Children's Home run by BKY Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: 2666560 1 Registered provider: BKY Care Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

A suitably qualified and experienced manager is in post. They are registered to manage two homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 27 February 2024

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2666560 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2024 Full Good 22/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2666560 3

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improvement to be good

Children are making progress from their starting points, but there has been a decline in expected standards, which impacts on their experiences. This means that children’s care is not consistently good.

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improvement to be good

Some staff know the children well. Newly recruited staff are getting to know children and are starting to build positive relationships with them. Children say they like the staff and seek out their interaction.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from living in a welcoming environment. Children are encouraged to eat their meals around the dining room table, which promotes a family environment. One child said they ‘loved’ their newly decorated bedroom and proudly explained they had chosen their furniture and picked out paint colours for their bedroom walls. This creates a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Some areas of the home need to be repaired and tidied. There is a hole in the wall behind one child’s bedroom door, their bedroom walls are scuffed, and their bedside cabinet is damaged. In addition, some rubbish and a discarded bike were in the garden. This detracts from a nurturing environment that children can be proud of. However, improvements are planned.

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improvement to be good

Staff, on occasion, restrict children’s access to the communal lounge. This is because some staff choose to sleep on the sofa during the night rather than in the bed provided for them. The manager gave assurances that he will address this.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote the importance of children’s education, but the educational progress of children is mixed. One child is excelling at school, and another is engaging more with their learning, which is a big achievement for them. However, the third child is not currently engaging with education. Clear plans are in place to support the child to re- engage with learning.

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improvement to be good

Consultation with children is strong. Children contribute to their care and share their views. In addition, staff advocate well for children when decisions made by professionals are not in line with children’s wishes. This includes decisions about education and moving on from the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children’s hobbies and interests. One child likes animals, and staff help the child to take good care of their pet rabbit and the home’s cat. Supporting and sharing the child’s interests builds relationships and increases the child’s self-esteem and sense of self-worth. Inspection report for children's home: 2666560 4 Children are healthy, and staff support and encourage them to attend routine health appointments. Children’s medicines are managed safely.

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improvement to be good

Children say they feel safe in their home. They know how to make a complaint and who to tell if they have any worries. Staff know what to do if a child makes a safeguarding disclosure.

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improvement to be good

Children have made a high number of disclosures about staff conduct since the last inspection. Leaders take appropriate action and liaise with safeguarding authorities to keep children safe. However, investigation records are not managed in line with the home’s policies. Individual records of the disclosures are not maintained, so timelines of events and actions taken are unclear. This poor understanding of safeguarding policies has the potential to impact on children’s experiences and compromises the manager’s oversight and management of all disclosures made.

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improvement to be good

One child frequently goes missing from the home. On occasion, the child has travelled to another city and has been away from the home overnight. Due to the child’s vulnerabilities, these are significant incidents. While staff know what to do if the child goes missing from home, their risk assessments are poor because they lack up-to-date information. This means staff do not have the information that they need to provide good support to the child. This places the child at risk of harm. In addition, staff have failed to accurately record all the actions taken when the child has been missing from home, and the manager has not evaluated the incidents. This is a missed opportunity to identify potential shortfalls in staff practice and any follow-up work that is needed to support the child.

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improvement to be good

Staff have important discussions with one child to help them understand online risks. This is because of the risks of exploitation for the child. Staff use key-work sessions effectively to encourage them to make safe life choices.

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improvement to be good

Children’s plans in relation to their feelings and emotions contain clear strategies to help them to manage these. Since the last inspection, physical intervention has not been used at the home, which shows the strategies used are effective.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment practices are strong at the home. Staff are carefully vetted before looking after children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

In the last three months, seven staff have left the home and eight new staff have been recruited. This has been unsettling for children and has impacted on the stability of the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2666560 5 To provide continuity for children, the manager has spent lots of time with them and has covered shifts. This has impacted on his ability to oversee all aspects of the home effectively. Monitoring systems have failed to identify all the shortfalls. Therefore, opportunities to implement changes and develop the service have been missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Records of children’s care are not always accurate, and the language used is not always supportive. For example, when a child was unsettled before bedtime, staff recorded, ‘The child was messing around and being rude.’ Action is being taken to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders do not ensure that Ofsted is notified of all significant events that happen in the home, for example when children make disclosures about staff conduct. This compromises external oversight of safeguarding practices in the home. In addition, the home’s statement of purpose has not been shared with Ofsted when it has been revised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The management team has recently been strengthened with the addition of a new deputy manager and a quality manager. While this has caused uncertainty for staff, overall, they feel supported and are confident the new management arrangements will benefit children. One staff member said, ‘The deputy manager is finding her feet. I think she will be good.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is dedicated to his role and has high aspirations for children. He works hard to maintain relationships with other professionals to ensure that children’s needs are met. Two social workers spoke positively about communication with the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home. He is realistic about some areas that need to be developed further, particularly given the relative inexperience of the newly formed team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive a thorough induction, and they complete a range of training courses. However, they have not completed training to help them support children who go missing from home. Managers cannot be assured that all staff have the skills to safely care for children without this training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Regular reflective supervision supports staff practice and development. Team meetings are held monthly, and they provide opportunities for staff to share information and refresh their knowledge about procedures. This is a positive area of practice. Inspection report for children's home: 2666560 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 requires the registered person to ensure—

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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 effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(e)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers must review and update children’s risk assessments to ensure that they contain all pertinent information about known risks to children, specifically when children are missing from home.

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Requirement Due date

Managers must ensure that staff respond effectively when a child goes missing from the home to keep them safe. 5 July 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2666560 7 Managers should also ensure that staff are familiar with and follow safeguarding policies to keep children safe. In particular, they must maintain clear records of all disclosures made by children.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure staff receive training to support their understanding of what to do if a child goes missing from the home. They must also have effective oversight of the home to improve the quality of care provided in the home. 5 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers updating the statement of purpose with changes to staffing and sending the updated document to the regulator. 5 July 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2666560 8 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure prompt notification to HMCI of all serious events, including when there is an allegation of abuse made about a person working at the home or when a serious incident requiring police involvement occurs. 5 July 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide a nurturing environment that is supportive. In one child’s bedroom, the damaged bedside cabinet needs to be replaced, their bedroom walls need to be repainted and a hole in the wall needs to be repaired. Rubbish and a discarded bike need to be removed from the rear garden. This is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that children are able to access all shared areas of their home, unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Staff working at the home should not sleep in the communal lounge during the night, as this limits children’s access to the room during that time. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph

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Recommendations

3.10)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that an evaluation of missing incidents is undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of Inspection report for children's home: 2666560 9 the quality of care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

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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: 2666560 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8 Fairlawns, Sutton Coldfield B76 1PQ

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Inspector

Amy Richards, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2666560 11 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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