Children's home run by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

Inspection report for children's home: 2516984 1 Registered provider: Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The service provides short breaks for up to six children who may have sensory impairment and/or physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The service is dual registered with Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is a qualified learning disability nurse and holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. She registered with Ofsted in May 2020.

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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: 28 February 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: 2516984 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2023 Full Good 08/06/2021 Full Good 04/02/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2516984 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is a short-breaks service. At the time of the inspection, four children were enjoying a short-break stay. Care is provided by qualified nurses and care staff, most of whom have worked at the home for many years. As a result, staff know the children well. They understand the children’s individual care and health needs, along with their likes and dislikes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has recently had a refresh. It has been painted throughout, which has improved the overall appearance. There are photos on the walls showing children having fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure there are a variety of toys and equipment for children to play with. The home has a range of well-maintained specialist equipment to support children during their stays, such as hoists and specialist beds.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy their stays. Often, they visit with other children they know, which helps them to socialise and make friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children take part in a wide range of activities in the home, such as arts and crafts, baking, singing and dancing, playing in the garden and swimming at the on-site hydrotherapy pool. However, opportunities to go out into the community are limited, with only occasional trips. This limits the social opportunities for children, especially those who may not otherwise have the chance to take part in community- based activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Though children may only visit a few times a month, staff help them to progress by setting small, achievable targets. However, on occasion, the information staff need to understand how to support children is not clear. This could mean staff are inconsistent in their approach, resulting in children struggling to achieve their targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Families and external professionals are very complimentary about the home and the positive working relationships they have with staff. All say the home is child-centred and staff are flexible to meet the needs of the child.

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

Staff know children well and use this knowledge to keep children safe. They pick up on the subtle cues that a child may be upset or anxious. They are then able to reassure and distract the child before incidents occur. As a result, there are few incidents and staff have not needed to use physical intervention to keep children safe. Inspection report for children's home: 2516984 4 The manager considers the matching of children carefully so that children do not have stays with others who may pose a risk to them.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. Plans are in place which tell staff what action they need to take if a child was to go missing.

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

Many children using the service have complex health needs. Staff have developed comprehensive plans outlining how to care for children. This helps staff monitor children’s health well. The use of monitoring systems means concerns about a child’s health can be identified early and, where necessary, action taken. However, when visual monitors are used, there is no specific guidance for staff as to when and how they should be used or how children’s privacy is maintained when they are.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides strong leadership. She is supported well by a knowledgeable deputy. Both are very child-focused and committed to providing good-quality care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has made several changes over the past year to improve the monitoring of the home and of children’s plans. This has given staff more focus and direction as well as clearer expectations about good-quality planning and how this improves the quality of care given to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager completes a six-monthly review of the home under regulation 45. However, she has not considered the views of children or other stakeholders as part of that review. In addition, there was no action plan showing how the manager plans to improve the quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel well supported by managers and that they receive regular supervision, support and guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a variety of training, which includes child-specific learning. Managers test staff’s knowledge through competency assessments. As a result, staff are knowledgeable and have the appropriate skills to care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have positive relationships with parents. Parents are very complimentary about the service and care provided. They talk about the flexibility of the service and say that managers listen and take on board suggestions and advice they give about how to care for their child. Inspection report for children's home: 2516984 5

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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 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

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Requirement Due date

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

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) (5))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that the registered person considers views from children and other stakeholders and includes an action plan to improve the quality of care. 17 May 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when the home is using monitoring equipment, there is a written policy describing how this will support the safeguarding and well-being of those living and working in the home, in accordance with regulation 24. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person should ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities both inside and outside of the home (where appropriate) and are Inspection report for children's home: 2516984 6 encouraged to participate in those activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.5)  The registered person should support staff to be ambitious for every child in the home and to gain skills and experience that enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential. To ensure that staff understand and can meet

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Recommendations

each child’s needs, in line with their responsibilities, the registered person themselves will need to have a high level of understanding of the needs of the children in their care. This specifically relates to the detail needed in children’s plans which helps staff to understand how to support children to reach their goals. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)

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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: 2516984 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2, Kings Court Business Park, Charles Hastings Way, Worcester, Worcestershire WR5 1JR

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Inspector

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2516984 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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