Children's home run by Archways Care Limited in Wolverhampton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC429918 1 SC429918 Registered provider: Archways Care Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company and is registered to provide care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably qualified.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

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

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 11 October 2023

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC429918 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2023 Full Good 11/10/2022 Full Good 24/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 18/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC429918 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to create affectionate and trusting relationships with children. This helps children to feel safe and cared for. Children say that they feel safe. One child said that staff are ‘nice’. Staff are skilled in supporting children to explore and share their feelings. This means that children’s needs are understood by staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is comfortable and welcoming. The communal areas are relaxing, with photographs of children on display. Children’s artwork is framed and proudly displayed on the walls, with the addition of Christmas decorations on display. The children’s bedrooms are beautifully decorated and personalised. There is a spacious, well- maintained garden with an outdoor cooking and eating area, a football goal, tree swing, and hammock, which the children enjoy using during the summer.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff receive support from a therapeutic practitioner to understand the children’s lived experiences. This helps staff to explore their observations of children and the support they require. Children have detailed support plans as a result of the staff’s knowledge and understanding of their needs. A social worker spoke about how well a child has settled because of staff’s knowledge about the child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend school. When children face barriers with education, they are supported to take part in daily educational activities. This creates daily routines to prepare children to return to full-time education.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a variety of activities. Children enjoy going swimming, to the gym, visiting nature centres and meeting friends. These experiences contribute to building children’s confidence and personal identity. Staff support children to visit their families. This means that children have bespoke arrangements that support them to enjoy family time, which is safe.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

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

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know how to keep children safe and understand the protection that each child requires. Children experience consistent boundaries and routines. This helps children to feel safe in their home and contributes to their developing independence. Staff follow children’s plans, which helps children to feel listened to and able to understand the actions taken by staff to keep them safe.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work together with all professionals and keep them updated about children’s needs. This means that children receive the right support from all professionals. An independent reviewing officer said that staff are good at communicating and attend all reviews to share their updates about the child. This helps to ensure that safe decisions are made regarding children’s immediate and future care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC429918 4 Children have individual risk and support plans. Staff follow plans effectively to keep children safe. Physical restraint is occasionally used to keep children safe. Restraint is used only as a last resort and is proportionate. Managers support children and staff to reflect on the reasons for these actions, and help children to speak about their experiences of being restrained.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand when specialist support is needed to support children. This helps children to receive the right support to meet their individual needs. Staff act quickly to access mental health support for children. One child was supported by staff to take part in a specialist assessment. This helped to identify the child’s individual needs and the long-term support they needed.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team members work together to create a safe and nurturing home environment for children. Staff feel respected and valued by the manager. The manager has a clear vision for the development of the home. This begins with the safe recruitment of staff, who share the manager’s ambitions for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers understand the importance of staff having the necessary skills to support children. Staff receive a detailed programme of training, which includes bespoke courses to reflect the children’s individual needs. The manager supports staff through supervision and personal development plans. This helps staff to be reflective about their learning and practice. Team meetings aid staff to share their reflections about children’s progress. This helps to evaluate the support that staff need to provide to children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The monitoring systems have improved significantly since the last inspection. The manager has developed audits to review staff practice and children’s progress. A specific audit has been developed to review children’s wishes and feelings. This helps the manager to understand children’s views and speak to them about how these can incorporated into practice.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers recognise the importance of children being supported to understand their records and involved in developing their support plans. The manager is reviewing how this practice can be consistently developed. This will help children’s voices to be heard. Inspection report for children’s home: SC429918 5

p.4

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’, supporting them to view and contribute to the records in a way that reflects their opinions on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)

p.5

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: SC429918 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hill Farm, Shawbury Lane, Shustoke, Coleshill, Birmingham B46 2RN

p.6

Inspector

Siân Heffey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC429918 7 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7