Children's Home run by SOLID GLOBAL LIMITED in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 1 Registered provider: Solid Global Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a privately owned limited company. It offers care for up to two children. The home specialises in providing therapeutic care for children with mental health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

There has not been a registered manager at the home for over a year. A new manager started on 2 May 2023. They have submitted their application to register with Ofsted and are in the final stages of the registration process.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the full inspection on 13 and 14 June 2023, the home was judged inadequate. One compliance notice was issued, under regulation 12.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit took place on 18 July 2023 and the inspector found that the compliance notice had not been met. Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 2 A monitoring visit took place on 4 August 2023 and the inspector found that two requirements raised at previous inspections had been met. The remaining requirements were restated and would be reviewed at a future inspection, as the due date had not yet passed.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The provider submitted an appeal against higher enforcement action Ofsted has taken to cancel the provider’s registration. This is being considered. Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/06/2023 Full Inadequate 10/01/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/09/2022 Full Inadequate 01/06/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 4

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improvement to be good

At the time of this inspection, one child was continuing to live at the home.

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improvement to be good

There is a stable staff team caring for the child. This stability and consistency have helped the child to continue to form positive relationships with staff. Consequently, this has helped the child to make some progress in relation to their starting point.

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improvement to be good

Despite some progress being made, shortfalls remain in the quality of care provided to the child. For example, the child is not well supported by staff to develop good sleep routines and to get up at a reasonable time in the morning. In addition, guidance is not clearly set out for staff in the child’s plans about some of their additional needs and how to manage these. These are missed opportunities and will limit the child’s progress if not addressed.

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improvement to be good

Staff help the child make choices about the menu for the home. They encourage the child to help with shopping and cooking food and the child enjoys doing so. However, there are times when the meals eaten are not healthy and well balanced. Records show that few, if any, fruit or vegetables are eaten and large meals are being eaten late at night. This does not help the child to understand the need for a healthy diet or the impact of late-night eating on good sleep routines.

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improvement to be good

The child is having positive experiences outside the home. Staff take the child to local parks, museums, places of interest, shopping and the cinema. This has meant the child is able to enjoy social opportunities.

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improvement to be good

Staff have helped the child to access some education. There has been some one-to- one tuition at the home, along with time spent at a local horse-riding stables to develop their confidence. The child is beginning to engage and has expressed aspirations for the future. However, tuition has stopped and managers are liaising with the placing authority about this to get it reinstated. When tuition is not in place, plans and arrangements are not always clear, which does not give the child routine and consistency to her school day.

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improvement to be good

Staff have helped the child seek advice for medication they were prescribed and for future medication to help with stabilising a medical condition. As a result, current medication has been stopped on the advice of a medical practitioner and staff are helping the child decide which medication they may use in the future.

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improvement to be good

The child has been able to access support from a therapist. Though it is early days, the child has started to engage, and staff have made appointments for the child to access other support services. Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 5 Staff help the child to spend time with those who are important to them. Family members are encouraged to visit, spending time in the home and in the community with their child. This enables the child to still feel part of their family, despite the distance from their family home.

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improvement to be good

Some work has been done to help the child understand online risks and how they can keep themselves safe from those who would take advantage of their vulnerability. However, this work does not go far enough and staff do not manage associated risks consistently well. For example, staff are not consistent in how they monitor and disrupt contact the child has with people online who are not known to them. This has meant the child has been exposed to inappropriate images..

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improvement to be good

Not all staff working at the home have been recruited safely. Shortfalls in recruitment practice do not help to ensure that suitable people are employed to care for children.

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improvement to be good

The need for staff to use physical intervention to keep the child and others safe has reduced. However, when incidents do occur, records do not contain sufficient information to enable the manager to assess the appropriateness of the intervention.

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improvement to be good

The child has not gone missing from home since the last inspection. This is good progress considering the child’s starting point.

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improvement to be good

Managers have implemented an incentive plan to encourage positive behaviours. Although this is in its infancy, the child is responding well and there has been a reduction in behaviours that challenge and cause the child and others concern.

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good

Shortfalls in the oversight of the running of the home and quality of care provided to the children continue to limit the development of the service. While the responsible individual provides some oversight of the management of the home, this is not always effective. The manager now has supervision from an independent person, which gives some additional oversight. The provider is considering whether the responsible individual is best placed to continue to oversee the management of the home.

