Children's Home run by SOLID GLOBAL LIMITED in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 1 Registered provider: Solid Global Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a privately owned limited company. It provides care for up to two children. The home specialises in providing therapeutic care for children with mental health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by a suitably experienced manager who registered with Ofsted in October 2023.

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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: 25 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/06/2023 Full Inadequate 10/01/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/09/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has been proactive in improving the quality of care. He has ensured that there is a stable staff team and developed plans which help staff understand how best to care for the child. As a result, the child has progressed well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have formed positive relationships with the child. They listen to the child and involve them in all aspects of their care. This has contributed to the child becoming more settled and feeling valued and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has advocated well for the child when he has felt that their health needs were not being met. As a result, the child is now receiving the support that they need for a medical condition. This has contributed to the child’s mental health improving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s progress has meant that they are no longer subject to a deprivation of liberty order. The child is now more independent and accesses the community as any other child would.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is helped by external professionals to explore their feelings and develop coping strategies. As a result, they are more confident to be independent and are less reliant on staff support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s increased confidence means that they are beginning to think about their future. Previously, they were reluctant to engage in education. However, they now participate in home tuition and online training courses and have started a course in animal welfare.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the child to prepare for the next stage of their life. They help them to learn the skills they need, such as cooking and budgeting. Staff have helped the child to apply for their provisional driving licence and start driving lessons. However, the child is not yet in a good daily routine and, as a result, struggles to be ready for the day ahead.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to keep in touch with their family. The child is taken to visit family members regularly, including overnight stays at their family home. Consequently, the child is able to maintain links with those who are important to them.

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

The child is cared for by a consistent staff team who know them well. As a result, incidents of self-harm and admissions to hospital have dramatically reduced. Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 4 There have been few incidents at the home. When incidents do occur, staff use their knowledge of the child to pre-empt difficulties and use distraction and diversion techniques well. As a result, staff have not needed to use physical intervention to keep the child safe.

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

Staff monitor the child’s online activity and, when needed, discourage contact with people the child does not know. To support the child’s understanding of online and community risks, they have had learning opportunities in key-work sessions with staff, undertaken online training courses and been visited by the local police community support officer to discuss risks.

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

On occasions, the child has gone missing from home. Staff have followed the home’s missing-from-home protocol in searching and reporting the child as missing. When the child has returned home, staff have helped them to explore why they felt the need to go missing and to develop strategies to prevent further occurrences of going missing.

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

Plans which help staff to understand how to keep the child safe have improved. However, they are not clear on the action staff need to take if they are concerned about the child’s welfare when they are out in the community without staff. In addition, records do not show that when room searches are carried out, this is done in line with the child’s risk assessment.

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

The manager is creative in helping the child understand fire risks. The local fire service have visited and spent time with the child discussing fire safety at home.

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

Staff took prompt action when the child raised a concern about their safety when out in the community. They gathered information and reported to the police.

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

The manager took action when the child raised a concern about staff practice, reporting and investigating this appropriately.

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

Several new staff have been recruited to the home. There are some shortfalls in recruitment checks, which could mean that people who should not work with children are doing so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is instrumental in making changes to improve the quality of care. He is child-focused and has high expectations for himself and the care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the child well. He has a good understanding of the child’s needs and has developed plans which help staff understand how best to support them. This has meant that the child’s progress has exceeded expectations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual has begun to develop his role. He is now spending time at the home monitoring practice and talking to staff and the child. He has undertaken training Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 5 for his role and attends regular meetings with other responsible individuals to further develop his knowledge and skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has improved monitoring systems which help him to identify shortfalls. He has a clear vision of the improvements that need to be made to continue to improve the care the child receives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported. They receive regular supervision. However, some supervision records do not show how staff have reflected on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a variety of training, which develops their skills and knowledge. However, some staff have still not completed the relevant qualification in the required timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff new to the home have an induction and probation period. However, probation meetings and analysis of performance to show they have met the required standard to pass their probation are not recorded. Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 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— 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that there are plans in place which tell staff what action to take if they are concerned about a child’s safety or welfare when out in the community without staff. In addition, that staff undertake room searches in line with children’s plans. 12 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d)) 24 May 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. 24 May 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 7 The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part-time basis. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b)) Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 8 Specifically, that staff’s progress towards achieving the appropriate qualification is monitored so that they can complete this within the relevant timescales or, where these have been exceeded, as soon as practicable.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure staff help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home’s support. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice 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)  The registered person should ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them.

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Recommendations

Specifically, that there is a record of how staff have been assessed as suitable at the end of their probation period. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 1259178 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solid Global Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8 Astor House, 282 Lichfield Road, Sutton Coldfield B74 2UG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Octovus Muchemenye

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Inspector

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1259178 10 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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