Children's Home run by N H Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 1 SC467264 Registered provider: N H Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this home. It provides care for up to four children aged seven to 17 years with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 24 May 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

In July 2023, Ofsted lifted a condition on the home’s registration, requiring the provider to give Ofsted three month’s notice before accepting a new child into the home.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/07/2021 Full Inadequate 02/01/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 06/08/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff welcomed the first child into the home in August 2023 and the second child in November 2023, following the home temporarily closing in November 2022. The manager and staff ensured that both children were well supported to move in to the home, which has helped them to quickly settle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have formed positive relationships with staff and the manager. The children reach out to staff for cuddles and hold staff’s hands when they need reassurance. Staff respond to children with warmth and kindness. The children enjoyed their Christmas holiday, which was filled with lots of presents and quality time spent with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although the children have only been living at the home for a short time, they are both in a good, structured routine and are making good progress considering their individual starting points. For example, they have attained good self-care skills, which have enhanced their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and education lead professional have good oversight of the children’s education. This has reinforced a constructive working relationship between the school teachers, virtual school and care staff. The children are receiving the right level of support to help them with their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff are meeting the children’s emotional and physical health needs. They support children to attend their scheduled health appointments. When specialist services are required, staff and the manager request that health professionals make relevant referrals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel that they can speak with staff and the manager if they have any worries. They say that staff listen to them and value their wishes and feelings, which they convey to staff through conversations, key-work sessions and children’s meetings. Children are involved in decisions about their daily care, which includes meal planning and activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff support the children to spend quality time with appropriate close family and friends. This helps the children to build and maintain lifelong social networks, which they can take with them as they progress into adult life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming for children. The children have personalised their bedrooms, and these now reflect their interests in bikes, cars, video games, basketball and football. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 4

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

Children feel safe living at the home. Staff know the children very well and can diffuse situations quite quickly and before they escalate.

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

On occasions, both children have been unkind to each other and to staff. Staff use restorative practice and model positive relationships to enable the children to learn the impact of such behaviours on themselves and others. The children are learning to regulate their own emotions and they have more awareness of others around them. As a result, they are learning to deal with situations differently.

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

Physical intervention is only used by staff as a last resort to keep children and those around them safe. Such incidents are well managed and the manager has reflective debriefs with staff and the children. This facilitates healthy discussion, which helps to identify and promptly address any concerns.

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

Complaints are dealt with well by the manager. Children receive reassurances that they have taken the right step in raising their worry. The manager gives the children feedback on how she has addressed the concern and ensures that the children are happy with the outcome. The complaints procedure is regularly shared with children so that they are reminded of this process should they need to raise concerns. This open approach helps children to feel safe.

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

The manager has reviewed the home’s location risk assessment and consulted with staff, local neighbours, shops, the police and the children. The risk assessment outlines local community resources, which children and staff can access, and also identifies known risks and control measures to safeguard the children.

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

The manager has now addressed shortfalls identified in safer recruitment processes at the last inspection. The process is more robust to help to ensure that only safe adults can look after the children.

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good

The home is facing some staffing difficulties. There is friction among members of the staff team and this has meant that, on occasions, the staff are not working cohesively as a team.

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good

Due to staff absences, the manager has had to ask staff from within the organisation to work at the home, who do not know the children as well as the staff team. This instability in staffing arrangements has not yet had an impact on the quality of care given to children but has the potential to do so if staffing issues are not addressed promptly. However, the manager and senior managers are aware of the issues and are in the process of addressing them.

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good

The difficulties in the staff team have impacted on the manager’s ability to undertake all of her management tasks. This is because she has had to regularly Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 5 take on responsibilities in caring directly for the children to ensure consistency and continuity of care.

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good

Staff rosters are being completed at short notice. Consequently, staff are not aware of what shifts they are working in the coming weeks, which does not help the already fractured relationships.

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good

When children raise concerns about staff or their teachers’ practice, the manager notifies the children’s social workers and the designated officer. However, on one occasion, the manager did not notify Ofsted. In addition, although a quality of care review report has been completed, managers have not submitted this to Ofsted. These shortfalls do not help the regulator to have oversight of what is happening at the home.

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good

Some staff say that they feel well supported by the manager and have good development opportunities, including focused and tailored supervision. Others do not. Senior managers and the manager are seeking to address staff concerns.

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good

Partner agencies are positive about the support and quality of care that children receive. They are also positive about the communication that they have with staff, and they are kept up to date with the children’s progress. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 6

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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, 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 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 promotes their welfare.

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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 staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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)(b)(e)(h)) 29 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (4)(a)) 29 March 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should notify Ofsted if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 63, paragraph 14.10) Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 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: SC467264 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 69, Steward Street Business Lofts, Steward Street, Birmingham B18 7AF

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Natallina Khushia-Narhar

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Inspectors

Rumbi Mangoma, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC467264 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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

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