Children's Home run by Adecyn Children’s Homes Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC423617 1 SC423617 Registered provider: Adecyn Childrens Homes Limited

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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 operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since June 2022. The interim manager has been in post since 27 June 2024.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was undertaken to address specific concerns or allegations received by Ofsted. These raised concerns about the quality of care children received and the leadership and management of the home. At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home. The inspectors spoke to all three children.

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This monitoring visit

Two of the bedrooms are not well maintained and are not a nice environment for children. An incident resulted in extensive damage in one child’s bedroom. There has been a substantial delay in rectifying this. As a result, the decor of the child’s bedroom is not child-friendly and nurturing or a safe and comfortable space for the child. The child said they have ‘nothing to do’ in their bedroom. The manager took action during the inspection to prioritise the decoration.

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This monitoring visit

Another child’s bedroom was cluttered. Although staff are completing regular checks, they do not support the child to maintain a healthy environment. This has the potential to exacerbate the child’s poor emotional well-being and adversely affect the progress the child has begun to make. The child is regaining their independence and enjoying some free time in the community, and the number of staff needed to care for the child has reduced.

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This monitoring visit

All other areas of the home are well kept and provide children with a homely environment. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC423617 2 Allegations and complaints have been investigated by senior managers and leaders. One child said they felt safer living in the home. They also said they felt satisfied with how their concerns are responded to.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not always consider children’s feelings well. Incidents often escalate quickly. During one incident, staff had explained expectations about behaviour to a child. This was in preparation to complete an activity together in the community. The staff member did not think carefully about how they approached this. This resulted in the child’s behaviours escalating very quickly. The child displayed behaviours that had the potential to be harmful to them and staff. Staff physically intervened to keep them safe. However, the type of physical intervention used was not in line with the home’s behaviour management policy. Also, the record of the incident did not fully explain the events leading up to this incident. This compromised the manager’s oversight.

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This monitoring visit

In general, the recording of incidents and physical intervention remains poor. The records do not always illustrate the events leading up to an incident well or the action that staff take. The responsible individual and interim manager have increased their oversight of records. The organisation’s trainer is also reviewing all incidents involving physical intervention and completing debriefs with staff. However, one staff member said the record of their debrief did not reflect what they had said.

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This monitoring visit

After incidents occur, the manager and staff do not ensure that all children feel supported. The manager does not always talk to children after an incident, and when they do, this is sometimes delayed. Risk assessments are not updated consistently. This means that staff may not have the most up-to-date guidance to ensure children’s safety.

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This monitoring visit

Children do not receive support to process and understand their feelings of loss. One child’s key worker left over three weeks ago. The manager has not helped the child to understand why their key worker no longer works in the home. This has caused confusion for the child and exacerbated their behaviour.

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This monitoring visit

Staff are not receiving regular supervision. This does not help the manager to monitor staff practice. The responsible individual has recently increased their support for the manager in addition to being present in the home. However, the effectiveness of this is not yet known. Overall, staff felt more positive about working in the home. They said that the staff team felt more cohesive. They also felt better supported by the managers.

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This monitoring visit

As a result of this inspection, two new requirements have been made. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC423617 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/10/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/06/2024 Full Inadequate 10/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC423617 4

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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 with 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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding; and

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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

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(vii)(viii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s bedrooms are safe, nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of children. 10 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. 10 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC423617 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s views, wishes and feelings about how they are cared for are routinely ascertained. The registered person must ensure that children’s views are taken seriously, responded to and that any action taken ensures that children feel listened to.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, ensure that children are supported to understand and process their feelings of loss due to staff leaving.

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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 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; 10 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC423617 6 help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure a consistent approach to ensuring children’s safety. They must ensure that all staff understand their roles and responsibilities to protect children and take action to prevent children from harm. This includes acting promptly and effectively when there are concerns about the performance of staff.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff follow the guidance contained in children’s risk assessments to keep children safe.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they speak to all children living in the home after incidents occur, to ascertain their views, wishes and feelings. They must ensure that children are listened to when they talk about their experiences and that action is taken to ensure they are adequately supported.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC423617 7 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 promotes their welfare.

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the quality of care children receive is continuously monitored. This includes developing consistent, effective monitoring and review systems that include consulting with children about their experiences.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must have appropriate systems in place to monitor staff performance when there are known concerns. This includes taking effective action when necessary in children’s best interests.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 10 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. 10 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC423617 8 (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that each staff member receives regular supervision. This must include reflection on staff practice and performance-related issues.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

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 which is non stigmatizing. 10 December 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff receive in-depth training and upskilling in relation to the home’s recording systems. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC423617 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Adecyn Childrens Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 9 Summerfield Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 4PR

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Inspectors

Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Louise Naylor, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC423617 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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