Children's Home run by Roundhouse Care in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC478852 1 SC478852 Registered provider: Roundhouse Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private provider and is registered to provide care for three children with social and/or emotional difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

A suitably qualified and experienced manager is in post and is registered with Ofsted.

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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: 7 February 2023

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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: SC478852 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2023 Full Good 15/09/2021 Full Good 11/12/2019 Full Inadequate 28/01/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC478852 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved out and another child has moved in. Children say they are happy living in the home and benefit from secure and trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences moving into the home. The manager carefully considers the needs of children and ensures that these can be met by staff. The child visited the home before moving in and received a child-friendly welcome book to help familiarise them with the home and staff team. This approach ensured the child was supported during a difficult time and helped to relieve any anxieties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who move from the home leave in a planned way. One child who had lived in the home for over a year was supported to return home to the care of their parent. The child was well supported through the process and received a child- friendly memory book about their time in the home. Staff continue to keep in contact, which allows the child to maintain positive and secure relationships with staff even when they have moved on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have secure and positive relationships with staff. Staff offer individualised care to children. One child has a dream pillow. Staff create exciting dreams with the child each night before bed. The dream is written down and placed in the pillow. The child then relives their dream with staff the following morning. This is an example of the warm and nurturing care the staff and the manager provide for children and contributes to the positive experiences that children have living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend school. Staff have high aspirations for children and help them to understand the importance of education. For example, one child has excellent attendance and enjoys after-school clubs such as piano and violin lessons. When concerns arise, staff are proactive and work with teachers to improve children’s experiences. The manager has challenged children’s education placements effectively when she feels decisions are not being made in a child’s best interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical health needs are well met. Children are registered with local health services and attend appointments when required. In addition, staff and managers ensure more specialist support is available for children. For example, one child is receiving weekly therapy. Another child is provided with helpful resources for staff to complete with them when staff identify they may be feeling low.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to see people who are important to them. Staff ensure they build positive relationships with family members and work closely with them. In addition, staff advocate for children around their wishes to see family. This means children feel a sense of value and are supported to maintain their identity. Inspection report for children’s home: SC478852 4

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

Staff use proactive strategies to reward and praise children. For example, staff use rewards to recognise and celebrate children’s achievements. Children benefit from the praise from staff. There are few uses of consequences and these are used restoratively to help children learn from their experiences. This nurturing approach means that children’s behaviour does not escalate to the point where staff need to restrain a child.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the missing-from-care protocols. They report children missing, search for them and continue to do so until they are safely back at home. Staff are incredibly determined in their approach to find children. They use a range of strategies, such as working with external agencies, family and friends while also using social networks and internet platforms to locate children. When children return, staff welcome them back in a positive way, offer reassurance and show curiosity to understand what happened during their time away. Children are given the opportunity to talk to someone independent of the home about why they went missing from the home and what happened.

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

When concerns are identified about the safety of children, for example, when a child is at increased risk of criminal exploitation, staff and managers work closely with the appropriate external agencies and carry out direct work with children. The manager has worked closely with police, social care services, families and education professionals to ensure the appropriate support and measures are in place for children. However, on one occasion, staff found a knife in a child’s bedroom. The manager did not report this to Ofsted.

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

Children’s risk assessments are not always well written or recorded. For example, the manager did not include strategies or clear guidance when a child was suspected to be using substances when spending time in the community. Additionally, there is conflicting information in risk assessments which does not always provide clear guidance for staff. This means that staff do not always have the most accurate or up-to-date information about children, which may lead to inconsistent practice.

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

The appropriate checks were not carried out on one staff member before they started work in the home. The manager did not verify recent employment where the member of staff had worked with vulnerable adults. This means that children have been cared for by staff who have not had all the required checks to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has strong relationships with children. She is dedicated and child-focused and takes pride in the progress children are making. She regularly seeks their views. She continues to advocate for children when necessary and has high expectations for Inspection report for children’s home: SC478852 5 them. This approach means that children benefit from trusting relationships which help them feel settled.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is a real strength of the home. Many of the staff have worked in the home for several years. Staff spoke of their passion for working in the home and the pride they feel in supporting children to have positive experiences and make good progress. Staff feel incredibly well supported by the home’s manager, who is always available to them for support, advice and guidance. This ensures that children are provided with consistent and stable care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and annual appraisals, which are reflective and assess staff performance. Children are involved in the process and offer feedback, giving their views of each staff member. Staff receive constructive feedback about their practice and are helped to develop in their roles through written plans, which are regularly reviewed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager demonstrates effective partnership working. Feedback gathered during the inspection is very positive. A professional for one child said, ‘The staff and manager have an excellent understanding of my child’s needs. Staff went out of their way to support the child with their journey.’ This demonstrates the commitment and child-focused approach displayed by the manager and staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is not always up to date. Staff have not routinely refreshed their knowledge and skills about specific topics. Additionally, not all staff have completed training specific to the children’s needs. Nevertheless, staff have a good understanding of the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC478852 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 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— that staff—

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that there are clear risk management plans for staff and plans get updated when new information emerges. 22 November

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that good employment practice is maintained. They must ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that they notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the

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Recommendations

Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) Inspection report for children’s home: SC478852 7

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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: SC478852 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Roundhouse Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C/o Phil Bessant Limited, Agincourt House, 14 Clytha Park Road, Newport NP20 4PB

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Inspector

Carl Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC478852 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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