Children's home run by Progress Children’s Services Ltd

Inspection report children's home: 2754328 1 Registered provider: Progress Children's Services 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

This home is operated by a private organisation. The home provides short-term care for up to five children, who have learning and/or physical disabilities. The home was registered in October 2023, this is the homes first full inspection.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home. In addition, three children have lived there and moved on, in line with the homes model of short-term care.

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Information about this children's home

There is a permanent registered manager, who is suitably experienced.

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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 outstanding

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2754328 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good experiences living at this home. Most children move to the home in urgent circumstances. Managers take swift action to gather information and plan care for children. Staff help children settle in and feel valued. For example, purchasing a child’s school uniform so they were ready to go to school the next week. Furthermore, the manager took action to ensure that she understood a serious health diagnosis, and what this means for a child’s care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have moved on in planned ways. For some children, this has been following a period of assessment. Managers and the therapist have provided a detailed assessment of children’s needs, which also demonstrates the progress children have made at the home. Managers and staff share information and introduce the child to their new home in line with their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to make progress; children have clear targets, and their chosen incentives are used to encourage these. Children have a visual display tailored to their interests, to show their progress. Children’s targets are based around development of their independence skills, such as dressing and brushing teeth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are skilled at communicating with children, using their preferred methods. The home is well equipped with communication resources. Staff are creative in consulting with children. As a result, children are helped to make choices about their care, activities, and meals. Children are helped to enjoy a range of activities including visits to the park, soft play, and shopping.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

An integral part of care planning for children is involvement with their families. For one child, work has been completed to develop the family’s relationships, with real success at making time with their family a much more positive experience for everyone.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are some occasions when the quality and tone of children’s records is poor. The manager has recognised this and has begun to further upskill the staff team.

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

Children's risks and vulnerabilities are understood, and staff know how to provide safe care to children. Measures in place for providing safe care are clearly documented in their plans. Care is well organised and arranged so that staff understand their roles and duties.

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

Staff have implemented clear routines and boundaries for children, right from the start. As a result, children learn what is expected of them. Staff provide a high level of reassurance and guidance to children about their routines and activities. Staff manage Inspection report children's home: 2754328 3 children’s anxieties effectively, using planned strategies. As a result, there have been no significant behavioural incidents at the home.

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

Health and safety is professionally managed. Careful consideration and planning is given to the management of safeguarding and health and safety because the provider has two other services within the same building.

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

Staff have received training about safe administration of medication. However, staff are yet to have the opportunity to be assessed for competency, to enable them to administer medication independently. There have been two minor medication errors, medical advice was sought, and these have caused no ill-effects to children. The manager has reviewed these incidents with the staff.

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

One child made a comment about staff conduct, alleging the member of staff swore in their presence. The staff member did not follow the correct procedure in response to this. However, the manager has ensured that there has been follow-up discussions with the staff member. There has also been direct work with the child to further hear their views and feelings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has high expectations for the quality-of-care for children and is ambitious for the progress children can make. She holds a clear focus on delivering the model of care, in providing a good experience, a clear assessment of children’s needs and robust planning for children moving on from the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is a strong and competent advocate for children. She is incredibly active in partnership working. Parents and professionals provide high praise for the level of communication from the manager and staff. The manager is an effective role model for the staff in her approach to partnership working. Staff now mirror this enthusiasm in their own roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has robust oversight at the home and is developing the team leader role to enhance this further. She is reflective about the journey of the home, and individual children as they move through the service. She is continually learning from her reflection to develop the service and improve children's experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The clinical input into children's care plans really promotes their outcomes and equips staff to meet children's needs. Staff embrace and welcome reflective discussions with the manager and therapist. The manager has set a real ethos of collaborative working at the home and encourages staff to generate ideas to enhance children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers and staff use research to inform children’s care. The manager can articulate the positive impact these approaches and knowledge have had upon children's outcomes. For example, staff use one child's attachment to his soft toys to promote his expression of feelings, research provided the theoretical basis for this. This approach has been shared with a parent too. Inspection report children's home: 2754328 4 The home is appropriately staffed for the children currently living at the home. The model of care means that staffing levels are changeable, and at times this makes recruitment and retention difficult. The manager is reflective about this and is seeking creative ways to overcome these barriers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel well supported by managers. Supervision takes place on a regular basis. There is a good training plan that covers a breadth of topics. The manager has implemented training and development plans for staff, and the organisation is responsive to new training needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is an ethos of real positivity at the home. In addition, a clear desire for children to benefit from their brief time at the home and carry their progress and experiences into their futures. Inspection report children's home: 2754328 5

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Recommendations

 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 they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should ensure that staff respond to any concerns or allegations raised by children in line with the home's child protection policy. ('Guide to the

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Recommendations

Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 44, paragraph 9.17)

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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 children's home: 2754328 6

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Progress Children's Services Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Progress House, 127 Millfields Road, Wolverhampton WV4 6JG

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Inspector

Alison Snell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2754328 7 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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