Children's home run by Kedleston (Wings Education) Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: SC402370 1 SC402370 Registered provider: Kedleston (Wings Education) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a large private provider. It offers care for up to 54 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registration is split into several homes on the same site. There is also a school on site. This inspection only considered the residential children’s home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably qualified and 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 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC402370 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/06/2023 Full Good 31/05/2022 Full Good 07/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/10/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: SC402370 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, four children have moved into the home and 21 children have moved out. Many children moved to other provisions at the end of the academic year when their education at the school ended. At the time of this inspection, 17 children were living in the home. The children attend the on-site school and are making progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress in all areas of their lives, and they say that they are happy and feel safe. One child said that the staff and managers have changed their life. Children are provided with safe and consistent care by a team of adults who are nurturing and respectful towards them. Children have positive and trusting relationships with staff, and they feel cared for and supported. Staff talk about children with affection and pride. Consequently, children have developed strong bonds with the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are excellent role models to children. For example, residential staff wear smart clothes during the school day to encourage children to wear their uniforms and to set an example. After the school day, staff change into more casual clothing to replicate the expectations on children, which provides a more family feel to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in a wide range of activities that are tailored to their individual likes and interests. Children are encouraged to try new experiences. For example, one child has taken up ice hockey and has regular lessons. Leaders and managers purchased all the equipment and uniform needed to ensure that the child was not at a disadvantage. Another child has ice skating lessons, and children regularly attend the gym and local clubs to further develop their interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met with a team around the child approach. This early intervention approach means that any physical and emotional health needs are recognised at an early stage with appropriate support and action taken in response. A local GP holds regular drop-in sessions at the home to allow children who may be anxious about attending the surgery to receive healthcare and advice. The nurse based at the home holds regular drop-in and well-being sessions for the children. All children have a comprehensive and tailored healthcare plan. This approach to children’s physical and emotional health is exceptional and is led by an inspirational and innovative clinical lead, who is the nurse at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to strengthen and maintain relationships with the people who are important to them. A parent said that the home has not only helped the child to make fantastic progress but it has also supported and helped the wider family. There is a strong focus on building memories and experiences for the children, which are captured in memory books that are given to the children when they leave. This provides children with a means of looking back and reflecting on their time at the home if they wish to in the future. Inspection report for children’s home: SC402370 4 Children are provided with well-furnished and decorated homes, with each home having its own identity. Children are carefully matched to the homes and the other children. The bedrooms are decorated to the children’s tastes and reflect their individual likes and dislikes and look highly personalised and homely. Children are also supported to have

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

pets, which helps them to develop an understanding of the care and nurture of animal companions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a strong voice in the home and have access to an advocacy service. Leaders and managers are strong advocates for children and have influenced care planning, which has led to positive outcomes for children. Children are supported to engage in the community and to raise money for local charities. This helps them to develop awareness of society and strengthen their connections in the local area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Targeted work carried out with children is of a high standard. One child said that this work helped them to follow their dreams. Leaders and managers have good systems in place to track and monitor children’s progress, which means that any concerns can be picked up and managed at an early stage.

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

Risk assessments are well written by staff and regularly reviewed by managers. They are used dynamically and reflect the current rather than historical risks. This means that staff are provided with clear guidance in relation to children’s risks and vulnerabilities and how best to manage these and support children.

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

Incidents of children going missing from care have reduced, and any incidents of this kind are well managed. Leaders and managers have worked with external professional agencies in identifying and managing risk. On one occasion, staff did not follow a child’s missing-from-care procedure. This led to a delay in reporting the child as missing.

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

Incidents involving the use of physical intervention and restraint have been well managed. However, staff and children do not consistently debrief and reflect on incidents. This is a missed opportunity for staff and children to discuss their views, worries and any concerns they may have after a physical intervention. Staff involved in these incidents do not always contribute to the subsequent incident reports or read these reports. Leaders and managers do not consistently have oversight or provide evaluation of the effectiveness of staff’s actions during this type of incident.

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

On one occasion, a staff member raised concerns about staff practice during a restraint. Leaders and managers initially failed to take appropriate action in response. Two written reports were contradictory and had conflicting information, which had not been identified by leaders and managers. Action was taken during the inspection to review this incident to see if any further action was required.

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

Children have individualised behaviour support plans, which has helped them to have a better understanding of their feelings and emotions and how to express these in a more appropriate way without resorting to aggression. Staff have positive relationships with Inspection report for children’s home: SC402370 5 the children, which has helped them to de-escalate behaviour effectively and prevented some incidents from escalating.

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

Allegations against staff have been well managed and reported to external safeguarding professionals. Leaders and managers have not yet carried out lessons learned exercises as requested by safeguarding professionals. This does not provide reassurance that incidents of a similar nature may not reoccur as steps have not been taken to reflect and understand how and why some incidents have happened. Leaders and managers have not consistently informed the regulator when there have been allegations made about staff. This prevents the regulator from having a clear oversight in this area.

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

The use of consequences in response to poor behaviour from children is rare. When they have been used, they have been appropriate. There was a significant delay in the reporting and recording of a consequence, which impacted on its effectiveness. Leaders and managers have identified that improvements are needed in this area.

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

Children are provided with a safe and well-maintained environment. All staff who work at the home have undergone the relevant checks to ensure that they are suitable to provide care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is very committed and entirely child centred in their practice. Leaders and managers are positive role models to the children and staff. The ethos and culture of the home are centred on nurture and relationship-building. As a result, children feel safe and have secure bonds with the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and what needs to improve. The team uses external and internal monitoring systems, alongside children’s views, to inform development of the care provided to children. There have been different management monitoring systems in place, together with changes in the management team, which have impacted. Not all leadership and management roles are clearly defined, which has impacted on the effectiveness of management oversight. A new electronic system is being implemented, which leaders and managers feel will address this area of development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a thorough and varied training programme, and they receive bespoke training if this is identified as being required. This provides staff with the skills and knowledge they need to care for the children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and team around the child meetings are held regularly. These offer opportunities for staff learning and reflection. Staff utilise this time to speak about children in depth and think of additional ways to best support them. This helps staff to learn and develop their confidence and skills to meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. However, some records of supervision are brief and do not include reflective practice or guidance to support staff to continue to develop in their Inspection report for children’s home: SC402370 6 roles. Despite this shortfall, staff said that they feel well supported by the management team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual for the home is currently absent and there is not yet a plan to cover this role, which would provide extra support and scrutiny for the manager and staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC402370 7

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff follow agreed protocols and risk assessments for reporting children who go missing from care. 30 September 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that there are rigorous monitoring and review systems in place so that there is effective oversight of the day-to-day functioning of the home. 30 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC402370 8 The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

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

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”) and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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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)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that staff and children involved in incidents receive debriefs and their views are recorded in incident reports. Additionally, this relates to ensuring that there is timely management oversight of incidents. 30 September 2024

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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 an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that Ofsted is notified of any significant incidents. 30 September 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children to recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In particular, any consequences used should be recorded in a timely way. Inspection report for children’s home: SC402370 9  The registered person should ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice, from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: SC402370 10

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kedleston (Wings Education) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 7, Brook Business Centre, Cowley Mill Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 2FX

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Inspectors

Sarah Orriss, Social Care Inspector Zoey Lee, Social Care Inspector Linda Mason, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC402370 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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