Children's home run by Kids

Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC454707 1 SC454707 Registered provider: Kids

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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 owned by a charity and offers short-break care for up to seven children with social and emotional difficulties, physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this visit, one child was staying at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The provision does not have a registered manager. The post has been vacant since July 2023.

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This monitoring visit

During the full inspection on 10 and 11 July 2024, Ofsted judged the home to be inadequate. A compliance notice was issued under Regulation 13 due to significant shortfalls in leadership and management that detrimentally impacted children’s safety, well-being and ability to make progress. This visit was to review the actions taken by the provider in response to the compliance notice.

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This monitoring visit

The charity’s designated safeguarding lead carried out internal investigations into the primary safeguarding concerns found during the inspection. The outcome for each investigation highlighted training and development needs for the staff involved. They also identified shortfalls in management and leadership. The executive leadership team is closely monitoring the home and meeting with managers every day.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have taken some learning since the previous inspection and they are focused on developing an improved safeguarding culture. For example, poor practice in relation to the care of one child has ceased. Managers have implemented new strategies in agreement with the child’s family and professional network. These were quickly implemented by staff and have positively impacted the child’s experience when they visit.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have completed additional safeguarding training. Staff’s use of the reporting system has increased since the inspection, resulting in safeguarding concerns being Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC454707 2 appropriately escalated. However, staff are not yet fully confident and systems are not embedded. Managers have increased their oversight to bridge this gap and support the staff team.

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This monitoring visit

Staff’s understanding of what a restraint is remains inconsistent. Leaders have organised external training to help staff improve their knowledge, skills and care towards vulnerable children with complex needs.

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This monitoring visit

The communication between the home and the local authority has improved. Leaders has regular meetings with social workers and the local authority commissioning team. Managers have obtained up-to-date care plans and education reports from the local authority, which they intend to use to inform their care towards children. Managers have been provided with social workers’ telephone numbers, which means they can quickly contact them to share any concerns. However, leaders and managers need to establish clear lines of responsibility in the context of managing safeguarding concerns.

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This monitoring visit

Overall, leaders and managers have made some progress to address the significant shortfalls outlined in the compliance notice. However, these changes are in their infancy, and it is unclear if managers have the competence to sustain the changes. The responsible individual is in the process of developing an audit tool to address shortfalls in management oversight. Leaders have decided to close the service for an initial period of two weeks to give staff the space to focus on training and development, in the hope that this will put them in a stronger position to provide good care to children when they reopen.

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This monitoring visit

Sufficient action has been taken to meet the points in the compliance notice, the compliance notice is therefore met. However, a requirement for regulation 13 remains as more time is needed to embed these changes. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC454707 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/07/2024 Full Inadequate 05/12/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/01/2023 Full Good 11/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC454707 4

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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 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;

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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; 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)(f)(h)) 16 September

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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; and

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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. 16 September Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC454707 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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; 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)(iv)(vii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that all facilities in the home are accessible for children.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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

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 16 September Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC454707 6 are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC454707 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 249 Birmingham Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands B72 1EA

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Inspector

Tara Webb, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC454707 8 to 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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