Children's Home run by N H Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC365366 1 SC365366 Registered provider: N H Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for three children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 21 November 2021. He is suitably qualified and has relevant experience and skills.

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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: 22 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: SC365366 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/09/2022 Full Good 06/01/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 18/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/03/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC365366 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager’s dedication, together with that of the staff, means that children receive consistently good care. As a result, children make good progress in all aspects of their lives, including their education, health and well-being, and enjoyment of positive experiences. Examples of progress include children becoming more outgoing and self-aware, making friends and being more independent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use innovative ways to match children’s interests to related educational activities. For example, they use age-appropriate videos to enable the children to understand and visualise what it is that staff are helping them to learn. This greatly encourages children’s engagement in their learning. Staff have aspirations for children, and believe that they can achieve their potential. All children are attending education and have made significant progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff advocate for children to spend quality time with close friends and family, and support them well to do so. As a result, children enjoy improved relationships with their families, and make and sustain friendships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in a variety of activities, which improve their self-esteem and confidence. For example, children enjoy going on holiday to the seaside, swimming, and day trips to the zoo and soft-play and sensory places.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in weekly meetings and planning sessions. These meetings give children the opportunity to express their wishes and feelings. Staff and the manager are quick to follow up on children’s requests. This helps children to feel valued and to contribute to the day-to-day running of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers support children in leading healthy lifestyles and ensure that they attend all their scheduled health appointments. Children enjoy a healthy and varied diet, which promotes their well-being. One child’s health assessment record is missing. Notes taken at the time of the health assessment mitigate the risk of any unmet health need being missed. However, the manager needs to secure the report from the placing authority for completeness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some aspects of the home environment have improved since the last inspection. For example, the garden now provides a delightful place where children can play with various age-appropriate toys and relax. The children enjoyed planting vegetables and growing fruits and tending to these throughout the summer period. However, work is ongoing to make the home cosier and more homely. Plans to replace carpets where needed and to repaint a child’s bedroom wall have yet to be implemented. Inspection report for children’s home: SC365366 4

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

Staff and the manager work well with partner agencies, such as social workers, teachers and the designated officer. Safeguarding concerns are reported promptly to all relevant professionals to keep children safe. When necessary, multi-agency meetings are convened to put in place safety plans that enable the staff to keep the children safe. Children’s risk assessments provide staff with clear guidance. They are implemented well and this helps staff to minimise risks to children.

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

Staff provide the children with consistent routines and boundaries. Children are getting better at regulating their own emotions and are keeping themselves and others around them safe. There has been a significant reduction in the number of self-injurious behaviours that children display because of the progress they have made with their emotional well-being.

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

Staff use reward charts with the children to promote positive behaviours. The children are involved in setting their targets for the week, and they receive a treat when they are achieved. The children engage well with this, and they are all proud of their achievements.

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

Staff use physical restraint as a last resort to keep children safe. When such incidents happen, managers ensure that they talk to the staff involved and the child, enabling them to reflect on and learn from the incident.

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

The manager has reviewed the location risk assessment, but it is not clear if he has consulted with partner agencies. This is a missed opportunity to be fully informed about potential risks within the home’s locality and develop strategies to manage any risks, as needed.

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good

Managers have not addressed all the requirements raised at the last inspection. For example, shortfalls remain in safer recruitment practices. Gaps in employment histories for some staff have not been explored, and required references are not always sought. These shortfalls indicate that management oversight of these processes is ineffective, and this does not help to prevent unsuitable adults from caring for children.

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good

Managers are not ensuring that staff complete the required childcare qualification in a timely way, and two staff are out of timescale. For another staff member, managers have not determined whether a qualification they have is equivalent to that of the level 3 diploma in residential childcare. In addition, the manager has not completed probation review meetings with two staff, in line with the organisation’s policy.

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good

Other aspects of monitoring require improvement. For example, the manager has not identified that some medication records are not clear and legible, and so do not Inspection report for children’s home: SC365366 5 provide an audit trail that is easily understood. In addition, although some steps were taken to escalate concerns with a placing authority in relation to them not providing a child’s health assessment record, this did not go far enough.

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good

Although there has been some challenges with staff sufficiency, the manager has dealt with this well. He has used consistent staff when cover is needed, to ensure continuity of care to the children. Staff recruitment is ongoing.

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good

Managers and staff want children to succeed and achieve the best outcomes. They provide good-quality care to children. All staff are up to date with mandatory training. The manager and staff use staff meetings to enhance their knowledge of legislative and inspection frameworks, and discuss children’s needs and progress.

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good

Staff receive good-quality, reflective supervision, which supports them in undertaking their roles effectively. The manager praises and thanks staff for how well they are helping children to have positive experiences and make good progress. Staff feel valued because of the good support they receive overall. Inspection report for children’s home: SC365366 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, 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

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 the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, 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.

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Requirement Due date

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— 31 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC365366 7 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 (2)(a)(b) (3)(d) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is repeated.

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(b)(h)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that medication records are clear; work to improve the home environment continues; staff receive probation reviews when needed; the manager liaises with relevant professionals when reviewing the suitability of the location of the home; and all necessary documentation relating to children’s needs is received, and escalated as needed with children’s placing authorities if there are unnecessary delays to this process. 31 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC365366 8

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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: SC365366 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 69, Steward Street Business Lofts, Steward Street, Birmingham B18 7AF

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Inspector

Rumbi Mangoma, Social Care Inspector Laura Norcop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC365366 10 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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