Children's Home run by Resicare Alliance Limited in Wolverhampton

Inspection report for children’s home: 2743853 1 Registered provider: Resicare Alliance 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 home is operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties. There is a permanent registered manager who is suitably experienced and is working towards a qualification in leadership and management at level 5.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were three children living at the home. All children were present and spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector was aware, during this inspection, that the appropriate authorities were investigating serious child protection allegations. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspector’s judgements.

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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: 2743853 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/03/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2743853 3

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improvement to be good

There has been a period of instability and change in the leadership and staffing at the home. This has led to inconsistencies and shortfalls in the care provided to children. All children living at the home have made some progress. However, the quality of care has reduced the effectiveness of their experiences.

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improvement to be good

One child has missed several health appointments. There has been a lack of curiosity to explore and address why communication about appointments was not received. Children have all asked for advocates. While managers have made the referrals, there has been insufficient escalation to secure this important service for children.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers consult well with children and keep them informed about their care and any changes at the home. However, staff do not consistently have the skills to engage children in meaningful consultation. Consequently, this is far less effective when led by staff.

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improvement to be good

Managers were unaware that there are some important documents missing from children’s records. This may inhibit the ability of the staff and the manager to fully understand the child’s history and needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to access their education. Current arrangements include going to school or completing their tuition sessions. For one child, this is significant progress from refusing to attend school to now being keen to attend full time. Managers are also working in partnership with relevant agencies to secure appropriate schools for all children. However, one child is particularly frustrated at the length of time this is taking.

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improvement to be good

Staff implement clear routines for the children. This promotes a healthy lifestyle, with good sleep patterns and mealtimes. Managers have introduced a dedicated settling period for children prior to bedtime, where they receive nurturing time with staff. This has helped all the children to have improved sleep hygiene. For one child, this has significantly reduced their distress at bedtime.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to enjoy activities in the home, including baking and karaoke sessions. Staff also take children out to activities they choose, such as karting, bowling and the cinema. Managers and staff are proactive in helping children to engage with their identities and culture. For example, one child has attended the mosque, and another has attended a specialist youth club. Inspection report for children’s home: 2743853 4

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improvement to be good

Children’s plans provide staff with information and guidance about how to care for children and keep them safe. However, staff have not supervised children in accordance with their plans. As a result, children have been harmed. Managers have taken prompt action to address this significant shortfall. Staff are now vigilant in their supervision of children.

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improvement to be good

There have been several allegations made by children about staff at the home. Managers and staff have taken appropriate action to safeguard children. Information has been shared with social workers and the local authority designated officer. However, managers have not completed internal investigations or provided partner agencies with records in a timely way. This has further added to the external delays in the matters being concluded for children.

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improvement to be good

Staff talk with children about important topics, such as online safety and the risks of substance misuse. This helps children to learn about keeping themselves safe. Staff have also helped children to develop and use strategies to manage their own emotions more effectively. Children have made good progress in this area. This has been led by managers and enhanced by the involvement of the organisation’s clinical lead.

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improvement to be good

There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. Their plans consider this risk and outline actions that staff must take to respond in this event. The home has an emergency grab bag to provide easy access to information and items in an emergency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

The registered manager had some time away from the home, and the remainder of the senior team were either not in work or had left the home. This led to a very unsettled time for children. Senior leaders promptly appointed an interim manager, and this provided some stability for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

This unsettled period led to increased shortfalls in management oversight, in part owing to the interim manager covering staff roles. For example, managers have not completed debriefs with children or staff following incidents. Managers have not consistently reviewed children’s incidents, reducing their ability to establish learning from these. Furthermore, managers have failed to inform Ofsted of serious incidents at the home. This reduces the ability of the regulator to monitor the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Staff have not consistently had the skills to develop secure relationships with children or fully understand their needs. There have been significant changes in the staff team. The home has been staffed by people who work across the organisation. The number of unfamiliar staff has led to inconsistencies in the children’s care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2743853 5 The organisation provides staff training that covers a wide range of topics. However, as several of the staff are relatively new to the organisation, they are yet to complete all of the required training. This reduces the overall skill and knowledge of the workforce in critical topics, such as sexually harmful behaviour. New staff receive a well-planned introduction to the home and all staff have supervision that supports their well-being and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Senior leaders have supported and monitored the reintegration of the registered manager into the home. Managers are confident that the staff team now in place has the right skill set to provide good care to children. Senior leaders had already devised a detailed improvement plan for the home, and this is actively underway.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Shortfalls in leadership and management at the home have reduced the quality of care that children receive. However, staff and external professionals report that there has been an improvement since the permanent manager has been back at the home. Managers are motivated and know what needs to be done to improve the standards and quality of care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2743853 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff understand and adhere to children’s plans, in particular their levels of supervision.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that staff have the skills to assess risks to children and take action to keep children safe. 27 December 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

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 27 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2743853 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 staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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

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)(b)(c)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that there is a staff team who have the experience and skills to meet the needs of children, as per the statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that staff provide consistent care to children.

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Requirement Due date

Also, that monitoring systems and records are reviewed and used effectively to review the quality of care and make improvements.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 27 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2743853 8 This specifically relates to ensuring that records are accurately completed in sufficient detail and include effective management oversight to inform children’s plans.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child is instigated; or

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the regulator is informed of matters outlined in the regulations, to enable appropriate monitoring of the home. 27 December 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should organise and ensure that each child attends the necessary primary and secondary health services. Managers need to take action to ensure that there is effective communication with health services. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.11)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all children have access to appropriate advocacy support, and, where possible, this should be provided by a person that the child chooses. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.16)

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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: 2743853 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Resicare Alliance Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 147 Stamford Hill, London N16 5LG

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Inspector

Alison Snell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2743853 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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