Children's Home run by Ashwood Children‟s Care Home Limited in Derbyshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2558515 1 Registered provider: Ashwood Children’s Care Home Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is experienced and qualified.

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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

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: 2558515 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/07/2023 Full Good 17/05/2022 Full Good 23/02/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/07/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2558515 3

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improvement to be good

As a result of the shortfalls identified around help and protection, the overall experiences and progress of children require improvement.

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improvement to be good

There have been some challenges in this home over the past five months. The manager worked with the local authority to continue to support a child to remain in the home while a new home was identified for them. The child has now moved from the home. The manager and staff demonstrated a child-centred approach and commitment to the child to ensure the move was carried out carefully to best help the child. However, despite the manager’s best efforts, the child is currently in an unregistered provision.

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improvement to be good

Children have made good progress in education, considering their respective starting points. Some of the children have previously experienced considerable disruption to their education, including school exclusions, general instability and poor attendance. Children are now engaging with education and are receiving the support that they need to make academic progress. Children aspire for the future and staff are ambitious for them.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that children see their families and spend time with them when safe to do so. The manager and staff know children’s family dynamics well. They nurture, build and repair relationships when it is in the best interests of the children. Other people important to children are encouraged to be part of the child’s life. Families and friends are welcome at the home. The manager understands the importance of the children having a strong network.

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improvement to be good

There has been increased staff turnover. However, a small but stable team remains. Despite changes in the team, staff have worked to form positive relationships with children. A child said, ‘Staff are very caring. They give hugs and high fives.’

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improvement to be good

Children’s hobbies and interests are encouraged. They have full, busy days with lots of new and exciting activities to try. Recently, children have enjoyed activities as varied as trampolining, going to youth clubs and cheerleading. Children who already have hobbies and interests are well supported to maintain these.

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improvement to be good

Staff value children’s ideas and views. There are regular children’s meetings where children can discuss their ideas about activities, menus and changes they would like to make in the home. Managers and staff respond verbally to children’s suggestions to show that children’s contributions impact the running of the home. This reassures children that they are listened to.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not ensured that staff carry out regular key-work discussions with children to provide ongoing education around their risks and vulnerabilities. For example, when a child had accessed an inappropriate app on the internet, there was no Inspection report for children's home: 2558515 4 educational work specific to the risk done with the child. Despite this being an identified risk, there was a period of four months when this was not discussed with the child. These are missed opportunities for children to learn.

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improvement to be good

The language used in the children’s written records is not child-centred. It lacks emotional warmth. For example, one child was called ‘greedy’. This does not reflect the home’s therapeutic model.

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improvement to be good

Children’s bedrooms are not personalised and do not reflect their interests and personality. The manager has recognised this and has consulted with children to seek their views and wishes. However, children do not know the timescales for this work to be carried out.

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improvement to be good

The manager responds to incidents of concern by following safeguarding procedures. They report concerns to the relevant safeguarding agencies. However, there was an incident of a child leaving the home that went unnoticed by staff. This was taken seriously by the manager and thoroughly investigated. The staff member no longer works for the organisation. The manager has implemented measures to reduce the risk of similar incidents occurring.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not been professionally curious. One child made an allegation against another child. Staff did not adequately explore comments when the child said they felt the other child was dictating to them. This lack of investigation places the child at increased risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

When investigating an allegation made by a child during a physical intervention, managers did not fully consider all available information. The manager’s approach was not rigorous enough in reviewing the information provided. Concerns raised in one staff member’s debrief were not explored and the manager did not identify inconsistencies in the same staff member’s statements.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to make a complaint. The manager shares concerns with the relevant professionals. However, following a child raising a concern about a staff member’s conduct, the manager did not respond in writing to the child’s complaint. This does not ensure the child understands the outcome of the complaint and any action taken.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have not ensured rigorous pre-employment checks are completed. One staff member’s application form was incomplete and a reference had an incorrect name on it. Managers had not identifed these shortfalls.

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improvement to be good

The manager and the deputy have a hands-on approach to supporting staff to manage significant incidents. Children involved in incidents are always given the opportunity in debriefs to reflect and learn. Inspection report for children's home: 2558515 5

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

The registered manager is on a period of absence and an acting manager is supporting the home. The acting manager and acting deputy know the children well. They are committed to ensuring that children make progress while living at the home. They are actively involved and have positive relationships with the children. The manager leads by example and has high expectations for the staff team.

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

The home went through a period of challenge. Leaders and managers have said it was the right decision to continue to care for a child whose placement had been formally ended. However, they recognise this has taken a significant amount of time away from management tasks, with the key objective being to stabilise the house group.

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

Management monitoring systems are not yet robust. The systems have not supported the manager to identify shortfalls in some safeguarding records and supervision discussions. This hinders their ability to oversee the quality of care, practice and outcomes for children.

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

Managers have ensured staff receive regular supervision. However, not all supervision records provide enough evidence to show how staff reflect on their care practice. Managers have also failed to act when staff have raised concerns in supervision about their well-being, saying they feel tired and irritable. This has the potential to place children and staff at increased risk of harm.

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

Staff receive a thorough induction and a wide range of training opportunities, which are regularly updated. Some of the staff team hold the relevant residential childcare qualification and others are working towards this. This helps staff to learn and develop their confidence and skills to care for children and support each child’s individual needs.

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

The manager and responsible individual understand the value of having a well-informed, enthusiastic staff team who are invested in the well-being of the children. They work hard at helping staff to understand and apply the home’s therapeutic ethos to their work, although this is not consistently being applied by all staff. A child told their social worker that a staff member said, ‘If you don’t clean your room, I won’t spend time with you.’ The social worker has raised this concern with the management team, as this is not in line with the home’s therapeutic model. Inspection report for children's home: 2558515 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 (1) 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

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)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that investigations are thorough. It also relates to ensuring robust oversight of safer recruitment. Children should be educated to understand their individual risks and vulnerabilities. 22 July 2024

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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 promotes their welfare. 22 July 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2558515 7 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 the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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)(e)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers embedding monitoring systems in the home to improve the quality of care provided.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. Children’s bedrooms should be personalised to reflect their interests and preferences. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure 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

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Recommendations

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) Inspection report for children's home: 2558515 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: 2558515 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Ashwood Children’s Care Home Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: G43a Repton House, Bretby Business Park, Burton-on- Trent, Staffordshire DE15 0YZ

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Inspectors

Zoey Lee, Social Care Inspector Netsai Muzuva, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2558515 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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