Children's Home run by Courtyard Care Limited in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2709657 1 Registered provider: Courtyard Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run home. Staff provide care for up to four children who may have special educational needs and/or learning disabilities. At the time of inspection four children lived at the home.

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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 Requires improvement to be 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: 2709657 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2709657 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is nicely decorated, and children’s bedrooms are individualised to their likes and needs. Children have arts, crafts and toys in the home that staff are keen to use with them. Staff have created a memory wall where children, their families and staff put a colourful paint handprint to make their mark on the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend education and explore their options for the future. They understand children’s health and communication needs. Staff support children to become more independent. For one child, this has led to them no longer requiring a Houdini car strap. For other children, it has meant a reduction in staffing levels or supervision. Where appropriate, staff encourage children to access the community alone. One social worker stated that a child’s progress since moving to the home is ‘absolutely brilliant’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take careful consideration when planning for children to move to the home. Staff ensure that all children are aware of a new child moving in and seek their views throughout the process. Staff plan the transition carefully and ensure the plan is tailored to the needs of the child. This includes meeting the child in various settings and allowing them to visit the home with family. Staying for dinner and having a sleepover are also arranged where appropriate. This supports children to feel comfortable when moving into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to access an array of activities, such as boxing or going to local shows. Staff encourage children to be a part of the local community. Staff seek barbers who specialise in supporting children with special educational needs or autism. When choosing such barbers, staff take into account children’s hair type and ensure that the appropriate barber is chosen. This encourages children to explore different hairstyles.

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

One parent said that she feels her child is safe and feels safe in the care of staff. She explained that the way their child interacts with staff shows that they ‘genuinely trust and get on’ with them. Children speak openly with staff about their worries. Staff encourage children to think of positive ways they can support them.

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

Staff understand how to support children’s emotions and how these are displayed differently for each child. When children become upset or frustrated, staff know various ways to try and comfort them. This means that staff can often divert a child’s attention to a more positive activity.

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

Staff only physically hold children as a last resort. Generally, this is when they feel a child could result in hurting themselves or someone else. Staff reassure children during this process, and children often seek a hug from staff afterwards, which maintains their Inspection report for children’s home: 2709657 4 positive relationship. The manager does not always ensure that a child’s view has been sought and documented after they have been held.

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

Staff talk to children in their preferred communication style to try and teach them life lessons. This includes teaching children how to be safe online. When children have made negative decisions, staff use this as a learning opportunity. When appropriate, staff encourage children to help determine what a proportionate natural consequence may be.

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

Children eagerly greet the manager on their return from school. The manager spends quality time with each child. This supports the children’s relationships with the manager and allows him to seek their views.

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

Staff feel supported by the manager. The manager ensures that staff have regular conversations with him about practice, but he does not always record the reflective discussion had. The manager’s written oversight on records often strives for practice development. However, on occasion, he has not raised the need for staff to be conscious of their chosen wording.

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

The manager has oversight of staff training. Improvements have been made in attainment since the last inspection. Not all staff have completed the residential childcare qualification in the required time frame.

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

The manager has failed to assure himself that he knows the important information in staff personnel files. This resulted in information known by the company not being taken into consideration in determining the next steps when a possible concern occurred. The manager has put a plan in place to prevent this being a future issue.

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

The manager has shown an enthusiasm to continue developing himself and his staff team. When submitting the quality of care review report to Ofsted, the manager has not included the views of children about the home or the quality of care they receive.

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

The manager has been able to evidence that children have up-to-date risk assessments and that careful consideration is taken when children move to the home. Therefore, the requirement relating to Regulation 12 has been met. No concerns arose in relation to the induction of staff or agency and therefore the requirement in relation to Regulation 33 has also meet met. Two of the requirements set at the last inspection have been restated. Both recommendations set at the last inspection have been met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709657 5

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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 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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)(a)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the registered person ensuring that they have robust oversight of all relevant information relating to their staff team. It also relates to ensuring that the use of monitoring and review systems makes continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. It has however been modified. 8 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or 8 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2709657 6 a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period;

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Requirement Due date

or works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part-time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all staff attain the residential childcare qualification within the required time frame.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the registered manager ensuring that the opinions of children about the children’s home, it’s facilities and the quality of care they receive are directly reported on in the review. 8 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2709657 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained is given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident. In some cases, children may need longer to work through their feelings, so a record that the child has talked about their feelings should be made no longer than 5 days after the incident of restraint (Regulation 35(3)(c)). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 50, paragraph 9.60)  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice, 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)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on

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Recommendations

record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should ensure that the language used is language that cares and that information is recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2709657 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Courtyard Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Siskin Drive, Middlemarch Business Park, Coventry CV3 4FJ

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Inspector

Ellen Monk, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2709657 9 regulates and inspects 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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