Children's Home run by Cove Care – Residential Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 1 Registered provider: Cove Care Residential Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to three children with social, emotional and complex mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a manager who registered with Ofsted in February 2021.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 12 December 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/12/2022 Full Good 25/10/2022 Full Inadequate 21/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 3

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improvement to be good

The manager’s oversight of the quality of care is not effective. Consequently, the manager has not identified areas that contribute to keeping children safe, and therefore, he has not acted to resolve areas of concern. These two issues contribute to the judgement of requires improvement to be good.

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improvement to be good

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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improvement to be good

One child has moved into the home since the last inspection. The move to the home was well planned, and staff helped the child to feel welcome and supported. This helped the child to settle quickly and feel at home.

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improvement to be good

Children access education that is tailored to their individual needs. Children benefit from effective support and encouragement from staff to promote their education and learning.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are met well. Children are registered with health professionals, and appointments are made as necessary. Medication is stored safely, and records are maintained on the administration of medication.

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improvement to be good

Staff hold key-work sessions with the children. These sessions cover a range of topics, including education, the dangers of vaping and managing behaviours and anxieties. Consequently, children feel listened to and valued and make safer decisions about matters that affect them.

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improvement to be good

Arrangements are in place that support children to maintain positive relationships with their family and friends. Staff work closely with children and their families to ensure that time spent together is safe and a positive experience.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always ensure that up-to-date risk assessments are in place and understood. For example, some risk assessments have inaccurate information about children in them, while others contain assessments of risk that the child has never been at risk of. This limits the staff team’s ability to review the strategies that help to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Restraint is sometimes used to prevent children from harming themselves or others. Staff use a range of strategies to try to de-escalate incidents before restraint is needed. On one occasion, a restraint led to an allegation against a member of staff. However, the restraint incident was not recorded, and the manager failed to notice this as part of his monitoring of the quality of care. This lack of effective Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 4 management oversight means that it is not clear if this restraint was used appropriately and safely.

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improvement to be good

Staff know how to implement and follow the policies and procedures agreed with the local police for reporting children as missing from care. Staff take appropriate action to locate a missing child quickly and promote the child’s safe return by means of keeping in touch with them and liaising closely with the police and other agencies. There is a process in place for children to be seen by an independent person on their return. This helps staff to consider any information that may help to protect children from going missing from care again.

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improvement to be good

Children live in a home that is physically safe and secure. Regular environmental safety checks are undertaken, and staff and children regularly practise evacuating the home in case of an emergency.

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improvement to be good

Children are protected by thorough recruitment and selection procedures. This ensures that only the most suitable individuals are caring for children.

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good

There are staff shortages at the home because of staff leaving. To mitigate these shortages, the manager is on the rota regularly covering shifts. This has had an impact on his ability to complete his level 5 qualification in leadership and management for residential childcare. In addition, it has negatively impacted on the manager’s ability to spend time monitoring and reviewing care practices. For example, risk assessments have not been reviewed effectively, and key incidents have not been recorded.

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good

The specialist input for children and staff from the therapeutic team, as detailed in the home’s statement of purpose, is not occurring. A therapist has visited the home once in 12 months, no children have had their needs assessed and staff do not receive therapeutic consultation and reflection. This does not support staff in managing the complex care for children, and it leaves children receiving no specialist support.

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good

Staff report that the manager is approachable and freely gives advice and support. The manager undertakes practice-related supervision with staff, which gives them the opportunity to reflect on their own practice and the needs of the children in their care.

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good

Staff benefit from a training programme that helps to equip them with the skills required to look after the children in their care.

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good

The registered manager holds monthly meetings with the staff. These meetings consider the individual needs of the children and provide staff with the opportunity to learn from each other. Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 5 The manager has formed positive relationships with a range of agencies, including placing social workers and education departments. This helps the manager to have a coordinated approach so that children’s needs are met. Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 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, 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s risk assessments are reviewed and updated appropriately. 9 April 2024

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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

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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the statement of purpose reflects how children can receive therapeutic care in the home. 9 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 7 Additionally, it relates to ensuring that there is an appropriate number of staff in the home so that the manager’s role is not hindered.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)) 9 April 2024

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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: 1231311 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cove Care Residential Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 4BL

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Inspector

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1231311 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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