Children's home run by Spectrum Care Services

Inspection report for children's home: 2594148 1 Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home is registered to care for three children who may have learning disabilities and other complex health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2023 and holds an appropriate level 5 qualification.

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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

Date of last inspection: 21 February 2023

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2594148 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/02/2023 Full Outstanding 12/01/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: 2594148 3

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outstanding

Two brothers have lived in the home for nearly three years. Managers have made the decision that they will not move any more children in so that staff can dedicate their time to meeting the complex needs of the children currently living in the home. The children’s experience of living in this home has enhanced their life chances.

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outstanding

The children are provided with an extremely welcoming, warm and nurturing home environment. Children’s bedrooms and the living areas of the home resonate with a sense of individuality, achievement and special interests. Children’s photos, certificates and posters line the walls and clearly reflect the individual hobbies, interests and achievements of each child. The decor, maintenance and organisation of the home clearly suggest that those who live there are important, valued and respected.

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outstanding

The quality of the relationships between the staff and children is exceptional. Staff speak about the children with love, warmth and enthusiasm. They demonstrate unwavering commitment to them. Children are also incredibly positive about the care that they receive. Children were observed holding hands, sitting on knees and requesting hugs from the staff who care for them.

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outstanding

Children’s health needs are expertly addressed. The staff work in partnership with medical professionals effectively, and they respond to the evolving care needs of the children. They use information and guidance, alongside research, to help them modify their practice for the benefit of the children. This enables the children to have stability, security and consistent care from a team that fully understands their needs.

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outstanding

Staff understand how children communicate their needs extraordinarily well. Staff are creative and use a range of resources to ascertain children’s wishes and feelings. Staff make every effort and dedicate an immeasurable amount of time to obtaining the opinions of the children. Staff listen to the children’s views and act on the choices they make. Children learn to use tools such as social stories, symbols and objects of reference. They use them to choose the activities they want to do, the food they want to eat and how they want to relax. Choice boards and communication systems are consistently used to encourage children to communicate.

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outstanding

Staff go above and beyond to ensure that children have positive experiences and try new things. For example, children have enjoyed a summer holiday packed with activities and adventure, including trips to the beach, the circus, a model village, museums, theme parks and swimming. Staff also ensure that the children are supported to develop their own hobbies and interests. Following a school residential trip, one child found a love for rock climbing. The staff now take them regularly to Inspection report for children's home: 2594148 4 nurture this interest. These opportunities give children the chance to have fun and build on their confidence, as well as promote their social, emotional and physical needs.

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outstanding

All children access education that is appropriate to their individual needs, have excellent attendance and are making amazing progress in all aspects of their education. Highly effective links and persistent communication with children’s schools ensure that staff understand children’s progress in school and can support them well at home. One teacher said, ‘They have transformed the child’s life. They push for the school to be better; we have learned so much from them around the care for this child and advocating for the child’s best interests.’

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outstanding

Keeping children safe is seen as paramount. The manager has highly effective systems for recording, reporting and monitoring safeguarding concerns. Communication with professionals, such as the local authority 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

The strength and consistency of the safe relationships that children have with the staff make children feel secure. Staff are clear about their responsibilities and know how to respond to safeguarding concerns. Exhaustive 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

Incidents of restraint are rare because of the close and nurturing relationships between staff and the children. The staff are trained in specific restraint reduction techniques, and this is regularly reviewed. The training enables staff to support the children, primarily by using de-escalation strategies and, as a last resort, physical interventions, to help them become safer. When incidents happen, the recording is effective and clear, and reflection and debriefs take place to help the staff reflect on their practice and explore the triggers for the incidents, including how they could respond differently in the future.

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outstanding

There are comprehensive written plans for each child, including placement, risk management, behaviour support and health care plans. These are updated regularly, and changes are discussed regularly in team meetings, ensuring that staff have up-to-date guidance on how to care for children, mitigate risk and keep children safe. Staff’s knowledge of the children is embedded in their day-to-day work, which reduces and minimises the risks for children effectively.

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outstanding

Staff educate the children about risk exceptionally well. Staff use their imagination to create meaningful and personalised discussions for each child. Children take part Inspection report for children's home: 2594148 5 in key-work sessions and engage in social stories; safety is discussed to address identified risks and raise their awareness about topics of concern. This direct work includes road safety, kind hands and fire safety. The children have also met with local police and fire officers to increase their understanding of what a safe person looks like. This positive work enhances children’s knowledge of risk and allows them to take the lead in their learning.

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outstanding

The home has robust safer recruitment procedures, and this ensures that the home employs only staff who are motivated and have an understanding of the needs of the children. The staff are resilient and motivated, enjoy their work and have access to positive management support. The manager supports them to access specialist support services to maintain their own emotional and physical well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and responsible individual are confident, ambitious and inspirational leaders. They lead by example, providing highly effective leadership. 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

The manager has excellent relationships with the children. She goes above and beyond to spend time with children, and she is an avid advocate for them when needed. She has exceptional knowledge of the children’s starting points and what they have accomplished since living in the home. She strives 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

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. Supervision sessions 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 the standards of good for children.

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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 specific health needs, sign language and sensory interaction. 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 individual needs. She is creative in her thinking and is constantly looking for new, creative ways to support staff to sustain the highest quality of care for children. This strengthens staff’s understanding of the children’s needs and how to support children. Inspection report for children's home: 2594148 6 The manager is proud of the home’s reputation and ethos of supporting children who have complex needs to make positive and sustained progress. She is also proud of the home’s ability to retain a core, experienced staff team. She welcomes new

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

team members and supports them with a clear development pathway for their personal development. Staff are very well supported by the manager, who shows that she has a real commitment to the professional development of her team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and staff have extremely effective working relationships with all external agencies to ensure the best possible care, experiences and futures for the children. Professionals speak highly of the quality of care provided and the standards of communication maintained by staff. One professional said, ‘There have been significant changes in these children, that is an under-estimation of what they have achieved. The home goes above and beyond in everything they do. This is the best home I have worked with. I have never been to a residential home like this before; they are exceptional.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The remarkably strong leadership of the home and the quality of care create an environment where staff are proud to work and children are proud to live. Consequently, no requirements or recommendations have been made. Inspection report for children's home: 2594148 7

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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: 2594148 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 20 Birmingham Road, Walsall WS1 2LT

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Inspector

Marianne Grandfield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2594148 9 regulates and inspects 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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