Children's Home run by First Steps Care Ltd in Worcestershire

Inspection report for children's home: 2636996 1 Registered provider: First Steps Care Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this home. The home provides care for up to four children who may have specific emotional needs and who are likely to have experienced trauma.

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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

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: 2636996 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/04/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2636996 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Two children have moved out of the home since the last inspection, and two children have moved into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have developed secure and trusting relationships with staff and say that they like living at the home. One child told the inspector that he was happy living in the home, and another child told the inspector that he could be open with all staff. The staff know the children well and have a good understanding of their needs. As a result, children are provided with individualised care and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical health needs are well met. They are registered with local health services and regularly attend routine health appointments. This is a significant achievement for one child who previously refused to attend. The advice of a mental health practitioner helps staff to develop strategies to support children with their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education and advocate on behalf of children to ensure that they have the right education for their needs. Children who are not in formal education are provided with additional support at home, which can include tutoring, while they wait for a suitable school placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the children to take part in enjoyable activities, including trips to the cinema and bike riding. One child has recently experienced a short trip aboard and experienced their first time on an aeroplane. In addition, another child attends several clubs each week, including football and youth club. There are also games consoles and activities in the home that the children enjoy using.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are sought regularly and acted on. This helps them to contribute to decisions made about their home and their care. Children are supported to make formal complaints. When complaints have been made, the registered manager has responded appropriately and has ensured that children are provided with a clear response and outcome to their complaint. As a result, children are confident in speaking to and confiding in staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of family time, and children are supported to see people who are dear to them. Staff assist with travel and supervision during this time. This is significant as it ensures children maintain and strengthen relationships that are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the home is well maintained. Staff help children to personalise their bedrooms. However, there are some areas that need attention and redecoration. The registered Inspection report for children's home: 2636996 4 manager has a plan in place to make improvements to the home, and some redecoration has started.

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

Staff work hard to keep children safe, and they have a good understanding of the children’s vulnerabilities and the risks they may be exposed to. The children said that they feel safe at the home and can identify members of staff that they can talk to if they have any worries or concerns.

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

Individualised behaviour management plans are in place for each child that include information about risk. The plans are clear and detail strategies for staff to follow. However, one plan had not been updated despite there being a change in the child’s behaviour. During the inspection, the manager took steps to address this shortfall.

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

Allegations against staff are acted on promptly to ensure that children are kept safe. Information is comprehensively gathered, and there is good management oversight. Contact with the local authority designated officer and the child’s placing authority ensures a partnership approach to ensuring children’s voices are heard and that children’s welfare is promoted.

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

Since the last inspection, incidents of self-harm in the home have been reduced. This is because of the trusted relationships that children have built with staff. Staff have worked sensitively with one child to help them understand how to keep themselves safe. As a result, the child is now able to safely communicate their feelings to staff.

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

Direct work with staff supports the emotional well-being of children. The staff are creative in their approach and use a range of different techniques to support children to understand to manage their emotions. For one child, this has meant he has been able to process a family bereavement in a sensitive and supported way.

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

The use of physical intervention is rare. Children’s views are consistently sought following incidents to ensure that their feedback and concerns are considered. This supports the child and staff to understand the incident and reduces the likelihood of future occurrences. The manager thoroughly reviews incidents to evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of the measure used.

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

Staff are safely recruited. This provides assurance that the staff who are caring for the children are suitable to work with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and suitably qualified. She is child-focused and has high aspirations for children. She is supported by a deputy manager who shares the same ethos as the registered manager. Inspection report for children's home: 2636996 5 Children benefit from the care of a stable staff team that enjoys working in the home. Staff have a good understanding of each other’s strengths and work well together. Staff describe managers as supportive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new responsible individual has been appointed. He has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. He has developed robust quality assurance checks to assist in enhancing children’s care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has improved monitoring processes to increase her oversight of staff practice in the home. The manager is clear about the areas of strength and development, and she ensures that action is taken to improve the quality of care that the children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff undertake a range of training that supports them to care for children in line with their needs. Staff participate in regular supervision and team meetings, which further enhance their skills and practice. Most staff are qualified. Those who do not hold a relevant qualification are working towards this and are expected to complete the qualification within the required period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff relationships with external professionals are good. This is because there is good communication and information-sharing between staff, the registered manager and other professionals. One social worker informed the inspector that the home and staff were amazing. Inspection report for children's home: 2636996 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are concerns for a child, their plan must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42. paragraph 9.5)

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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: 2636996 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: First Steps Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Kemp House, 124 City Road, London EC1V 2NX

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Inspector

Lydia Isaac, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2636996 8 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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