Children's Home run by TS Children Services Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2729820 1 TS Children Services Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in January 2024 and is operated by a private company. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2024 and is suitably qualified.

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This monitoring visit

At a full inspection on 8 and 9 April 2024, serious and widespread shortfalls were identified in relation to the care and protection of children and the leadership and management of the home. The home was judged to be inadequate, and an urgent notice to suspend the home’s registration was issued on 10 April 2024.

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This monitoring visit

On 8 May 2024, a monitoring visit was carried out to check the provider’s adherence to the home’s suspension and the progress made towards addressing the shortfalls identified at the full inspection. The provider was found to have made sufficient progress, and the suspension was lifted.

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This monitoring visit

A further full inspection was carried out on 7 and 8 August 2024. Serious and widespread shortfalls were again identified in relation to the care and protection of children and the leadership and management of the home. The home was judged inadequate, and an urgent notice to suspend the home’s registration was issued on 8 August 2024. In addition, a notice of proposal to cancel the home’s registration was issued on 30 August 2024.

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This monitoring visit

The purpose of this visit was to check the information received in the provider’s written representations contesting the notice of proposal to cancel the home’s registration, review the provider’s adherence to the home’s suspension and check Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2729820 2 the progress made in relation to addressing the shortfalls identified at the last inspection.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has adhered to the suspension notice and no children have been admitted to the home.

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This monitoring visit

The responsible individual acknowledges the shortfalls identified at previous inspections. She is committed to making changes to the culture of the home, improving staff practice and the quality of care children receive. As a result, an operations and quality assurance manager has recently been employed. They will provide greater oversight of the home, with more frequent audits. They will also offer additional support to the manager and staff team, to develop their knowledge and skills and improve the quality of care afforded to children.

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This monitoring visit

There have been improvements made to systems that monitor the quality of care. The responsible individual has improved her oversight of the home. They have been visiting more frequently and carrying out more in-depth audits. Leaders and managers have implemented a service development plan and lessons learned plan, specifically in response to the requirements raised at the last inspections. This is being regularly reviewed to ensure that actions to rectify shortfalls identified at the last inspections are completed in a timely manner.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has made changes to the admissions processes to ensure that a higher level of due diligence is in place when considering admitting children to the home. Managers will now fully explore children’s history and risks so that they can make more informed decisions about whether staff can safely meet children’s needs and prevent unplanned placement breakdowns.

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This monitoring visit

Managers are in the process of making improvements to the systems for keeping children safe online. The home has moved to a new internet provider, which will provide a higher level of parental controls. Changes to the admissions process will also ensure that children are clear of the expectations around mobile phone checks and the need for staff monitoring their devices if necessary.

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This monitoring visit

Managers and staff have received additional training on topics including missing from care, serious incident management, Regulation 40 notifications and risk management. Managers have been checking staff’s knowledge and understanding of the training through quizzes in team meetings and discussions in supervision sessions. Managers will be carrying out lessons learned exercises after any incidents, to give staff the opportunity to reflect on them and to enable managers to scrutinise staff practice. This will help to ensure that knowledge is embedded into staff’s practice, identify any shortfalls in practice and help amend practice as required.

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This monitoring visit

Staff are clear about most of their roles, responsibilities, and actions they would take to keep children safe. However, they lack an understanding of the local joint missing- from-care protocol and the role of the local authority designated officer. This shortfall could hinder staff seeking appropriate external support and guidance when required. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2729820 3 Managers have made improvements to the recruitment processes. There is now a checklist in place to ensure that all necessary checks are carried out and managers show more curiosity when there are gaps in staff’s employment histories. All staff files that were checked during this visit were compliant with regulation.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has carried out an assessment of the suitability and appropriateness of the home’s location, and this is regularly reviewed. While the manager has considered the proximity and accessibility of local transport links, they have not fully considered the risk that this poses to children who are frequently missing from care. This is a missed opportunity for the manager to consider the level of risk that staff can safely manage and prevent avoidable placement breakdowns in the future.

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This monitoring visit

As a result of this visit, Ofsted has accepted the provider’s written representations and has lifted the suspension notice. Two requirements have been met. However, due to children not currently living in the home, not all the requirements raised at the full inspection could be reviewed at this visit. They will be reviewed at the next inspection. One additional recommendation has been raised at this visit. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2729820 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/08/2024 Full Inadequate 08/04/2024 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2729820 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply with 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 the registered manager ensuring that documented risks in children’s plans are considered and assessed effectively when deciding on the suitability of children moving into the home.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 09 December 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

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that staff have the skills to identify when a child is at risk of harm and that measures are in place to reduce any risk and keep the child safe. 09 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2729820 6 This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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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))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that appropriate risk management plans are in place to manage any risk of children going missing.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 09 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

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

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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)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 09 December 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 any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 09 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2729820 7 This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 09 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services, and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding.

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment, and other services as the child may require. 09 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2729820 8 (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(c)

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that: children’s health needs are met in line with local authority plans; professional advice is sought about children’s health needs; children are provided with a healthy diet; children are supported with their daily routines to promote their emotional well-being.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training, and employment.

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement.

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(vi)(x))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that education in the home is promoted and that children are supported to engage in education and attend in line with their plans.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 09 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2729820 9

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Recommendation

 The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. This specifically relates to the home’s accessibility to transport links and the level of risk that staff can safely manage due to this. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2729820 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: TS Children Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 11 Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 4DJ

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Inspectors

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Helen Dunn, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2729820 11 to 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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