Children's home run by A&M Care Solutions Limited - T/A Metropolitan Care Solutions

Inspection report for children’s home: 2496764 1 Registered provider: A&M Care Solutions Limited - T/A Metropolitan Care Solutions Full inspection 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 provider. It can provide care for up to four children with social, emotional and special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living at the home at the time of this inspection. All children were seen and spoken to by the inspector.

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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

Date of last inspection: 5 February 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2496764 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/02/2024 Full Outstanding 21/02/2023 Full Good 27/07/2021 Full Outstanding 27/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2496764 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive individualised care that is tailored to their needs. Staff show children emotional warmth and care. Staff provide children with a range of experiences, such as holidays abroad and going to theme parks. There is a family environment where staff and children share meals and movie nights together. Children are flourishing because of long-term, stable placements, and they enjoy positive relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to communicate their views. Staff provide children with personalised tools, such as symbols and pictures, to help them express their wishes and feelings. Staff also encourage children to develop their speech. One child, who did not use words to communicate before moving to the home, is now able to speak several words to express themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are good at recognising and celebrating children’s achievements with praise and rewards. For example, children get to choose a toy from their reward drawer. Children are supported to develop their independence skills each day, helping them grow in confidence. Children have a genuine say in their day-to-day care, for example what they have for dinner and what they do for fun. This helps children to feel valued and empowered.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy school and make good progress. Staff support children well when they are unable to attend school. For example, one child who found school difficult was home-schooled by a tutor. Staff were also creative in engaging them in home learning activities. This helped the child enjoy learning again, and staff have since supported the child to return to school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff meet children’s health needs well. Children are supported to live healthy and active lifestyles. One child receives specialist help from a nutritionist and is now a healthy weight. The manager and staff are proactive and tenacious in seeking mental health support for children. This ensures that children receive the right help and support to improve their health.

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

Staff are well trained in responding to behaviours that are difficult to manage, such as physical aggression. Staff implement firm boundaries with empathy and understanding, helping children to feel safe. Staff use approaches, such as grounding techniques, to help children to regulate their behaviour, and as a result, the number of incidents has reduced.

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

Children’s views are regularly sought and listened to. The home’s complaints process is tailored to children’s communication needs. Staff speak to children about how to Inspection report for children’s home: 2496764 4 complain. Children also receive a regular visit from an independent advocate. This ensures that children are helped to raise any concerns they may have.

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

Holding children is used as a last resort to keep children and others safe. The minimum amount of force and the lowest type of measure are used. Staff and children are spoken to after each incident in a way that is accessible to them. The manager reviews each incident, and any learning is used to improve practice.

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

Children’s medication is not always safely managed. One child, who is prescribed a sedative medicine to take as and when needed to manage their anxieties, does not have adequate safety plans or safeguards in place; there is no clear and agreed threshold for when the medication should be administered. Staff do not record enough detail about the event or their rationale for giving it to the child. Therefore, the child is at risk of being overmedicated to manage their behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager shows warmth towards the children and has a nurturing approach. Staff admire her leadership and enjoy working at the home. She leads by example and supports staff to improve and develop.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong advocate for children and will challenge decisions that are not made in their best interests. She has been instrumental in helping children to receive vital support from specialists, such as mental health services. She works well in partnership with other professionals, such as social workers and teachers. This helps children to receive the right support and coordinated care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well trained. They receive training in relation to children’s needs, such as autism and epilepsy. Staff also receive specialist training from psychologists, such as dyadic developmental psychotherapy and non-violent resistance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has systems in place to monitor the quality of care. She knows what is happening in the home daily. Regular audits are undertaken, and any shortfalls are promptly addressed. However, there has been a lack of oversight and scrutiny of sedative medication given to one child. Steps were made to address this during the inspection, but time is needed to embed the changes into practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision from the manager. These sessions cover important topics, such as safeguarding and whistle-blowing. Staff feel supported and confident in their role. However, staff are not encouraged to reflect on how their own feelings and actions can be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. Inspection report for children’s home: 2496764 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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Requirements Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirements Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirements 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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Requirements 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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Requirements Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirements Due date

In particular, this refers to having comprehensive safety plans in place for the administration of medication and that staff take effective action when children are in distress and only administer ‘pro re nata’ (as required) medication as a last resort to manage children’s anxieties. 28 February 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff supervision enables staff to reflect and act on how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39 paragraph 8.15) Inspection report for children’s home: 2496764 6

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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: 2496764 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: A&M Care Solutions Limited - T/A Metropolitan Care Solutions

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 Regent Street, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG1 5BQ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Katherine Adkins

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Inspector

Emma Dacres, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2496764 8 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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