Children's Home run by Cove Care – Residential Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection report for children’s home: SC397933 1 SC397933 Registered provider: Cove Care Residential 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 children’s home is privately owned. It provides care for two children with complex mental health and emotional and behavioural needs. The home was registered with Ofsted in July 2009.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably experienced and registered with Ofsted in August 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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC397933 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/06/2022 Full Good 15/02/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 07/07/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC397933 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Over the last year, the quality of care provided to children has improved. The current registered manager ensures that staff provide individualised care which reflects children’s needs as well as their wishes and feelings. Children living in the home have made significant progress from their starting points. This has included reduction in self- harming behaviour and going missing from care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most staff develop positive relationships with children. This has resulted in children engaging with staff to address issues that are difficult for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made progress from their starting points in terms of their education. The registered manager and staff have worked effectively with the children’s placing authorities to ensure that children have a place at a local school, attend regularly and are making academic progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met. Staff ensure that children attend all health appointments, such as dentists’, opticians’ and GP appointments by helping children understand the importance of these. Some children benefit from therapeutic intervention to help them to address the previous trauma in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s day-to-day experiences are positive. Staff promote children’s independence, for example by encouraging them to walk to school. Staff listen to children and their wishes are reflected in the home and their experiences. For example, children have the food they like to eat and spend the school holidays engaged in activities they enjoy, such as visiting beaches and historical sites. This helps children to feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff promote children’s sense of identity. They ensure that children have appropriate hair care and treatment to meet their needs. Staff support children to spend quality time with their families in line with the placing authority care plan. This helps children to maintain relationships with people how are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved out of the home in an unplanned way. The registered manager worked with the placing authority to support the child to return to the home. However, the child’s care plan changed. This meant that staff were not able to provide a positive ending overall given the length of time the child lived in the home.

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improvement to be good

A minority of staff have not been consistent in their applications of agreed boundaries with children, and this has led to incidents when children have been at risk of potential Inspection report for children’s home: SC397933 4 harm. This contributes to the judgement of requires improvement in the help and protection of children. When senior leaders and managers became aware, they have dealt with this decisively. The registered manager has confirmed that all staff understand expectations of them in safeguarding children. As a result, children’s safety is now promoted.

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improvement to be good

Most staff understand risks for children well. Risk assessments are regularly updated as circumstances change. This supports staff to understand how to respond to children. Most staff are proactive in mitigating risks and through developing positive relationships with children. As a result, children’s self-harming behaviour reduces, and they become more confident.

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improvement to be good

Children are rarely missing from care. When they do go missing, staff understand who they need to inform and search for children. As a result, most children are supported to become increasingly safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff are trained in managing children’s behaviour. Most staff reinforce positive behaviour effectively. As a result, children are settled and staff have not needed to use restraint to keep children safe from harm.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment processes are in place. This ensures that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure that suitable safe adults care for children.

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improvement to be good

Children have trusted adults whom they can talk to. Children understand how to complain, although they rarely do so. The registered manager ensures that complaints are managed in a timely and appropriate way.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager has reviewed her location risk assessment to reflect local risks that may impact on children living in the home. She has developed positive relationships with the local police so that she is made aware of any emerging concerns in the area. This supports effective matching of children to the home and in promoting children’s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has developed effective systems to improve the quality of care since she joined the home in October 2023. The registered manager has faced a number of challenges in taking over the management of the home. She has improved the quality of care through taking decisive action in managing staffing issues. This ensures that only those staff who are able to meet the needs of children effectively are working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

She ensures that the development of the home reflects the children’s needs. This has included having a flower garden and bedrooms refurbished. The home is now a more welcoming and homely place with fewer notices and more personalisation by the children, including a display of a child’s special toys. There is more to do to ensure that Inspection report for children’s home: SC397933 5 conversations are recorded when children’s wishes and feelings are sought.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are improved systems in place so that management oversight of the home and the impact the quality of care is having on children’s progress is clear. This includes improved arrangements at weekends and evenings so that managers understand the needs of children in the home when they are on call.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is skilled in developing relationships with professional stakeholders, such as teachers, therapists and social workers. This ensures that children benefit from consistency in the approach to their care. One social worker said: ‘The home is currently meeting all my child’s emotional, physical and day-to-day needs. The management and staff adhere to my child’s care plans in a very proactive manner.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that staff receive the training they need to support the children in their care. New staff receive a comprehensive induction to the home. Supervision is regular and provides an opportunity for staff to reflect on their practice and their development. The registered manager ensures that staff receive annual appraisals to plan their learning and development. All staff are now qualified to level 3 within the requisite time period. As a result, children are cared for by staff who are suitably experienced and qualified. Inspection report for children’s home: SC397933 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

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) (b) 30 September 2024

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Recommendation

 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)

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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: SC397933 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cove Care Residential Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 51 Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton WV1 4QJ

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Inspector

Rebecca Quested, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC397933 8 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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