Children's Home run by Coventry City Council in Coventry

Inspection report for children’s home: SC414347 1 SC414347 Registered provider: Coventry City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority managed children’s home provides care for up to four children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since December 2011 and is suitably qualified.

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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 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 January 2023

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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: SC414347 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/01/2023 Full Good 15/03/2022 Full Good 14/08/2019 Full Good 25/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC414347 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at this home have positive experiences and are making progress. Staff understand children’s care needs and know how to provide good-quality care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were three children living at the home at the time of the inspection. Two children have lived in the home for over three years. One child has moved into the home and is starting to establish trusting relationships with staff. One young person has moved out of the home. They moved into independent accommodation in line with their care plan. The young person remains in touch with staff from the home, through the Lifelong Links and Staying Close programmes. This has helped them to settle into their new home quickly because they know that they still have support from trusted adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have clear targets in place, and their progress is kept under constant review. Children are making progress from their starting points, in line with their complex needs. Managers and staff understand what progress looks like for each child, and progress is celebrated. All children said that they like living in the home and that they feel happy and safe. One child said, ‘The home is 10 out of 10.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education. Most children attend education settings that are suited to their needs and abilities. When children are not in education, staff ensure that bespoke learning plans are in place so that children are not missing out on education. Staff work in partnership with education departments and relevant professionals to make sure that children are educated and have opportunities to reach their full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health is promoted. All children are registered with the relevant primary healthcare services. Staff understand the importance of good health and support children to attend appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to take part in a wide range of activities, try new things and develop hobbies and interests. These include activities such as football, music clubs, swimming and day trips to theme parks. Children also had the opportunity to enjoy a summer holiday. Sharing activities enables children to grow in confidence and improve their self-esteem and social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before admitting one child into the home, the manager failed to complete a risk assessment to fully consider the impact on other children already living in the home. An impact risk assessment was recorded after the child had moved into the home. While there does not appear to have been a detrimental impact on the children, this lack of diligence does have the potential to affect the stability and experiences of children in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC414347 4 The home environment is of mixed quality. Some areas, including children’s bedrooms, are well designed and furnished, providing comfortable spaces for children. However, there are some areas that are unkempt due to lack of care and attention. For example, there was litter and knocked over plant pots in the front garden. There were also holes in the stair carpet, the stair banister needed painting and there were coffee stains on radiator covers. This does not provide a homely and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

welcoming environment for children to live in.

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

Overall, children living at this home are safe. Children’s risks are identified in their plans, and these provide staff with clear guidance for managing children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Staff know the children well, understand their risks and know the actions they need to take to mitigate risks and keep children safe. In addition, staff work extensively with children to understand their behaviours, risks and triggers. This has supported children to become safer. As a result, incidents are reducing.

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

Children say that they feel safe and listened to. They can identify staff who they feel comfortable with to discuss any worries or concerns they may have. This enables children to talk about their emotions and provides them with a sense of security.

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

In the main, staff follow children’s plans and take the necessary action when required. However, there are some occasions where staff have not followed children’s plans. For example, a child was left without adequate supervision on one occasion. On another occasion, staff failed to correctly switch on the door alarms at night. On both occasions, children left the home without staff’s knowledge and were reported as missing from home. These incidents could have been avoided. The manager’s monitoring identified these shortfalls, and action was taken to improve staff practice.

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

Staff take appropriate action when children go missing from home. Staff follow children’s detailed missing-from-home plans, searching for children and liaising with the police until children are located. When risks have increased, the manager has raised concerns and worked collaboratively with the police and external professionals to reduce risks and keep children safe. As a result, incidents of children going missing from home and the associated risks of exploitation are reducing.

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

The manager responds quickly when there are allegations, complaints or concerns about staff practice. She ensures that the local authority designated officer and social workers are always informed, and all concerns are investigated. This helps children to be confident to raise any concerns because they know staff will take them seriously. It also helps them to feel safe and secure in their environment.

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

Physical interventions are only used as a last resort. The manager has effective oversight of all incidents. The manager speaks to staff and children following any intervention. This ensures that any intervention used is necessary and proportionate and helps to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC414347 5 Staff respond with sensitivity and compassion when children harm themselves. This means that children know that they will get help if they need it.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a dedicated and conscientious manager. She has high aspirations for the children in her care. She and the staff team have good knowledge of children’s starting points and what they have accomplished since coming to live at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has highly effective monitoring systems in place, which supports her to review the quality of care. She uses these systems, along with independent visitor assessments and quality of care six-monthly review, to continually assess and improve the care afforded to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been some issues with the online reporting and recording system. Managers and staff are not always able to access the information in children’s case records. This can have an impact on both the manager’s and independent visitor’s oversight and the ability to share information in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is good. Staff say that they enjoy working at the home, and they are positive about the support they receive from the manager. Staff receive high-quality supervision and annual appraisals. Team meetings are regular and reflective. This supports staff to work together as a team, develops staff practice and improves the quality of care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well trained. Managers ensure that staff receive training to meet children’s individual needs. This ensures that all staff have the skills and training necessary to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and managers work closely with a wide range of professionals so that children receive well-coordinated care. This is a strength of the home. As a result of this partnership approach, children’s risks are reducing, and their outcomes are improving. The manager will challenge those who are not meeting children’s needs or when she feels that decisions are not in the best interests of the child. Feedback from professionals is consistently positive. They are complimentary about the communication from staff and the progress that children make while living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC414347 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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

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

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the home is a welcoming and homely environment. This also relates to ongoing monitoring to ensure that the home is kept clean and well maintained. 3 May 2024

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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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that care is provided in accordance with children’s plans. 3 May 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC414347 7 The registered person must ensure that the following items, which may be kept in electronic form, are kept in an accessible manner—

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Requirement Due date

records of the use of measures of control, discipline or restraint (see regulation 35);

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Requirement Due date

children’s case records (see regulation 36); and

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Requirement Due date

other records (see regulation 37). (Regulation 38 (h)(i)(j))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to records being easily accessible in a timely manner. 3 May 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they fully understand what will be required of them before they accept responsibility for a child’s placement, to avoid disruption and instability for the child in the future and for other children in the home. They should ensure that they have sufficient information from the child’s ‘placing authority’ (usually their parents/carers) and other relevant agencies to effectively assess whether they can meet the child’s needs before agreeing to the placement. An impact risk assessment should be completed before children move into the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.5)

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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: SC414347 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Coventry City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coventry City Council House, Earl Street, Coventry CV1 5RR

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Inspector

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC414347 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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