Children's home run by Madiba Limited

Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2728057 1 Registered provider: Madiba Limited

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. The home provides care for one child with learning disabilities and social or emotional difficulties. There is currently one child living at the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home has been registered with Ofsted since 7 June 2023. The registered manager resigned from their role prior to the full inspection. An acting manager was appointed, but left the role soon after. The current acting manager has been in post since November 2023 and has applied to register with Ofsted.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspection: 6 September 2023

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

p.1

Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

p.1

Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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'. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2728057 2

p.1

Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

p.2

Findings from the inspection

Continued changes in the staff team have disrupted the child’s experience and halted their progress. Staff changes have also hampered the development of the team’s practice. A small core group of staff has maintained some of the child’s trusted relationships. However, the burden of continually having to develop new relationships causes the child unnecessary stress and limits the effectiveness of staff’s practice. In addition, there have been three managers covering the day-to- day care at this home since it opened. The current acting manager has developed a positive relationship with the child.

p.2

Findings from the inspection

Staff understand the child’s general risks and high staffing levels help to keep the child safe. The child’s improved risk assessment and behaviour management plan make it easier for staff to find the strategies they need to keep the child safe. However, a lack of therapeutic input does not ensure that the strategies used align to the child’s complex needs.

p.2

Findings from the inspection

The therapist struggles to engage the child in meaningful conversations and not enough is being done to help staff have a deeper understanding of the child’s complex needs. Delays in reviewing the child’s therapeutic care plan and the completion of an environmental assessment further demonstrate shortfalls in meeting the child’s needs.

p.2

Findings from the inspection

Educational progress is limited. Staff have struggled to help the child engage with their home tutoring programme, despite the education plan limiting these sessions to once a week. Staff have helped the child formulate important questions to ask in preparation for a potential new placement and an initial meeting with the head teacher. This has encouraged the child’s focus and excitement toward the prospect of returning to a formal education setting.

p.2

Findings from the inspection

Staff complete activities with the child focused on developing the child’s independence. This has helped the child to make some progress such as improving their personal care skills.

p.2

Findings from the inspection

Staff ensure that the child’s health needs are met. The child’s medication needs are kept under review by health professionals. Staff are effective in helping the child overcome barriers to engage with their health appointments.

p.2

Findings from the inspection

The child’s voice strongly influences the care they receive. This includes a daily conversation between the child and the manager and is an essential part of the child’s routine. Staff are responsive to the child’s thoughts and feelings, which are captured in their records. This included helping the child to visit neighbours so they Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2728057 3 could get to know each other. The child took a gift of chocolates as a neighbourly gesture.

p.2

Findings from the inspection

A high number of holds have helped to keep the child safe. However, there is insufficient management analysis, which does not help to identify patterns and trends in the child’s behaviour or gaps in staff’s practice. This limits the prospect of helping the child to develop safer coping strategies. The acting manager is focusing her oversight on this area.

p.3

Findings from the inspection

Concerns about staff practice are taken seriously and managers follow safeguarding procedures. Staff know how to report a safeguarding concern and are confident in doing so. There have been no missing-from-home incidents. Staff know the actions they must take to respond rapidly and how to quickly escalate concerns to the police should an incident occur.

p.3

Findings from the inspection

The monthly independent person’s visits give effective scrutiny of the child’s care. However, the manager’s own quality of care review lacks evaluation in relation to the impact of staff changes on the child. There is a lack of analysis about incidents, and key work is identified as a strength but there is no evaluation about the impact this has on the child’s outcomes.

p.3

Findings from the inspection

Delay in repairing damage throughout the home does not help the environment to feel homely. Environmental checks of the external grounds are completed, but there has been a slow response to ensure that essential repairs are completed quickly. This does not provide a safe environment for the child.

p.3

Findings from the inspection

Managers respond quickly when there are concerns and shortfalls in staff’s practice. However, medication errors have continued. The managers’ response to the latest error has been thorough, but the new system and staff’s learning are yet to be tested over a longer period of time.

p.3

Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers continue to recruit suitable staff to be part of the child’s care team. Staff are trained to deliver care in line with the provider’s model of care. Staff expressed they enjoy working at the home and want to provide the best care for the child. One staff member said they feel the team has become more ‘galvanised’ because of the recent challenges staff have experienced in their roles. However, a new member of staff did not have practice-related supervision for over two months after starting at the home. This does not help staff to be effective in their roles.

p.3

Findings from the inspection

The recommendations from the last inspection and some of the steps from the requirements have been met. However, similar requirements to the last inspection have been reissued with regard to the environment and the therapeutic support available to the manager and the team. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2728057 4

p.3

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/09/2023 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2728057 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

p.5

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;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

p.5

Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(iv)(c)(i)) 17 March 2024

p.5

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d)) 17 March 2024 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2728057 6 In particular, the registered person must ensure that broken equipment that presents a risk is removed, and repairs needed to the property that present a hazard are done without delay.

p.5

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

p.6

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(e)(h))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that:

p.6

Requirement Due date

the home’s statement of purpose provides accurate information about the level of support provided to the manager and staff team;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the staff team has the required level of support to meet the child’s therapeutic care needs;

p.6

Requirement Due date

there is an effective system to support the development and retention of staff;

p.6

Requirement Due date

there is a system to analyse the child’s behavioural patterns and trends to develop staff's practice, promote the child’s 17 March 2024 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2728057 7 safety, and assist the review of the child’s care plan to help ensure that the plan continues to meet the child’s needs.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.7

Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

p.7

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that new members of staff are supervised to support their development. 17 March 2024

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2) Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2728057 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: One City West, Gelderd Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS12 6NJ

p.8

Inspector

Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2728057 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9