Children's home run by Care and Management Services Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report children's home: SC419217 1 SC419217 Registered provider: Care and Management Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately operated children’s home provides care for up to two children who have experienced early childhood trauma and may exhibit complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children's home: SC419217 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/01/2023 Full Good 19/10/2021 Full Good 21/01/2020 Full Good 04/02/2019 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC419217 3

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outstanding

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home. Since the last inspection one child has moved into the home and one child has moved out of the home in a planned way. Children receive high-quality care that makes them feel valued and secure. All of the children are flourishing and are making significant and sustained progress in all areas of their lives.

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outstanding

The quality of the relationships between the carers and children is exceptional. The registered manager and staff provide children with an extremely welcoming, warm and nurturing home environment. Staff speak about the children with warmth and enthusiasm. They demonstrate unwavering commitment to them. Children are also incredibly positive about the care that they receive, informing the inspectors that they feel confident to talk to staff members about anything. One child who has moved on from the home to live with family told the inspector, 'They were my biggest supporters; they were always there in my corner. Even now I have left I can still go to them and know they will be there for me. I am so happy to be back at home, I wouldn’t have got there without these guys’.

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outstanding

Relationships between adults and children are warm, affectionate and loving. Staff provide a culture of respect, nurture and safety. Staff are continually curious about, and reflect on, how they can help children grow in all areas of their development. This helps children to build trust and to feel safer and relaxed in their surroundings. One child described the staff as ‘amazing’ and was able to recognise that staff have supported them through a lot and haven't given up on them.

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outstanding

The children’s bedrooms and the living areas of the home reflect children’s individuality, achievement’s and special interests. Childrens photographs, certificates and posters reflecting childrens hobbies, interests and achievements are on display in the home. The décor, maintenance and organisation of the home suggest that those who live there are important, valued and respected.

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outstanding

Staff support and motivate children to learn. All children have excellent attendance at school. Staff are ambitious for children and have offered them extensive support to ensure that their educational needs are met. The staff work effectively with education providers and promote children’s engagement with school. Staff know how well education providers meet children’s needs and act if they are concerned that they do not. For example, the manager challenged the local authority when one child's application for an Education Health Care Plan was refused. As a result, the application was reconsidered and granted. This results in children finding the best educational support for their needs to help them to achieve now and in the future.

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outstanding

Children’s health needs are expertly addressed. There are strong links with health professionals and specialist services. The manager has demonstrated an ability to Inspection report children's home: SC419217 4 seek specialist help when this is necessary and have undertaken research to meet specific needs of the children they care for. The children benefit immensely from having access to occupational therapists, speech and language specialists, educational psychologists and therapeutic emotional support services. This robust multi-team approach means that the child’s needs are responded to effectively.

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outstanding

Managers and staff are committed to making sure that children get the best from the time they spend with their families. This support is exceptional and has helped children to have improved relationships with their families. As a result, one child will often have their cousin over to the home for sleepovers. An inclusive approach supports children to maintain positive relationships with their families and people who are important to them. One child's relative told the inspector, ‘The bond between [X] and my daughter is amazing. They have really nurtured this relationship; they welcome her in and include her in everything'.

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outstanding

Staff carry out high-quality reflective and purposeful work to ensure that each child’s voice is heard. Through informal conversations, house meetings, key-work and consultation sessions, staff sensitively help children to be open and talk about their wishes, feelings and concerns. Staff celebrate all the children’s achievements, inviting family and friends to join in celebrations. The inspector observed warm, reciprocal and very natural interactions between staff and children.

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outstanding

Children are safe and said that they feel safe. The strength and consistency of the safe relationships that children have with the staff makes children feel secure. Children say that they feel safe and that the staff protect them. Staff are clear about their responsibilities and know how to respond to safeguarding concern's. Comprehensive training, regular supervision and team meetings provide staff with the knowledge and skills they need to inform their practice and safely care for children.

