Children's home run by Ash House Care LTD

Inspection report for children’s home: 2656689 1 Registered provider: Ash House Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for up to two children with learning disabilities and complex needs. The home is privately owned.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a new manager in post, who started work at the home in October 2023. She is currently completing her application to register 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 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: 2656689 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/09/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2656689 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have left the home since the last inspection. One child moved to a foster placement and the other moved to a new placement that can meet their needs. One child was living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to ensure that the child lives in a safe, caring and supportive environment. This coordinated approach helps the child to have improved outcomes, especially in his communication and personal care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child attends an educational setting in line with his needs and abilities. Staff work in partnership with education departments and other relevant professionals to make sure that the child has every opportunity to increase his academic achievement and reach his full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the child is registered with primary healthcare services. They ensure appropriate arrangements are in place for the safe management of medicines, to promote the safety and well-being of the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to use picture reference cards and craft play to communicate with staff. This means that the child can have a say in the care he receives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Arrangements are in place that support the child to maintain positive relationships with his family and friends. Staff work closely with the child and his family to ensure that time spent together is safe and a positive experience.

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

Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding practice and the ways that they can protect the welfare of the child. There is good partnership working with external agencies, such as the local authority and health professionals, to ensure that there is a strong multi-agency approach to safeguarding the child.

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

Staff make sure that the child has detailed risk assessment and management plans. Staff keep these plans under review and update them when necessary. They supervise the child in line with his risk management plans to ensure that he is safe in the home and in the community.

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

The manager makes good use of opportunities to look at serious incidents when the child has displayed challenging behaviours, so that improvements can be made to support him. Regular focused team meetings support staff through challenging periods with the child. As a result, challenging behaviour is reducing over time. Inspection report for children’s home: 2656689 4 The manager has not ensured that the home’s location risk assessment has been reviewed and updated with any new and emerging risks. This means that any risks presented by the home’s location are not being identified or strategies implemented to manage any potential risk. To date this has not had a negative impact on the child’s experiences and welfare.

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

The child lives in a physically safe environment. There are measures in place to ensure that the home is free from hazards. Regular fire drills are carried out to ensure that the child knows what he needs to do in the event of an emergency.

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

Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures promote the safety of the child by preventing unsuitable adults from working with him.

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good

Since the last inspection, the home has employed a new manager and there have been several changes to the staff team. Some staff have transferable skills from previous roles, however, none of the staff hold a suitable qualification in children’s residential care. Staff are working towards this qualification.

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good

Staff said they feel well supported by the manager. However, records show that staff are not receiving regular supervision. Given the number of new staff who are in their probation period, this is a missed opportunity to discuss their development and keep this under close review.

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good

The availability of staff training Is good and is targeted at meeting the specific needs of the child in the home. However, records of what training staff have completed are not clear. For example, although the manager said all staff have completed communication methods training, there was no record of this on the home’s database. This does not support the manager when reviewing what training staff have competed and considering plans for workforce development.

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good

The manager promotes good working relationships with external professionals. A social worker said, ‘The communication from [the manager is outstanding, with daily record sheets which detail all of [name of child]’s activities including any worries and achievements, and details of particular incidents which have occurred and how they are adapting their care of [name of child] based upon any patterns that they have identified.’ This collaborative approach supports consistency and helps to promote the child’s development and safety. Inspection report for children’s home: 2656689 5

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff training records are kept up to date to accurately reflect the skills of the workforce and to better inform workforce development. 15 December

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 15 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). (Regulation 46 (1)) 15 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2656689 6

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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: 2656689 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ash House, Park Street, Cheslyn Hay, Walsall WS6 7EF

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Inspectors

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Joanne Humphreys, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2656689 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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