Children's Home run by Spectrum Care & Support Services Ltd in Sandwell

Inspection report for children's home: 2764557 1 Registered provider: Spectrum Care & Support Services Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to three children with learning disabilities. One child is currently living in the home but was not spoken to as part of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2024, and the home has been registered since March 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2764557 2

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improvement to be good

A child with known risks moved into the home. The manager completed a thorough suitability assessment before their arrival. The manager gathered information from external professionals to understand the child’s behaviours, interests, and support plans. However, delays in accessing some activities that the child is interested in means that staff were unable to fully support the child’s needs and interests. The staff do not use all known information about a child to think of creative ways to positively engage the child and minimise incidents.

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improvement to be good

The child left the home after the manager served notice after six weeks. This means that the child experienced further change and disruption.

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improvement to be good

A child was unable to use a trampoline, which they may have enjoyed. The trampoline remained in its packaging for four days, by which time the child was due to move imminently from the home. Trampolining may have been a fun activity to positively engage the child.

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improvement to be good

The home is modern but clinical in some areas, with minimal personalisation for a child. However, the child required minimal stimulation due to their sensory needs. There was delay in introducing decor to the playroom. The manager has not considered enough creative methods to make the home appear less clinical and provide a more enjoyable experience for children. For example, the playroom was a sparse room and contained only one beanbag and a box of building blocks.

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improvement to be good

The child is supported to stay in contact with people who are important to them, such as their family. The manager has had high levels of communication with the child’s school and family. A member of the teaching staff at the child’s school said that communication is ‘top-notch’ and has helped the child to attend school daily. The child has previously found health appointments difficult to attend. With staff support, they are now able to attend. This means that the child receives appropriate healthcare.

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improvement to be good

Due to the manager serving notice on the child’s placement, staff are at the early stages of building a trusting relationship with the child. Staff use visual aids with the child to communicate and the child now whispers to staff. To aid the process of building relationships and understand the child’s views about staff members, an external professional is used to allow the child to communicate in a way they felt comfortable with. However, known methods to allow the child to engage in effective communication are not always used consistently. For example, visual aids for the child’s daily routine and hygiene routine were not always located where they should be. This practice does not consistently support the child’s social needs. Inspection report for children's home: 2764557 3

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improvement to be good

The home has a surveillance camera at the front of the property, which is not included in the statement of purpose. The position of the camera could allow a child to be recorded without consent.

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improvement to be good

Staff use visual aids to support a child’s complex communications needs, and to teach the child about the rights and wrongs of physical aggression. There is a high level of restraint used, including during the child’s first night in the home. The manager regularly provides direction during these incidents, and detailed records are kept. However, staff lack confidence in managing children’s complex behaviours without the regular support and involvement of managers.

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improvement to be good

The home has minimal safeguarding risks. Staff have good information and strategies to follow when children’s behaviour is of concern. However, staff struggle to implement these plans consistently. For example, a physical restraint record evidenced four members of staff involved in one restraint. During the inspection the responsible individual and manager helped two staff members to protect the child from running away from the home. Too many staff involved can potentially increase the child’s anxiety.

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improvement to be good

The manager has persistently requested support for a child where there were issues with school transport. Staff explained that they provided dedicated time to better understand the child’s anxieties around this issue to ensure they support the child adequately. This resulted in the child attending and leaving school happier. Therefore, staff show a genuine care for children.

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

The responsible individual and manager accept that the home is in the early stages of its development. The responsible individual struggled to clearly show how an audit had been undertaken at the home or how the auditing process is having a positive impact for a child. Additionally, the work force development plan remains incomplete, which is the document that gives consideration in terms of how the home will meet the quality standards for children.

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

Auditing processes are generally consistent. When effective auditing takes place, this has resulted in the responsible individual identifying that the manager has reviewed physical restraint records that she was involved in. The manager now escalates these matters to the responsible individual to facilitate best practice. Some key documents are left incomplete, including a child’s health plan. This results in staff not being aware of the child’s full health history and how to respond.

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

Team meetings are used as a reflective space to discuss the child’s needs, learn from incidents and gather staff views. Inspection report for children's home: 2764557 4 The manager is reflective and understands the home’s strengths and areas of development. She has ensured that all staff have undertaken mandatory and specific training, so they are equipped to meet the child’s individual needs. The manager has plans to address any outstanding training.

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

The team supports one another, and this has created stability during challenging times. Staff confirm that there have been unsettled periods in the home. During these periods, staff have ‘struggled with various things not being sorted out and put in place by management so we have not been able to work to the best of our abilities’. Staff provide different views on the support provided by management. Therefore, this sometimes impacts upon the staff’s ability to fulfil their responsibilities to children as a residential childcare worker. Inspection report for children's home: 2764557 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that all care planning options are exhausted before notice is given for children and that all care planning needs are understood before this decision is made. 21 November 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; and

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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

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

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that the home environment is decorated and furnished to meet children’s personal and care needs. 21 October 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2764557 6 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

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; 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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to effective auditing systems being implemented to monitor the progress children are making and improve quality of care. 21 October 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home’s use of CCTV or other monitoring equipment should have a written policy describing how this will support the safeguarding and well-being of those living and working in the home in accordance with Regulation 24. The home must gain consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the placing authority in writing at the time of placement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)

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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: 2764557 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Spectrum Care & Support Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Wallace House, 20 Birmingham Road, Walsall, West Midlands WS1 2LT

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Inspectors

Caoimhe Richards, Social Care Inspector Chanel Bryant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2764557 8 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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