Children's Home run by Coventry City Council in Coventry

Inspection report for children’s home: SC414347 1 SC414347 Registered provider: Coventry City Council

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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 local authority managed children’s home provides care for up to four children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home. Two children were spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since July 2012 and is suitably qualified.

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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: SC414347 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/03/2024 Full Good 23/01/2023 Full Good 15/03/2022 Full Good 14/08/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC414347 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children speak positively about living in the home. They are cared for by skilled staff who understand their lived experiences and needs. Children have positive and trusting relationships with staff. This enables them to accept encouragement and guidance that helps them to make progress in many areas of their lives. One child said, ‘It’s like home living here and staff make me happy to live here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have lived in the home for over four years and remain settled. Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home. This was well planned, and the child has settled well. One child moved out as they did not wish to continue living in the home. The child eventually went to live with foster parents, in line with their plan. Despite this challenging period, the child remained in contact with the home for a short period to share updates about their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to attend routine and specialist health appointments. One child has accessed therapeutic support for a long time. A few months prior to the inspection, the child felt ready to end this support. Since then, they have managed their emotions well, leading to a reduction in incidents. Staff help children to learn about the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. One child continues to struggle to make healthy decisions all the time. However, staff work closely with relevant health professionals to help the child to manage their physical health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children attend school regularly. One child is engaging with extra tuition in preparation for their exams. Another child, who recently moved into the home, is considering their options regarding employment or training. This child aspires to be a mechanic. Staff help children to visit local employers to increase their understanding of their chosen career and to secure a job. Alongside this, routines and boundaries help one child to get up in the morning in a timely way. A family member said that this is a positive change and something that the child struggled to do in their previous home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Age-appropriate independence skills are promoted by staff. One child is learning to cook and tidy their bedroom. Another child is learning to develop their self-confidence and decision-making. Children enjoy time in the community, where they use public transport to visit their friends. One child is waiting to start on a specialist project to develop their ability to live more independently and manage their own flat.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s identities are actively promoted by staff. All children spend time with people who are important to them. Difference is observed by the diverse staff team in a variety of ways, including by celebrating Diwali and Black history. This helps children to better understand and respect the world around them. One child is exploring their sexual orientation, with the support of the staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: SC414347 4 The home is spacious, and children’s bedrooms are personalised. However, some areas of the home have not been maintained to a good standard. The grass in the front garden needs to be trimmed. There is wear and tear in the upstairs landing area. One child’s bedroom door needs to be replaced and there is a loose plug socket in this room that needs to be fixed. Two bathrooms upstairs have mould and require renovation. There is also a broken pane of glass in the conservatory window, and kitchen cupboard

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

doors are in need of repair. This takes away from the homely environment that the manager and staff work hard to create for children. Managers acknowledge this and have a plan to address these issues over the coming weeks.

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

Children say that they feel safe. Their plans and risk assessments are reviewed regularly. These documents offer staff guidance about the risks to children and actions to take to manage and reduce risk. This has led to a reduction in children going missing from home and staff having to physically intervene to keep children safe.

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

When children have been physically restrained, this has been undertaken to keep them safe and only as a last resort. Staff offer children support following these incidents so they can understand the impact of their behaviours. Children also write about their own feelings and reflections of their actions. Staff can reflect on their practice with managers.

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

The quality and detail of record-keeping and report writing are not in line with the organisation’s expectations. During one incident, managers identified that staff could have intervened earlier and prevented escalation in one child’s behaviour. Despite managers and staff being clear that this learning was discussed in a team meeting, it is not recorded. Further to this, some children, at times, struggle to manage their emotions. As a result, property in the home is occasionally damaged. The conversations that staff have with children about their behaviours are not consistently recorded. Managers recognise that this is an area of ongoing development, and there is work underway to improve this.

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

Children’s complaints are taken seriously and managed well. There has been one complaint by a child who did not wish to live in the home. Through encouragement from managers and staff, the child shared their views with their social workers and Ofsted. The child was offered opportunities to discuss their views with managers in the home. These actions led to a safe resolution being agreed by managers and the wider professional network, which the child was happy with.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is committed and very experienced. They are well supported by a deputy manager and, together, they understand the home’s strengths and areas for development. However, the review of the quality of care report lacks evaluation. The actions and timelines to improve or maintain the quality of care for children are not clear. Inspection report for children’s home: SC414347 5 There have been changes to the staffing team since the last inspection. A number of experienced staff have left, and new staff have been recruited. The manager has not revised the statement of purpose or sent a copy to Ofsted. These staffing changes have had a negative impact on staff morale, which has been recognised and addressed by managers. Children have not shared any worries about this affecting them or the care they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the support that managers offer. New staff have a clear induction and probation process. Where there are concerns about staff practice or development, additional support is put into place and monitored. Supervisions for staff are regular and in line with the organisation’s policy. Team meetings are also regular and provide the opportunity for managers and staff to reflect, learn and develop as a team. This has led to morale in the team improving, and helped staff to feel valued. This is reflected in the good care that they provide to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers are strong advocates for children. They work well with partner agencies to ensure that information about children’s evolving needs is shared in a timely manner. This has helped to ensure that children are not criminalised for their actions in the home. This child-centred approach has led to the use of specialist services that help children to better understand their actions. There are also plans in place for professionals to better understand the impact of children’s additional needs, which will support decision-making and action.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals from other agencies speak highly of the managers and staff. One professional said that there have been challenges along the way. However, the child they care for is offered ‘safety, consistency, boundaries, lots of encouragement, love and care’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC414347 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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the home is a welcoming and homely environment. This also relates to ongoing monitoring to ensure that any damage is repaired promptly, and the home is well maintained.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 6 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and 6 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC414347 7 notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. In particular, this refers to recordings being sufficiently detailed and of consistent quality. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for deciding what each review should focus on. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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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: SC414347 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coventry City Council, Council House, Earl Street, Coventry CV1 5RR

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Inspector

Nurul Kabir, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC414347 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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