputy manager and a senior manager who have a good understanding of the children’s needs.

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good

A new senior manager was appointed in August 2023. They are supporting the responsible individual in their duties. The senior manager is aware of the shortfalls raised from this inspection and has started to take swift action to address the shortfalls. Inspection report for children’s home: 2668686 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 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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child.

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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)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must ensure that all staff receive the required training as stated in the home’s statement of purpose and workforce development plan and ensure that there is effective management oversight. 1 December 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that all staff receive supervision in accordance with the organisation’s internal policy. 1 December 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all care records stored electronically can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view them and, if Inspection report for children’s home: 2668686 7 required, to reproduce them in a legible form. (‘Guide to the Children s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)  The registered person should ensure that all care records accurately reflect the care that children receive. This includes that the registered person should ensure that they record the action taken clearly, particularly when sharing information with external professionals. (‘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: 2668686 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: AMMA Childcare Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: S K N Business Centre, 1 Guildford Street, Birmingham B19 2HN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Clifford Faulder

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Inspector

Sam Dulay-Kainth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2668686 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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