Children's Home run by Action for Children in Shropshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2538785 1 Registered provider: Action for Children

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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 organisation. The home is registered to provide short breaks for up to seven children who have learning and physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2023. She holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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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

Date of last inspection: 5 February 2024

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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: 2538785 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/02/2024 Full Good 22/03/2023 Full Good 20/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2538785 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, three children were having a short break. All three were seen.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy their stays. Families say that their children are excited when they visit and look forward to the time they spend at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is child-friendly, with lots of space for children to play. There are lots of toys, books and games. There are photos of children around the home and children’s bedrooms are personalised to their taste. For example, one child likes a popular film series so uses the bedroom with a large mural from it on the wall. Some areas of the home need attention, such as the outside space, which has fallen leaves and berries from the trees. In addition, some wallpaper in the home is peeling and a curtain is quite worn.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well. They want them to enjoy their stays and have lots of fun. Staff are creative in providing lots of activities in the home and the garden. They help children with arts and crafts, playing games, baking, singing, dancing and watching movies. Children have opportunities to play outside. There are bikes to ride, a sand pit and water play and a swing, slide and play equipment to climb on. However, none of the equipment is accessible to children in wheelchairs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take children out into the community. This includes going for walks, to the park, swimming, cinema and bowling. However, these opportunities are limited, as at times there is reduced staffing in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite children only visiting the home for a few days a month, they make progress with their communication and independence skills. Staff set targets for children to work towards to further develop their skills. However, staff are not always proactive in recording how children are doing in meeting their targets or reviewing their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive relationships with families and offer support and advice when children are at home with their families. Staff have found organisations which support families financially in emergencies and have received charitable donations, such as tickets for events, which they pass on to families for them to enjoy.

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

Staff keep children safe. They know children well and notice the early signs when a child is anxious or upset. Staff use a positive nurturing approach to help children. As a result, there are few incidents in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2538785 4 Staff develop plans relating to the risks to and from children and how to reduce these. However, one child’s plan does not inform staff what the risks are to the child if a physical intervention was needed.

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

Some children have complex health needs. Staff have received specialist training on these conditions and with the support of health professionals have developed plans which help them to fully understand how to care for the children.

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

On rare occasions, there have been medication errors. These have been reported and medical advice sought. Children have not been harmed by the errors and learning has been implemented to avoid future errors.

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

When concerns are raised about staff practice, managers take this seriously. Managers report concerns to external professional, investigate and put in place action plans to improve staff practice.

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

The home is managed by a registered manager and deputy. At the time of this inspection, the registered manager was on leave. However, the deputy manager was available. She has extensive knowledge of the home and the children.

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

Managers’ monitoring is not as robust as it could be. There are monitoring systems in place, however, these had not picked up on the shortfalls identified at this inspection. For example, there is no clear system for checking all documents are received promptly from placing authorities, or a system for escalating concerns if they are not. In addition, concerns relating to recording and review of children’s targets and information missing from some children’s internal care plans had not been identified.

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

The manager has reviewed the location of the home. However, this does not clearly show the manager has fully assessed the suitability of the location of the home. In addition, when new risks have been identified in the local area, the action staff need to take to make sure children are safe has not been included in the review.

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

Permanent staff at the home receive regular reflective supervision. However, casual and agency staff have not been having reflective supervision. This is a missed opportunity for those staff to reflect on their practice.

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

All staff receive a variety of training, including from specialists who deliver bespoke training to meet children’s individual needs. However, the record for one agency worker did not show what training they had done.

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

The home has at times struggled to recruit new staff. This has had an impact on children’s stays, with some being cancelled. However, staff are committed to the children and do additional shifts when possible, so that the impact on children and their families is limited. Inspection report for children's home: 2538785 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

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)(b)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to the manager’s monitoring systems being robust so that children’s files are up to date with all necessary information, and ensuring that all agency staff records clearly show what training they have completed. 27 December 2024

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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. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that staff record and frequently review children’s progress against their targets. 27 December 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2538785 6 The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to casual and agency staff. 27 December 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of all the children. Specifically, that the home is maintained to a high standard, that wallpaper is repaired, damaged curtains replaced and there is outside play equipment suitable for children who are wheelchair users. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that the home is suitably located so that children are safeguarded effectively and can access services to meet needs identified in their relevant plans. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  The registered person should ensure staff continually and actively assess the risks to

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Recommendations

each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. Specifically, this relates to risks to children if staff need to use physical intervention to keep them safe. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.4)  The registered person should ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities both inside and outside the home, where appropriate, and are encouraged to participate in those activities. Specifically, that all children have opportunities to enjoy activities away from the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.5) Inspection report for children's home: 2538785 7

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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: 2538785 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Action for Children

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Action for Children, 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford WD18 8AG

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Inspector

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2538785 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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