Children's Home run by N H Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: 1276111 1 Registered provider: N H Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The privately owned home is registered to provide care for five children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2018. He has a level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 21 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 for children’s home: 1276111 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/11/2022 Full Good 28/07/2021 Full Good 03/03/2020 Full Good 29/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1276111 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides stable, long-term care for children with learning disabilities. Since the last inspection, no new children have moved into the home and one child has left. There are currently four children living in the home and all have lived there for a considerable length of time. When children do move out of the home, transitions are well planned, based on the child’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with the staff who care for them. Children are happy and relaxed with staff, who understand their individual needs very well. During the inspection, one child who has sensory needs had chosen to eat her dinner in the quieter lounge area and was being supported by staff. Having such choices allows children to relax in their home environment and manage their own emotions when they recognise they need some space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have excellent school attendance and are making good progress. The home is proactive in working in partnership with children’s schools, which helps to provide a consistent approach. For example, one child is currently trialling a new communication system in school, and this is being monitored so that the home can implement it as well if it is successful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain relationships with their families when this is appropriate. Close partnership working with parents ensures that information is shared and that parents feel included in their child’s care. One parent who has two children living in the home said her children would be leaving soon, when they reach 18, and she wished that they could stay longer. She has built excellent relationships with the staff, and this has helped her to trust them to care for her children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make very good progress with their independence skills. Staff recognise children’s potential and are ambitious for them. One child chooses the shoes she wants to wear and another child is now able to use the toilet. Developing independence skills helps children gain a sense of achievement and is also good preparation for adulthood.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always act appropriately when an allegation is made. On one occasion, a staff member witnessed a colleague behaving in a concerning way but did not report it to managers in a timely way. As a result, the staff member continued to work in the home, which posed a potential risk to the children. In addition, the child’s records were not complete and accurate and did not contain details of the incident, the physical intervention used or the marks found on the child. As soon as they were made aware, managers took immediate action to safeguard the children and report the allegation. An investigation was completed, and the member of staff Inspection report for children’s home: 1276111 4 concerned no longer works in the home. Staff currently working in the home showed a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and what action to take if they have concerns.

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improvement to be good

Children living at the home have complex needs. Robust risk assessments and behaviour support plans are in place to assist staff in managing children’s individual needs. For example, some of the children have epilepsy, and there are clear plans in place for how to manage seizures and when emergency rescue medication is required.

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improvement to be good

Staff use their knowledge and understanding of each child to support behaviour management. The majority of children living in the home have no verbal communication, but staff understand each child’s presenting behaviours and cues, which helps them to use effective strategies to avoid behaviours escalating. For example, when one child became upset when they wanted to play with a broom that staff were using to clean the floor, staff skilfully distracted her with another item. This de-escalated the situation quickly and effectively.

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improvement to be good

Children take a range of medication, and this is administered safely. One error had occurred since the last inspection and this was quickly identified. Staff were required to complete additional training and were not allowed to administer medication until this had been completed. Processes were changed to avoid any further errors.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and qualified manager who has worked there for several years. He is very child-centred and is a good advocate for the children. He is well respected by staff and feedback from parents and professionals was very positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is staffed with a stable, experienced staff team. Many staff have worked in the home for several years and they know the children very well. The manager and staff are committed to providing consistency for the children. The home does not use agency staff. The team works flexibly to support each other so that children have familiar staff caring for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by managers. They receive regular, good-quality supervision and an annual appraisal which helps them to reflect on their practice and develop their skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring of the service is robust. He uses a range of tools which give him very good oversight of the care that children are receiving and enable him to make changes to practice when needed. For example, after one child had an unexplained seizure, he introduced a seizure monitoring tool to track any triggers or patterns if any further seizures occurred. This additional monitoring helps staff to meet the child’s complex needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 1276111 5 Staff complete a wide range of training, including courses related to children’s individual needs. The majority of staff have completed their level 3 qualification. However, two members of staff have not made sufficient progress due to difficulties with the training provider. As a result, they have not achieved their qualification within the required timescales. One of the members of staff was out of timescale at the last inspection and has still not completed their qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report for children’s home: 1276111 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

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, qualifications and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 32 (2)(a)(b) (3)(d) (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that those staff who are out of timescale to complete the level 3 diploma are supported to do so as soon as possible.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is repeated. 25 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1276111 7 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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;

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff understand and follow the home’s safeguarding procedures at all times. The registered person must ensure that staff report any allegations to managers immediately and take appropriate action to ensure that children are safeguarded.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to ensuring that children’s records provide an accurate account of children’s time in the home, including any incidents or physical interventions. Also, to providing prompt medical support for any child injured during an incident or physical intervention and recording details in the child’s records. 25 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1276111 8

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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: 1276111 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 69 Steward Street Business Lofts, Steward Street, Birmingham B18 7AF

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Inspector

Vicky Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1276111 10 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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