Children's Home run by Roundhouse Care in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC404983 1 SC404983 Registered provider: Roundhouse 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 privately owned home is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. However, they are due to move on from the home on 18 December 2024. The responsible individual is in the process of formulating plans around the future management arrangements for the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. Both children were present during the visit were happy to take part in the inspection.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC404983 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/06/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/10/2022 Full Good 29/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC404983 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home. Since the last inspection, two children have moved out and two children have moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences of moving in and out of the home. This is because leaders and managers undertake effective planning to support their moves. Children who are moving into the home are visited by staff or visit the home prior to moving in. Children moving out of the home benefit from visits to their new home and meeting the people who will be supporting them. This approach ensures that children are well supported and reduces any anxieties they may have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers have made improvements to the home environment. The home has been redecorated and is now more comfortable, homely and well maintained. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms with a choice of decorative features and other personal items. This supports children to feel a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have secure and trusting relationships with adults. Staff talk to children with warmth and humour. The children currently being cared for are settled and feel well supported. They say that they feel listened to, get on well with staff and enjoy living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s physical and emotional health needs are well met. Children are registered with local health services and attend appointments when required. Any specific health needs are supported through ongoing direct work. In addition, staff understand the importance of children maintaining a healthy lifestyle and encourage a balanced diet and exercise routine. Furthermore, staff have secured specialist emotional support for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school full time. Staff understand the importance of education and have worked effectively to help both children successfully transition from primary to secondary school. Staff have maintained positive contact with education providers, and provided children with stable routines to help them thrive and reduce anxieties around their transitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children’s hobbies, interests and talents. They arrange for children to attend local clubs. One child is training with a local football club, and another child has recently attended a match at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Children also enjoy several activities with staff, such as cinema trips, football, biking and swimming lessons.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to see people who are important to them. The manager and staff understand the importance of children having positive time with their loved ones. Staff maintain positive relationships and communication with family members to make sure that children continue to have positive experiences. This supports children to maintain a sense of their identity.

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

Staff provide children with consistent routines and boundaries. These ensure that children have certainty in their care. Staff are empathetic to children’s feelings and explore their emotions with them. Because of this approach, children feel listened to. Consequently, there are few Inspection report for children’s home: SC404983 4 safeguarding incidents. Behaviours do not escalate to a level of risk that is unsafe, meaning that staff do not need to physically restrain children.

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

Allegations made by children relating to staff conduct have been responded to effectively. Immediate actions were taken to ensure the safety of the child. Additionally, leaders and managers have notified safeguarding agencies and appropriate investigations have taken place.

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

There has been one disclosure made by a child since the last inspection. Staff responded appropriately, sharing information with safeguarding agencies and attending meetings to discuss strategies to ensure the safety and well-being of the child. This helps children to feel reassured and listened to.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. When a child has been missing, staff have followed the child’s protocol and worked with agencies to ensure the child’s safe return. There have been no missing episodes during the time that the current children have been living in the home. This is evidence of improvement since the last inspection.

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

Consequences are not always proportionate or restorative in nature. Staff appear to have developed a culture of removing children’s games console time, rather than educating children around the impact of their actions. The manager has identified this and reviewed the practice as not being in line with the home’s therapeutic approach. As a result, a new, more effective, approach has been introduced with the involvement of children.

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

Fire prevention arrangements have not been adhered to. Combustible items that are kept in a high-risk area where the boiler is situated are not stored in line with the home’s fire risk assessment. This means that there is the potential of increased risk to staff and children in the event of a fire.

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

Appropriate checks have not been completed for one staff member prior to them working in the home. No reference was received from the staff member’s most recent employment, and the reason for leaving a role with children was not verified. This means that this staff member has worked with children without the appropriate checks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has strong relationships with children. She is child focused and takes pride in the progress that children are making and regularly seeks their views. She advocates for children and has high expectations for them. This approach means that children benefit from trusting relationships and helps them to feel settled.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the staff team has changed significantly. Several new staff have joined the team. This has been a very positive change for the home and children. There is now a core group of staff in place. Staff say that they enjoy working together and feel they work well as a team. Additionally, staff speak highly of the manager, and they feel extremely well supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervisions and annual appraisals. These are reflective, assess performance and focus on the needs of the children. Clear goals are provided to ensure that staff continue to develop their practice. Children are involved in the process and provide positive feedback about the support they receive from staff. In addition, staff are encouraged to develop in their roles. Inspection report for children’s home: SC404983 5 Leaders and managers have effective monitoring systems in place to ensure effective oversight of the service. In addition, children’s progress is regularly monitored through case management reviews. This provides staff with oversight of children’s progress, but also allows for greater flexibility around the care provided to children as children’s goals and targets can be amended based on their progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has excellent relationships with partner agencies and family members. This has contributed to children’s needs being met more effectively. Feedback from professionals is positive about the care that children receive. One professional said, ‘Communication is excellent, everyone in the home has a great knowledge of my child’s needs and understanding of their lived experiences.’ A family member for one child said, ‘I think they [staff] are brilliant, it’s the best place my child has lived.’ This approach evidences the value that the manager places on effective joint working to ensure that children’s needs are met to the highest standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have ensured that staff have undertaken training to develop their skills and knowledge around delivering the preferred model of therapeutic care. However, not all staff were up to date with their core training, and some staff had not completed training that is specific to children’s needs. This has the potential to impact how effectively their needs are met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC404983 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that all employees’ information is compliant with schedule 2. 5 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that any combustible items are stored in line with the home’s fire risk assessment. 21 November 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC404983 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: SC404983 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Roundhouse Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C/O Phil Bessant Limited, Agincourt House, 14 Clytha Park Road, Newport NP20 4PB

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Inspector

Carl Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC404983 9 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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