Children's Home run by Featherstone Care Services Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: 2687555 1 Registered provider: Featherstone Care 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 privately owned children’s home provides care for up to four children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2023 and holds a relevant level 5 qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. The child was present but did not want to talk to the inspectors.

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Information about this children’s home

This inspection was paused at the beginning of day one and resumed on day two with two inspectors.

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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: 2687555 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/07/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2687555 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has been welcomed to the home. Children benefit from well-planned moves into the home and the children’s guide is shared with them. Three children have left the home, moving to live with family, to semi-independence or other residential care that is better suited to their needs. For one child, not enough attention was given to the plan for their move. This meant that the child moved without all their belongings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children make progress. This can be seen in improvement with their education, social and independence skills. Children enjoy new activities, for example, paintballing, go-karting, cinema outings and fishing, and they experience new adventures, such as going to Blackpool and a holiday camp. One child got a job and took part in voluntary work in the community, which added to their experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their education. When children struggle or are not in education, employment or training, staff work hard to advocate on their behalf and to offer them alternative learning experiences. To ensure children continue to learn, the provider has signed up to an online learning programme which is being successfully used to support one child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is promoted. Children are registered with local services and are supported by staff to make and attend appointments. When health concerns are identified, the staff are quick to follow this up with health professionals to ensure that children receive the right healthcare at the right time. Additionally, children have access to the organisation’s therapist, who offers one-to-one support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s cultural needs are met. The staff support children to attend places of worship as needed and ensure that children have access to services and products needed to meet their needs, for example, finding specialist barbers and purchasing hair and skincare products.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. There are pictures and soft furnishings which give a homely feel. Children have the use of two lounge areas and a large back garden. The staff encourage children to personalise their bedrooms to their individual tastes and take part in making decisions about the development of the home.

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

Staff know the children well. Children have individualised in-house placement plans and risk management plans that are kept under review. However, information needs updating, and plans do not thoroughly explore all areas of risk. Inspection report for children's home: 2687555 4 Three children have had several episodes of going missing. When children go missing, staff quickly respond and follow protocol to try and get children back to the home. When needed, staff report children missing and offer support on their return. There is clear recording of incidents and children are spoken to in a timely manner when they return. There was some confusion regarding the responsibility for return home interviews for children. Some children engage with a specialist missing team who respond to all missing episodes.

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

There have been eight incidents of physical intervention since the last inspection. Most of these have been non-restrictive and are appropriately recorded. When restrictive physical intervention is used, this is only to prevent children harming themselves or others and always used as a very last resort. Records are accurate and staff and children are supported and have an opportunity after the event to talk about what happened.

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

There has been one external complaint and four allegations. The investigation into the complaint is ongoing. Records are clear and set out the efforts made by the registered manger to find a resolution. This has been escalated appropriately to relevant professionals, who are supporting. When children make allegations, these are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.

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

Staff support children to understand and take age-appropriate risks. Staff work well with children to help them understand risk and to make decisions about their safety. As a result, some risk-taking behaviours have reduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably skilled, experienced and qualified. The inspection was supported by the deputy manager and responsible individual as the registered manager was away. The registered manager has ensured that previous requirements have been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been working hard to create a positive culture in the home. She leads by example and has expectations for her staff team to follow. This has been a challenge for some staff, who have left the home. There is currently a stable staff team who share the same enthusiasm as their leaders. The strengths and development needs of the team are well known by the registered manager, who prioritises staff development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular professional supervision and an annual appraisal. There is access to training and all new staff receive an induction. For some staff, although their induction has been signed off, evidence is lacking that all sections have been completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are complimentary about the manager. Staff said they receive support from the registered manager, who is available and approachable. This reflects the open-door approach that the registered manager also has with children. Inspection report for children's home: 2687555 5 The registered manager has developed effective systems to ensure that she has good management oversight of the home and care provided to children. This means that she has a good understanding of the progress children make and quickly identifies areas for development. When needed, she will challenge and advocate on behalf of the children. Inspection report for children's home: 2687555 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1) (b)).

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s belongings are kept safe and, when possible, moved with them. 29 November 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all aspects of risk are considered and staff are vigilant about potential risk and demonstrate professional curiosity. 6 December 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2687555 7 The registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction Regulation 33 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff inductions are fully evidenced and signed off. 6 December 2024

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Recommendations

 Regulations 35-39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely in the home. Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  When a child returns to the home after being missing from home or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child.

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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: 2687555 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Featherstone Care Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 68 Yardley Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham B27 6LG

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Inspectors

Stacie Sharpe, Social Care Inspector James Tallis, Social Care Inspector – 7 November 2024 only Inspection report for children's home: 2687555 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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