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outstanding

Keeping children safe is seen as paramount. The manager has highly effective systems in place for recording, reporting and monitoring safeguarding concerns. Communication with professionals, such as the local authority the designated officer and social workers, is effective. The manager shares information with them swiftly to avoid delay and ensure that children are protected from harm. The manager takes guidance from these professionals, and they work together to ensure that children are safe. Safeguarding records are comprehensive.

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outstanding

Each child has a wealth of documentation about their needs, challenges and potential risks. Staff create comprehensive risk assessments together with the children, who help to determine which strategies staff can use that will help them to keep them safe. Staff monitor these plans effectively and keep them under review so that they evolve as the children’s needs change. This awareness is embedded in the Inspection report children's home: SC419217 5 staff’s day-to-day work, which effectively reduces and minimises the risks for children.

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outstanding

Children become significantly safer living in this home because of the support they receive from staff. Children develop a very good understanding of risk, which helps them to mature and develop independence. Focused key-work sessions have supported a significant reduction of unauthorised absences with one child. By working together, there is a planned approach to support the child to have free time and remain safe while in the community.

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outstanding

Because of the exceptionally positive relationships with children, staff feel comfortable to express their concerns and worries to them when they have been missing, which shows a very real and nurturing response. An independent person always comes to talk to the children when they return home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is a confident, ambitious and inspirational leader. She leads by example, providing highly effective leadership. An equally conscientious and influential deputy manager supports her. Together they have formed a formidable management team that is ambitious and has high expectations and aspirations for the home, the children and the staff. This leadership inspires staff to provide exceptional care. Managers have created an open and inclusive culture that places children at the centre of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers have excellent relationships with the children. They go above and beyond to spend time with children and are avid advocates for them when needed. They have exceptional knowledge of the children’s starting points and what they have accomplished since living in the home. Managers listen and respond to children’s views on the home’s development and their own goals and progress. They place the children at the front and centre of the home. They strive to provide outstanding outcomes for children and improve the operation of the home. This ethos is shared by a highly motivated and enthusiastic staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The children are cared for by an exceptionally experienced, child centred and caring staff team. The staff have expertise and are dedicated to the children who they care for. There is a stable staff team of core staff. This ensures that consistency of care is maintained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and staff have outstanding motivation and enthusiasm. They strive to provide positive outcomes for children and improve the operation of the home. Leadership, management and staff cohesion are clear strengths of the home and ensure the safety and welfare of children. Strategic reviews of incidents at the home provide constant evaluation of staff practice and highlight children’s changing needs. Staff supervision and focused team meetings are highly effective management tools and address areas for development to ensure effective staff practice. These processes ensure that staff provide care that consistently exceeds good for children. Inspection report children's home: SC419217 6 Managers and staff have extremely effective working relationships with external agencies and schools, to ensure the best possible care, experiences and futures for children. Social workers speak highly of the quality of care provided and the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

standards of communication maintained by staff. One social worker said 'They are the best home I have worked with; I would place all my children here if I could. The staff team have persevered, shown resilience and gone above and beyond in everything they do. Without them my child would not be where they are today'.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are provided with a wide range of training that informs their practice and meets children’s individual and diverse needs. Additionally, the home has sourced external training to focus on attachment styles, therapeutic parenting and to reflect on one child's cognitive assessment. The manager takes responsibility for her own learning and development, including keeping up to date with new initiatives and research specific to the children’s individualised needs. She is creative in her thinking and is constantly looking for new creative ways to support staff, to sustain the highest quality if care for children. This strengthens staff’s understanding of the children’s needs and how to support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The remarkable strong leadership of the home and the quality of care create an environment where staff are proud to work and which children are proud to live. Inspection report children's home: SC419217 7

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. (‘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 children's home: SC419217 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care and Management Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Park business centre, Wood Lane, Birmingham B24 9QR

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Chrisoula Contoyiannis

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Inspector

Marianne Grandfield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC419217 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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