Children's Home run by Child First Residential Ltd in Sandwell

Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 1 Registered provider: Child First Residential Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and is one of two children’s homes operated by the provider. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted on 28 February 2024.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspectors spoke with one child during the inspection. The other child wrote to the inspectors about their experiences living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, children are making good progress. However, there are shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home. These shortfalls are not having an impact on children’s progress and experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves into the home are well managed and both children have settled in quickly. Staff form positive and trusting relationships with children. The atmosphere in the home is calm and harmonious. The home’s ethos focuses on positivity and rewards. Children are encouraged to speak openly about any worries they may have and receive praise when they do so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made good progress in the short time they have lived at the home. Staff support one child to attend school, which is some distance away. Since they moved in, their attendance has increased significantly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them, even when they live far away. One family member spoke positively about this and described staff as ‘supportive’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s health needs. They support children to maintain their general health and well-being. Staff maintain communication with relevant health professionals. This helps to facilitate continuity in healthcare. One child said that staff support their health well and feel that this has improved since living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and support children to take part in activities. They enjoy trips to the cinema and the safari park. One child attends a local youth club. Staff also encourage children to develop their independence. They support them to learn how to carry out household tasks. Children learn how to cook meals and wash their own laundry and receive rewards for doing so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean and tidy. However, children have not been able to personalise their bedrooms. This does not support them to develop a sense of belonging. Before moving in, one child was asked about their preferences for the decor of their bedroom. However, action was not taken to decorate the room according to the child’s wishes. This did not assure the child that they are listened to and that their views, wishes and feelings are important.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of direct work with children is variable. Sessions are not always well designed to ensure that children are interested and engaged, and they are not always appropriate for the child’s age or stage in development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 3

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

Safeguarding incidents are rare. Staff understand children’s needs and risks. They respond to them in a supportive and empathetic way. For example, when there have been incidents of self-injurious behaviour, staff respond appropriately and work with other professionals to keep children safe.

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

Staff are approachable. Children are confident to speak to staff when they do not feel safe. Staff help children to understand their feelings. They work together to identify strategies to manage them safely.

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

Staff ensure that children have boundaries and understand expectations. Staff use positive reinforcement to reward children’s achievements and behaviour. Children design their own rewards system. One child chose items for a rewards box. This helps them to feel empowered.

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

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and use effective strategies to mitigate risks. When incidents occur, staff respond promptly to keep children safe.

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

The arrangements for administering children’s medication are safe. Staff have access to detailed information about medicines that they administer to children. This includes any potential side effects and steps to take if they have any concerns.

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

Risk assessments and care plans are detailed and up to date. However, the quality of risk assessments varies. For example, staff did not consider one child’s emotional state before meeting with their family. There was no risk assessment or contingency planning in place relating to this. This led to an incident during which the child became very distressed. This also had an impact on the child’s siblings. Staff were unable to safely de- escalate the situation without the registered manager’s intervention.

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

The leadership and management of the home require improvement. The staff team is inexperienced. Not all staff have the skills and experience to respond effectively to children’s needs. There are gaps in training in relation to self-injurious behaviours and physical restraint. Rotas do not always reflect a balance of skills and experience.

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

Safe recruitment processes are not robust. For example, a member of staff started working in the home with a risk assessment in place. It was not clear how the risk assessment and potential concerns around the staff member were being monitored. Additionally, gaps in staff’s employment history are not always explored. This does not ensure that staff are safely recruited.

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

The staff team is unstable due to the high turnover of staff. This has an impact on continuity of care, and children may receive care from staff who they are not familiar with and who do not understand their needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 4 The quality of children’s records is inconsistent. This includes children’s risk assessments, which do not clearly identify risk according to severity. They also include risks that are irrelevant to children. However, this has not had an impact on children’s safety.

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

The registered manager is keen to develop and improve the home. They are aware of the home’s areas for development and have a clear vision of what they want to achieve. The registered manager understands the home’s strengths and what needs to improve.

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

The manager generally has good oversight of the home and the needs of the children. Monthly audits are a useful tool to identify shortfalls in children’s care. This helps to support ongoing improvements. Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 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, 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(ii)(iv)(vii)(viii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that family time is managed safely and consider how children can be best supported to stay connected with the people who are important to them. 8 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 6 In addition, ensure that children can personalise their bedrooms.

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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

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

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff receive adequate training which equips them with the skills to meet the needs of the children they care for, in line with the home’s statement of purpose. 8 August 2024

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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 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 requirements are that— 8 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 7 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, ensure that gaps in the employment history of staff are satisfactorily explored before they are recruited.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the variable quality and content of children’s records, including children’s risk assessments. 8 August 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure more creativity when having important discussions with children. Discussions should better reflect children’s age and stage of development. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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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: 2745260 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Child First Residential Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 11 Hollyhedge Road, West Bromwich B71 3BP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rajinder Kudhail

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Inspectors

Louise Naylor, Social Care Inspector Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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