Children's home run by Nottingham City Council in Nottingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC424348 1 SC424348 Registered provider: Nottingham City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a local authority. The home provides medium to long-term care for two children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2022.

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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 outstanding

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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: 12 September 2022

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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: SC424348 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/09/2022 Full Good 11/05/2021 Full Good 10/09/2019 Full Outstanding 26/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC424348 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were two children living in the home at the time of this inspection. Since the last inspection, four children have moved into the home and four children have moved on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in their education. Where children have faced challenge or setbacks in education the home proactively advocates for children. This means children access education with support tailored to their needs. Staff also encourage children to persevere with their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in activities they enjoy. They say they would not change anything about the home. When asked what they like about the home, one child said: ‘The staff, they are helpful.’ Staff promote and support children to develop age- appropriate independence skills. Positive relationships with the staff have contributed to the progress that the children have made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they can talk to staff if they are worried or upset. Positive, warm and nurturing interactions were observed between the children and staff, with lots of laughter. The children are very comfortable in the company of the staff team and have built trusting relationships with the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive personalised care. Staff celebrate and support children’s religious and cultural needs. Where safe and appropriate, the staff work hard to ensure that children maintain links with those who are important to them. Staff also have a good understanding of children’s health needs and work closely with external agencies to support children with health concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from professionals is extremely positive. One social worker said that their child is thriving due to the quality of care and love they receive and how their diversity is celebrated and promoted. Another social worker said the home is ‘fantastic with the care they provide to children’.

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

Staff have undertaken mandatory safeguarding training. Staff are confident in their roles of reporting and escalating any child protection concerns and they understand the whistle-blowing policy.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the children and their risks and are sensitive in how they approach and support children to identify and understand the risks posed to them. External professionals said they are happy with how their children are safeguarded and had no concerns. Children also say they feel safe living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC424348 4 The children’s guide is child-friendly and gives children a sense of what it is like living in the home. The guide also contains information to help children understand who to speak to if they are worried or if they need support outside of the home.

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

When children are involved in incidents, there are plans for follow-up work. This means that children are supported to reflect on their behaviour. Incidents of physical intervention are managed well; interventions have been appropriate, proportionate and necessary. However, these incidents are not always analysed in detail, which means that opportunities to prevent future occurrences are missed.

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

The children are protected by the organisation’s safe recruitment practices. Staff are assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures promote the safety of the children by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

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

Overall, staff do keep children safe, and they take action to ensure that children are protected. Wider professionals are positive about the care being provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager’s skills and experience enable highly effective management of staff. The manager has high aspirations for the children and the staff and is a commendable role model.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel very well supported and valued by the manager. The staff benefit from regular one-to-one formal supervision. One staff member said: ‘The manager really cares about staff and also cares about the home. I feel driven by the manager.’ Staff are fully invested in the children’s progress and benefit from the manager’s experience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager understands the importance of staff resilience and seeks to fully support the staff team. One staff member said: ‘I can talk to management about anything, and I don’t have to wait for my supervision.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has ensured that staff are provided with excellent training opportunities. The manager also empowers staff and ensures that they feel a part of the development of the team. For example, some staff have attended external training and conferences and were tasked with presenting their learning to the rest of the team. High-quality training means that staff have the tools and knowledge to provide individualised, informed care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive annual appraisals of their performance. However, at the time of inspection the home was undergoing a review of the appraisal formats. The new formats lacked detail and clarity, which made it difficult to assess the quality and benefits of staff appraisal. Inspection report for children’s home: SC424348 5 The manager is a strong advocate for the children. One social worker said: ‘The management team challenges professionals in the best interest of the child, which is so refreshing.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has a vigorous auditing system in place, which means that any concerns or issues that arise are identified quickly. The manager is prompt in evaluating shortfalls and putting systems and plans in place to address these and prevent reoccurrences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has regular meetings with professionals, including social workers, education staff and health professionals. The meetings track the children’s progress and enable appropriate targets to further develop children’s progress. This collaborative working means that the care provided to children is kept under review. Inspection report for children’s home: SC424348 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and the principles as set out in 9.35 are respected. In particular, the registered person should analyse all incidents of restraint to ascertain any patterns or trends for future learning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  All staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. As part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. In particular, the registered person

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Recommendations

should ensure that records are kept to a good standard when the home is going through a transition in updating document formats. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: SC424348 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nottingham City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG2 3NG

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Inspector

Anver Rose, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC424348 8 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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