Children's home run by Accalia Care Services Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2723189 1 Registered provider: Accalia Care Services Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider operates this home. It provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties due to past trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since April 2024 and has applied to register with Ofsted. They are working towards achieving suitable qualifications.

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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: 5 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2723189 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/09/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2723189 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved out. They moved to a sister home and their transition was not well planned. The manager arranged for the child to meet other children living at their new home, however, additional support was not offered to help the child prepare for the move. This did not provide them with a positive experience of moving on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

External professionals and parents spoke positively about the manager and the relationships children have with staff. They said children are encouraged to develop independence and important life skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school. Their attendance is good, and they have a good attitude to learning. Staff attend education meetings to support children and review their progress. When children require support, the manager consults with professionals and advocates for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to spend time with their parents and other important family members. The manager and staff regularly speak to the children’s families to support family-time arrangements. Managers are also in regular communication with children’s placing authorities when plans for children need to be reviewed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are healthy and staff support them to attend health appointments. Children engage with specialist support such as therapy to support their psychological needs. As a result, they are learning to understand their own emotions and behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they like living at the home. They feel safe, have fun and take part in activities. They are also encouraged to attend clubs such as cadets and football which are in line with their future career aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is welcoming and areas of the home are personalised for children. However, at the time of the inspection, some areas in the home were untidy. One child’s bedroom had rubbish on the floor and there was a bucket and cloths in the garden. This does not promote a homely atmosphere.

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

The manager and staff understand children’s behaviours and risks. However, not all children’s plans are regularly reviewed and reflect known risks. This means that plans do not provide important up-to-date information for staff, which could impact on children’s safety. Inspection report for children's home: 2723189 4 Staff support children to develop understanding of their own risks. Children respond well to this support and, when considering their starting points, the children are making progress.

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

Staff actively search for children when they go missing. When they return, they are welcomed sensitively. The manager does not always notify the regulator appropriately about missing-from-home incidents.

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

Incidents involving children are rare, and staff know how to help and support children during incidents. If children make complaints, these are investigated, and they are informed of the outcome. When family members make complaints, these are investigated. However, information regarding complaints is not always recorded in line with the home’s policy.

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

Physical intervention is only used as a last resort. Children are always spoken to following any intervention. However, records of discussions with staff involved in the restraint are not in line with regulatory requirements.

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

The manager undertakes safe recruitment checks when new staff are recruited to work at the home.

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

The home has had a recent change in management arrangements. The previous manager left the home in April and a new manager is now in post.

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

Shortfalls in the home’s leadership and management were identified. This included the managers oversight of the home and understanding of when to notify the regulator of serious events. Senior managers have provided assurances that they will offer further support to the manager to ensure that they understand their role and responsibilities.

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

When concerns about staff practice are identified, the manager takes appropriate action and investigates concerns.

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

The manager has monitoring tools in place to review the quality of the care provided in the home. However, these are not effective and have not identified shortfalls. This is a missed opportunity to make continuous improvements to the home.

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

Staff training is tailored to children’s needs. This supports staff to gain further knowledge about children’s development and individual care needs. The manager is also beginning to consider the wider development needs of the staff team.

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

The home’s independent visitor reports and quality of care reports have been completed, however, these have not always been sent to the regulator on time. This hinders the regulator’s ability to monitor the service effectively. Inspection report for children's home: 2723189 5 Staff receive supervision from an appropriately qualified person. They also attend team meetings which review the children’s progress, support staff’s learning and promote good staff morale.

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to children’s risk assessments and the registered manager ensuring that these are regularly reviewed and reflect current risks, for example internet use, particularly following incidents which affect a child’s safety. 17 September 2024

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 17 September 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2723189 6 that arrangements are in place to— ensure the effective induction of each child into the home; manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to when children leave the home, ensuring that appropriate plans to support their transition are drawn up so that they have a positive experience of moving on. This also includes ensuring there is a plan of targeted work to support the child emotionally through the transition.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40(4)(e)(5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must use their professional judgement and notify the regulator when children go missing from the home. 17 September 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months. 17 September 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2723189 7 After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home. (Regulation 45 (1)(3)(4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must send a copy of a written review to the regulator within 28 days of completion.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the environment, including children’s bedrooms, is homely, nurturing and personalised to meet the needs of the children. This specifically relates to children’s bedrooms and the garden being presentable and tidy. This is a repeat recommendation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person and staff should be 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 way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. This refers to when family members make complaints, ensuring that investigations and their outcomes are recorded clearly, following the home’s policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are kept that and should enable them to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The registered person should ensure that all staff sign to confirm they have been spoken to following their use of physical intervention. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59) Inspection report for children's home: 2723189 8

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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: 2723189 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Accalia Care Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 4a, Space Station, Warstock Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 4ST

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Leaford Williams

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Inspector

Charlotte Love, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2723189 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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