Children's Home run by Staffordshire County Council in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 1 Registered provider: Staffordshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to three children aged from 11 to 17 years, who experience emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a registered manager in post, who is suitably qualified and experienced.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection since it was registered in July 2023.

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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

Enforcement action: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children have moved in since the home opened in July 2023. All three children remain living in the home and are making progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean and well decorated throughout. Children’s rooms are personalised, and the living areas of the home are well furnished and homely. This provides a comfortable environment for children to live in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from positive and nurturing relationships with staff. Children said that they like living in the home, and they get on with staff and their peers. When asked what the best thing about the home is, one child said, ‘the staff’. Staff are attuned to children’s needs and how they are feeling. This informs the care that staff provide, and shows children that staff care about them and that their views are important. In addition, the manager has introduced writing positive affirmations ‘one line a day’ and scrap books for children. These reinforce and celebrate the strengths of the children, as well as capturing their achievements and memories while they are living in the home. This helps children to build their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s education and learning needs well. When children struggle to attend education, the manager and staff work closely with education professionals to understand and improve the children’s barriers to education. As a result, their attendance is improving. This supports the children to progress educationally.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have fun and enjoy a range of activities in and out of the home. They have been on holiday to Wales, go go-karting, fishing, to the gym and enjoy spending time with their friends. Staff encourage children with their hobbies and interests. Children are involved in a variety of clubs, such as boxing, rugby, and trampolining. The children also spend time together and get on with each other. Sharing activities enables children to grow in confidence and improve their self-esteem and social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with all their health needs. Staff support children to attend routine health appointments and access specialist physical and mental health support, when required. This promotes positive health outcomes for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively promote time for children to spend with their families and friends. Children have re-established relationships with their family members through this encouragement from staff. This supports children’s identity and contributes to their life story. One parent commented that through the support from staff, they have been able to start to rebuild their relationship with their child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 3

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

Overall, children living at this home are safe. Staff know children well. They understand children’s risks and the actions that they need to take to mitigate risks and keep children safe. As a result, incidents are reducing. There have been no allegations or incidents requiring physical intervention.

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

Children say that they feel safe and listened to. They can identify staff who they feel comfortable with to discuss any concerns they may have. This enables children to talk about how they are feeling and provides them with a sense of security.

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

There has been one complaint raised by a child in relation to staff actions. This was quickly responded to by the manager. The child was happy with the actions taken to address their concerns. Children know how to make a complaint and are informed of the outcome. As a result, children feel reassured and listened to, and this helps children to build trusting relationships.

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

Staff take appropriate action when children go missing from care. Staff follow detailed missing-from-care plans, searching for children and liaising with the police until children are located. When risks have increased, the manager has raised concerns and worked collaboratively with the police and external professionals to reduce risk and keep children safe. As a result, incidents of children going missing from care have significantly reduced.

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

The manager and staff use consequences and rewards to encourage positive behaviour from children. When staff use consequences, they are not always restorative and, at times, are punitive. This is not in line with the therapeutic ethos of the home. The manager has not consistently reviewed these effectively. She has not always considered whether the consequence is proportionate and effective.

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

The manager has systems in place for ensuring that health and safety checks are completed. Repairs are usually completed in a timely manner. However, the manager does not always take effective action to make damaged items safe when there is a delay in repairs. For example, during the inspection, a broken light switch was observed. This was not marked as ‘do not use’. This has the potential to place children at risk of harm. The manager did take action to address this during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is extremely child focused and knows the children, their needs, and the progress they have made since living in the home well. Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the strengths and areas of development of the home. They have an abundance of plans and aspirations that demonstrate high ambition for the development of the home. All managers and staff share high aspirations for the children to continue to make progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 4 The manager has effective monitoring systems in place to review the quality of care. She uses both internal and external monitoring, as well as feedback and complaints, to continually assess and improve the care afforded to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are clear arrangements in place for staff induction and supervision. Staff say that they feel supported by the management at the home, and that managers are always available for discussion. Team meetings are reflective and support staff to work as a team and promote consistency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a comprehensive package of training. The manager ensures that staff have completed mandatory training and additional child-specific training in topics such as missing from care, restorative practice, and exploitation. This ensures that staff have the knowledge to meet children’s specific needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been high levels of staff sickness, high turnover of staff, and there are some staff vacancies. This has led to a period in the home where there has been an increased use of staff from other homes in the organisation. At times, this has impacted on the continuity of care that children have received. Managers have plans in place to improve staff support, recruitment, and retention.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Working in partnership with the wider network to support children’s needs is a strength of the manager’s practice. They have fostered excellent working relationships with local police and external agencies. This collaborative approach has been integral in improving children’s safety and experiences. The manager is a formidable advocate for children and will consistently challenge those who are not meeting children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals and parents is consistently good. They are particularly positive about the manager and staff’s communication and the progress that children make while living in the home. One parent commented:

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

‘I am extremely impressed with the amount of communication we have with the manager and the rest of the team. Having regular open communication enables us to share important information and collaborate effectively in relation to [name of child’s] care. They have a consistent, de-escalatory approach, which seems to work very well for him. The way the staff handle his episodes is amazing.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One social worker said, ‘I can’t talk highly enough about the home. They are really good. Communication is fantastic.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

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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 the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that the use of temporary staff does not impact on the continuity of care that children receive. 23 February 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing environment that meets the needs of the children, ensuring that repairs are completed in a timely manner and action is taken to ensure that any damage is made safe until repairs are completed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children to recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In addition, the registered person’s oversight should consider whether any consequences used are proportionate and effective. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38) Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 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: 2736466 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Staffordshire Place, Stafford, Staffordshire ST16 2DH

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Inspector

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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