Children's home run by Nottingham City Council in Nottingham

Inspection report children's home: SC424280 1 SC424280 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 owned and operated by a local authority. The home provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2018. The manager also manages another children’s home within the local authority.

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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: 8 November 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 children's home: SC424280 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/11/2022 Full Good 07/02/2022 Full Good 16/10/2019 Full Good 12/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC424280 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, experiences and progress for children are good. Staff develop strong relationships with children and understand their needs well. Staff support children develop independence skills and plan for their futures. A social worker said, ‘The staff offer unconditional positive regard at all times.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported to engage with school and future employment. The staff liaise effectively with education providers. One child really struggled to attend school. They are now attending regularly and have been nominated for a recognition award for the progress made. Staff help children complete a CV and job applications.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager carefully considers how staff can meet children’s needs before they move into the home. Staff support children to prepare to move in, and discussions are held with children already living in the home. When planning for future moves into independence, staff continue to provide the same levels of support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the value of continued family and friend relationships for children. They support children to spend time with family, where it is safe to do so. This helps children to maintain important family relationships and promotes their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to share their wishes, feelings, and views in planned and unplanned discussions. Staff are creative in how they help children to learn to make positive choices and better understand risks.

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

Risk assessments are detailed and easy to understand. The manager and staff carry out regular reviews of these documents. The plans help staff to understand how best to support children’s specific behaviours and risks. A social worker said, ‘Safety planning has been good, communication is consistent and additional support is always available.’

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

Children rarely go missing from home. When they do go missing, staff members follow established protocols to return children home quickly and safely. Staff members ensure that information is shared with relevant external safeguarding agencies. This means that there is a robust multi-agency response when children go missing from home.

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

Relationships between children and staff are positive. Staff are committed to establishing relationships with children. Children feel safe and secure and share information about their worries, which helps staff support them better. This is something which is continually developed. The dedication of staff enables children to develop trusting relationships, improving children’s feelings of safety and security. Inspection report children's home: SC424280 4 There have been no allegations or complaints made about staff by children or professionals.

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

Safer recruitment processes are not always followed. For one member of staff, reasons for leaving a previous role working with vulnerable people were not verified.

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

Serious incidents are not always shared with the regulator in a timely manner. This prevents a thorough evaluation from being carried out. It restricts Ofsted’s ability to evaluate how well children are safeguarded at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a range of training, including safeguarding training. Training is regular and varied, taking into consideration children’s specific needs. External training is sourced to help staff have a greater understanding into children’s cultural and diversity needs. One child was involved in helping staff develop more knowledge, supporting children to feel valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The focus of the home’s development plan is on the needs of children. The emphasis is on what support staff put in place to enable children to make positive progress in all aspects of their lives. The manager and staff are committed to helping children make progress. They speak proudly of the achievements made by children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy manager understand the children’s specific needs. Most home records are detailed however, do not always use child-friendly language. This may impact on how children understand their experiences and history if they read their records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and professional supervision are held frequently. Staff are encouraged by the manager to contribute to the agenda. However, the manager does not encourage staff to reflect on their practice and progress made by children. Some supervision records reflect the same discussions on each occasion. There are missed opportunities to learn from practice and to improve the care provided to children. Inspection report children's home: SC424280 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, 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 with the given timescales.

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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; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the regis- tered 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

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)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all required references are sought, including reasons for leaving a previous role involving working with children or vulnerable adults. 30 April 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. (Guide to Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that language used is children's records are consistently child-friendly. Staff should ensure the homes records are detailed and help children understand their experiences and history. Children's meetings should capture the wishes and feelings of children and ensure managers act upon requests where reasonable. ('Guide to Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.5) Inspection report children's home: SC424280 6  The registered person should ensure that staff receive support to reflect on their practice and needs of the children. This will encourage continued professional development and improved care to children. ('Guide to 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: SC424280 7

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Children's home details

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

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Inspector

Kathryn Hurley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC424280 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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