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good

The manager and responsible individual have oversight of the child’s records. However, their monitoring has not identified shortfalls in staff reporting and recording of incidents. These shortfalls do not help managers to develop staff practice and improve the quality of care provided to the child. Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 6 Staff say they feel well supported by the manager and the frequency of supervision has improved. Staff describe the manager as supportive and approachable. However, when staff practice falls short of expected standards, the manager has not always promptly addressed this with staff.

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good

The manager has been proactive in sourcing additional training to upskill the staff team. However, the manager was unable to show what training agency staff have completed. This may mean not all staff have the relevant training or skills needed to care for the child.

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good

There is still a lack of qualified staff working at the home. The manager has enrolled some staff on the course for the relevant qualification. However, the manager has not considered which staff may be out of timescale in achieving the qualification or any barriers to their learning. They have not detailed expectations to staff on timescales to achieve the qualification or kept this under review.

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good

Records kept at the home are stored in a way which limits access by those people who need to see them and is vulnerable to loss if the hardware was to fail. This could mean records relating to the child and their care could be permanently lost.

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good

While some progress has been made, managers have not yet met all the requirements raised at the last inspection. These have been reissued. Some new requirements have been raised. Ofsted recognises that some improvements have been made and this work continues. Following this inspection, Ofsted has not progressed with the decision to cancel the home’s registration, allowing the provider further time and opportunity to improve standards in the quality of care provided to children. Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 7

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that there are plans which help staff understand the strategies to keep children safe online, that children are helped to understand online risks and action to take to keep themselves safe and that staff report all incidents which put children at risk. 24 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— 24 November Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 8 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

This specifically relates to the registered person and responsible individual ensuring that they carry out regular and effective monitoring and review of the quality of care provided and take action when needed to bring about improvement. In addition, ensure that the manager knows what training, skills and qualifications agency staff have and action is taken to address any shortfall.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider is an organisation, the organisation must ensure that the responsible individual undertakes such continuing professional development as is necessary to ensure that the responsible individual has the skills needed for supervising the management of the home. (Regulation 29 (2))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the responsible individual having the skills needed. 24 November

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (7)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 24 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which 24 November Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 9 the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part- time basis. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that staff’s progress towards achieving the appropriate qualification is monitored so that they can complete within the relevant timescales or, where these have been exceeded, as soon as practicable.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 10 The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d)) 24 November

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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

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 understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect;

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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. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iv)(vi)) 24 November Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 11 This specifically relates to the home’s placement plan, that it has information for staff on how children’s diagnosis impacts on them and how staff support them, any routines or specific ways of working to support the child, and that there are plans to show how staff are to work to support the child’s progress.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the following items, which may be kept in electronic form, are kept in an accessible manner—

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Requirement Due date

placement plans for children who are not looked after (see regulation 18);

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Requirement Due date

the policy for safeguarding children (see regulation 34);

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Requirement Due date

the policy for preventing bullying (see regulation 34);

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Requirement Due date

the missing child policy (see regulation 34);

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Requirement Due date

the behaviour management policy (see regulation 35);

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Requirement Due date

records of the use of measures of control, discipline or restraint (see regulation 35);

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Requirement Due date

children’s case records (see regulation 36);

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Requirement Due date

the procedure for considering complaints (see regulation 39); records of complaints (see regulation 39);

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Requirement Due date

the independent person’s reports (see regulation 44);

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Requirement Due date

quality of care reviews (see regulation 45);

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Requirement Due date

annual reviews of the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the home’s premises (see regulation 46). (Regulation 38 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)(k)(l)(m)(n)(o)) 24 November Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 12 This specifically relates to the storage of records on the home’s hard drive, that they are easily accessible to all who need to see them and protected in case of data loss.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that, in line with their individual health plans and the ethos of the home, children are offered advice, support and guidance on health and well-being. Staff should have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to help children understand, and where necessary work to change, negative behaviours in key areas of health and well-being, such as having a healthy diet. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18)

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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: 1259178 13

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solid Global Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8 Astor House, 282 Lichfield Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands B74 2UG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Octovus Muchemenye

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Inspectors

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Jackie Line, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 14 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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