Children's home run by N H Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC446152 1 SC446152 Registered provider: N H Care 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 owned by a private company. It provides care for three children who have experienced social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably qualified and has been registered with Ofsted since March 2021.

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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: SC446152 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/05/2023 Full Good 07/12/2022 Full Good 01/09/2021 Full Good 12/05/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: SC446152 3

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improvement to be good

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Two of the children have lived at the home for over two years; the third child moved into the home in November 2023. All the children are settled at the home. One child has moved from the home since the last inspection. This was a positive experience for him and helped him to settle quickly into his new home.

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improvement to be good

Two of the children living at the home have not always had positive experiences of living at the home. On three occasions, staff’s practice and response have not been appropriate, which has left children feeling emotionally distressed. On one occasion, a child suffered harm. These experiences contribute to the judgement of requires improvement to be good.

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improvement to be good

Despite these significant shortfalls, the children are making good progress considering their starting points. For example, staff have consistently supported one child with their learning and worked collaboratively with teachers. As a result, the child has now obtained a college place to pursue their chosen career pathway. Another child has been supported to lead a healthy lifestyle, which has improved their health and well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff spend quality time with the children and the children feel and know that staff care for them a lot and provide them with everything they need to live comfortably at the home. The children can express their wishes and feelings and feel that staff listen to them.

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improvement to be good

The children have access to an array of activities within and outside the home. They enjoyed a seaside holiday last year and are looking forward to another holiday soon.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff arranged an awards event for the children. They invited the children’s close family and friends and professionals supporting them to share this occasion with them. The children’s individual progress was recognised and celebrated, which made the children feel proud, valued and eager to continue meeting their personal targets.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, the home environment has improved. Most areas within the home have been redecorated and it provides a homely and comfortable environment for children to live in. Photos of the children are on display and reflect the positive experiences that they have had. Inspection report for children’s home: SC446152 4

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improvement to be good

Some staff do not always exercise their roles and responsibilities in the help and protection of children. This is because on two occasions staff have not reported concerns relating to staff practice promptly to managers. Despite this, managers have not effectively considered learning with staff, where necessary. For example, not all staff have revisited safeguarding training to refresh their knowledge and understanding of their role in protecting children.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not reviewed the home’s location risk assessment for over a year. This means that staff and the children are not keeping up to date with information about the local area to support children to be safe when they are spending time in the local community. In addition, a child’s risk management plan has also not been reviewed recently. These shortfalls were identified by the independent visitor but have not been actioned, which shows managers are not using quality assurance systems to bring about improvements when needed.

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improvement to be good

Partner agencies such as social workers, police and missing-from-care professionals said that staff have supported the children well whenever there have been incidents of going missing from home or self-injurious behaviours. There has been a reduction in such incidents. The manager and staff consistently provide children with appropriate routines and boundaries. The children are learning from their behaviours and are now able to regulate their emotions better.

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improvement to be good

All three children told the inspector that they know how to make a complaint. Managers take concerns raised by children seriously and deal with these diligently and feed back the outcome to the children. The children feel listened to, valued and safer because of this response.

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

The manager genuinely cares about the children. She is committed to providing care and support to help them to make good progress and the children have made some good progress. However, the quality of care children receive from staff has not been consistently good, and on occasions their experience has been less than positive. Managers have not always taken effective action to mitigate the risk of this happening again.

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

Overall, the staff team feels well supported. However, managers have not consistently used staff supervision and team meetings well to reflect on events that happen. Not all staff receive supervision regularly and when they do, this is not always of good quality. One staff member’s probation review is out of timescale. As a result, there have been missed opportunities on the part of leaders and managers to address shortfalls and develop staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC446152 5 The manager has had a period where she has not had enough support to enable her to use monitoring systems to continue to develop the quality of care at the home. For example, recommendations raised in the independent visitor’s report are not being actioned quickly. In addition, some of the children’s statutory documents are still outstanding and the manager has not challenged partner agencies effectively to ensure

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

Partner agencies and the children feel that the manager genuinely cares for the children and wants them to do well. She works collaboratively with other agencies and keeps them up to date about the care and progress of the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC446152 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 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;

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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.

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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

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii)) 30 September 2024

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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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi)) 30 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC446152 7 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

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;

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(h)) 31 October 2024

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(b) (4)(b)) 31 October 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 46 (1) (2)) 31 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC446152 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: SC446152 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 69 Steward Street Business Lofts, Steward Street, Birmingham B18 7AF

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Inspector

Rumbi Mangoma, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC446152 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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