Children's Home run by TS Children Services Ltd in Dudley

Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2726003 1 Registered provider: TS Children Services Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home is registered to provide care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in November 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left shortly after registration in December 2023. A new manager started in January 2024; he is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspection: not previously inspection

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: not previously inspected

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable

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Information about this inspection

At these inspections, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2726003 2

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Findings from the inspection

We identified serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home. Managers have failed to fully assess the potential impact of the needs, risks and behaviours of children moving into the home on those already living there. They do not ensure that they have all the information about the children and their potential risks and vulnerabilities before they move into the home. In addition, when the manager assessed that staff should have specific training to meet children’s needs, this was not provided.

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Findings from the inspection

Current staffing arrangements fail to provide the children with consistent care. Since the home was registered in December 2023, four staff including the previous manager and deputy manager have left. The manager has highly relied on relief staff to cover the shifts in this home. This does not help children to develop positive and healthy relationships with a familiar adult who knows them well. Additionally, there are significant gaps in staff training. Online training that has been provided only provides basic knowledge and skills to care for children and does not provide staff with extensive knowledge around specific areas that are important to working with children at the home.

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Findings from the inspection

The manager has failed to implement safeguarding procedures. They have not fulfilled their statutory safeguarding responsibilities. Staff do not show professional curiosity. One child was found to be in possession of a significant sum of money, referred to by staff as a ‘wad’. Staff did not show sufficient professional curiosity about where this money might have come from, particularly given that the child had risks of criminality and gang involvement. Information about this money was not shared with other agencies such as the child’s social worker. Staff also show no professional curiosity about children’s associates, despite their risks of being involved with gangs.

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Findings from the inspection

Risk assessments do not provide staff with clear guidance and strategies to manage risk. There are significant shortfalls in the assessment and management of risk for children living in the home. Risks are not well known, documented or understood. Strategies for staff to follow to keep children safe are not identified. Significant risks such as gangs, knives and risky associates are absent from one child’s plan. Another child’s risk assessment is not informed by information from their placing authority because the home has not obtained key documents such as risk assessments and the care and placement plan from the placing authority. This means that staff are not aware of the child’s risks or of how to keep them safe. This significant failure puts children at risk of harm.

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Findings from the inspection

When a child has been missing from home, managers and staff have failed to take action to protect them. Managers and staff failed to identify the significant risk Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2726003 3 posed to a child who is at risk of criminal exploitation. Additionally, return home interviews have not been completed. Staff are not confident in the protocols and guidance they must follow when children go missing from home. This increases the children’s vulnerability and compromises their safety. For example, one child has been missing from home on three occasions, including, on one occasion, overnight. The child’s missing from home risk assessment states that they have not been missing since coming to live at the home. It does not identify what staff should do if the child does go missing. When children do go missing, staff do not always report them as missing to the police immediately.

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Findings from the inspection

The manager does not provide sufficient detail when they notify Ofsted of serious incidents. The lack of detail reduces the regulators oversight of the home. This weakens the safety net for children.

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Findings from the inspection

There are significant gaps in the managers’ knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Managers fail to identify and address shortfalls in practice and make improvements. Incident records do not contain any management oversight and do not identify any follow-up work to be undertaken with children following incidents when they are at risk of harm. This means that patterns and trends in behaviours and incidents are not identified, and children are not helped to learn about positive behaviour.

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Findings from the inspection

Most of the home is well furnished and maintained. This presents a welcoming environment. However, one child’s bedroom was observed to be dirty, with a huge pile of washing on the floor: their belongings remain in holdalls, unpacked after 6 weeks living in the home. Another child had no sheets on their bed. This does not provide children with a hygienic, nurturing and comfortable place to sleep.

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Findings from the inspection

The shortfalls highlighted are serious and widespread and demonstrate that safeguarding practice is not sufficiently robust and does not promote the safety and welfare of children. Poor leadership and management practice and a lack of ability to take effective action to improve the quality of care in the home has compromised the safety, experience and progress of the children. As a result, a restriction of accommodation has been issued. Following this, the provider was asked to provide HMCI with an action plan around appropriate risk management of the children. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2726003 4

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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 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

(Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)) 28 April 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— that staff—

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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;

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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; 28 April 2024 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2726003 5 understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting 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.

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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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

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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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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)(a)(c)(d)(e)(h)) 28 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home; and 28 April 2024 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2726003 6 have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 each child's relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(c)(e)) 28 April 2024

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: TS Children Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 11 Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 4DJ

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Inspector

Marianne Grandfield, social care inspector Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2726003 7 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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