Children's home run by Central and Southern Homes Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2696711 1 Registered provider: Central & Southern Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is not registered 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: 23 November 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: 2696711 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2696711 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has been settled in their home for 17 months. They have made significant progress during this time. Carers know the child well and they are now attending school consistently due to carers support and encouragement. Carers demonstrate commitment to the child and capture conversations about their views. Work has been undertaken to develop the child’s independence skills, such as cooking a meal, managing personal hygiene and budgeting. However, there is little focus on developing emotional resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Plans for the child are detailed and carers know what to do when incidents happen. Relationships between the child and some carers are strong and carers respond with nurture when there have been difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers have supported and accepted the child’s exploration of their identity, which has enabled the child to choose their name and preferred pronouns. Carers supported the child to attend therapy, for example, but when the child did not want to engage, no alternatives were tried.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s interests and hobbies are encouraged and trips out to go horse riding have been provided, for example. In the summer, the child was taken on holiday to a caravan park. However, more could be done to consider extending these opportunities and encourage friendships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean, well maintained and attractive. However, it lacks a sense of homeliness, with few personal items on display to show that this is the child’s home. The child has recently removed photographs photos of themselves, and the home has not sought to make the home more personal to the child in other ways. The child’s bedroom is cluttered, with writing on the wall and clothes scattered around. Carers clean their bedroom, but this is not providing a nurturing environment for the child or instilling them with the necessary skills to move on.

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

Carers understand the risks to the child. The steps needed to respond when a child goes missing, for example, are clearly set out and carers know these plans well. When physical interventions are used, records are detailed, with clear descriptions of the incident. Physical interventions are used as a last resort to keep the child or carers safe. Management oversight and conversations are reflective on what may have caused these incidents and how they could be prevented in future. Children’s actual words are used in recordings. Inspection report for children’s home: 2696711 4 When concerns about a member of staff were raised with senior managers, this was investigated thoroughly, reported to the appropriate agency and appropriate actions were taken.

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

When incidents occur, these are recorded in detail and the manager has good systems in place to monitor these incidents and track and understand patterns. Children’s views are gained and recorded following these incidents. The manager reflects on these incidents with individual carers and shares this learning with the wider team. Positive behaviour is rewarded sensitively in line with the child’s needs.

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

The home has good relationships with other professionals working with the child. Concerns are shared quickly.

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good

The acting manager is planning to register with Ofsted imminently. The manager has good oversight of the home. Information is easily accessible, and systems are in place to track incidents and monitor any patterns of concerns. The manager knows the child well. She carefully plans staffing to support the child, for example by ensuring that there is always one female carer working.

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good

Carers describe feeling supported by leaders and managers and that someone is always available to them. Carers talk about the passion and ‘above and beyond’ approach the manager has. Supervision takes place routinely and provides a good balance of practical support and reflection.

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good

Team meetings provide good opportunities for learning together and reflecting on potential scenarios. Team meeting minutes show a good balance of practical issues and children’s needs being considered. Safe recruitment processes are in place, and no agency staff have been used, which provides consistency of care for the child.

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good

The manager is not always proactively promoting the best interests of the child. This is particularly noticeable in relation to the child moving on from the home, where there is a lack of challenge to other professionals, and the child has been left with uncertainty about this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2696711 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation (6) (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the child must be supported to have a clean and tidy bedroom and the general appearance of all rooms should be homely and domesticated. 1 February 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should play a full part in promoting the best interests of the child. In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff are ambitious for the child, and, when needed, challenge other professionals and agencies to ensure that the child’s needs are met. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.4) Inspection report for children’s home: 2696711 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: 2696711 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Central & Southern Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Pitmaston House, Malvern Road, Worcester WR2 4LL

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Inspector

Nickie Doney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2696711 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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Inspector

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