Children's home run by YMCA

Inspection report children's home: 2588599 1 Registered provider: YMCA Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a charity. At the time of the inspection one child was living in the home.

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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: 14 November 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 children's home: 2588599 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/11/2022 Full Good 28/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2588599 3

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improvement to be good

Leading up this inspection there have been mixed experiences for children.

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improvement to be good

Some children moved on from the home, in a planned way and are making very good progress.

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improvement to be good

The child currently living in the home is not yet receiving good care, due to short- falls in being helped and protected and in the leadership and management of the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff know the child’s previous life experiences, their needs, and behaviours. Staff are working with the clinical team and other professionals to meet their needs.

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improvement to be good

The child has had poor experiences of education prior to moving to this home and lacks confidence in attending school. There has been a delay in securing a school place, however there is now a tutor working with the child on a part -time basis.

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improvement to be good

Staff have ensured the child is attending health checks to support good health. They are developing good routines which has led to improved sleep patterns and healthy diet.

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improvement to be good

The child is developing positive relationships with care staff in the home and with the clinical team undertaking direct work and assessment. They are gradually re- sponding to opportunities for social activities and as a result have improving self-esteem.

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improvement to be good

Their cultural, heritage and identity needs are known, and staff ensure they are be- ing met. They seek and listen to the child’s views and wishes about their daily care and about their plans.

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improvement to be good

The child’s social worker and the therapeutic clinical team report that the child is making progress from their starting points.

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improvement to be good

Staff are promoting and facilitating family time with signficant family members in ac- cordance with their wishes.

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improvement to be good

Staff celebrate the child’s achievements and progress is reinforced. For example, recently the child was able to reflect after a difficult incident and apologise to a member of staff. Inspection report children's home: 2588599 4

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improvement to be good

The child has experienced a lot of change and has complex needs and vulnerabili- ties. The child’s care plan is informed by assessment of the child’s needs by the clinical team working with the staff and managers. Members of the clinical team are undertaking direct work and assessment with the child and observe and report on staff practice.

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improvement to be good

Staff and managers have regular consultations to reflect on practice and develop effective interventions.

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improvement to be good

There have been several incidents of the use of physical intervention to keep the child safe and keep staff safe. Staff have received relevant training and a number of the managers across the organisation are trainers in the use of physical interven- tion.

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improvement to be good

Records sampled evidence that the criteria for intervening are met however some records have lacked detail about the child’s views and about staff views. Staff have not been sufficiently professionally curious and tenacious in seeking the child’s views. In addition, there has not been effective oversight by managers in a small number of incidents. There has not been sufficient analysis of the overall use of physical interventions, to inform practice and decision making.

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improvement to be good

On one occasion an allegation of harm made by the child was not responded to in a timely way, the member of staff was not working in the home following the allega- tion. This has since been reported and child protection procedures have been followed.

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improvement to be good

The behaviour support plan provides helpful advice to staff to support effective re- sponses to managing behaviours and risks. However, the advice regarding risk of allegations of harm to children required review and amendments.

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improvement to be good

There has been a learning review regarding allegations practice with staff and man- agers. A recent concern was responded to in a more timely, effective way, adhering to procedures.

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good

Since the previous inspection, the home closed for a short period of time to be re- furbished and for a review of systems within the home. Staff were temporarily redeployed within the provider and benefited from this additional experience. Lead- ing up to the closure there had been a number of changes within the management team. Inspection report children's home: 2588599 5 A new manager has been appointed and is in the process of applying to be registered. She is experienced, enthusiastic, and committed to improving practice.

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good

There have been new appointments to the team. Some staff are undertaking relevant qualification training, the team is developing practice and growing in experience. Staff report that they believe the team and manager are supportive and that there is good teamwork.

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good

Staff would benefit from regular supervision that covers safeguarding responsibilities.

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good

The manager has been supporting staff with direct care of the child, as a result monitoring within the home, such as an analysis of the use of physical intervention has not been completed. There has also not been regular oversight and evaluation of the impact of individual work with the child.

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good

The provider has not undertaken a review of the quality of care within the home and submitted this to HMCI. This means that the regulator, Ofsted, did not have an up to date understanding of the quality of care within the home. Reports by the independent visitor have been shared and have identified some shortfalls that the manager has responded to.

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good

Senior managers commissioned an independent social worker to undertake monitoring in the home on two occasions since the previous inspection. There is a development plan in place however the manager has been supporting the team to deliver care.

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good

The manager works well with partner agencies and there was evidence of positive feedback from professionals about the service, during this inspection. Inspection report children's home: 2588599 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 protection of children standard is that children are pro- tected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the reg- istered person to ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into ac- count information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if neces- sary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to pro- tecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii) (v)(vi)(vii)) This specifically includes training for staff and managers re- garding allegations of harm to children by adults. 06/05/2024

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the regis- tered 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 reg- istered person to— 06/05/2024 Inspection report children's home: 2588599 7 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)(4)(a)(b)(5)) 06/05/2024 Inspection report children's home: 2588599 8

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Recommendations

 Where children placed in a home are not participating in education, they should be supported to regain confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person must have systems in place to ensure staff and managers receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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 children's home: 2588599 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Malt Cross, 16 St. James's Street, Nottingham, NG1 6FG

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Inspector(s)

Cathey Moriarty, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 2588599 10 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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