Children's home run by Derby City Council in Derby

Inspection report for children’s home: SC036243 1 SC036243 Registered provider: Derby City Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection there were four children living at the home. Three children were consulted as part of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2023.

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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: 24 January 2024

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC036243 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/01/2024 Full Good 05/09/2022 Full Good 21/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC036243 3

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improvement to be good

Children have extremely positive relationships with a select few members of the staff team. One child referred to a staff member as a father figure for them. However, due to regular use of temporary workers, children do not receive consistent care. Children feel that there are often unfamiliar staff in the home. Some children feel weird when temporary workers support them. This leads to children not feeling excited about being at the home and leads to children spending more time away.

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improvement to be good

Staff work with outside agencies to try and support children to participate in education or work. Staff have a good understanding of what drives children’s passions and try to use this to encourage further education. One educational setting referred to the staff support as some of the best they have worked with. Children, however, do not have positive nighttime routines. This often results in children being awake into the early hours of the morning. Therefore, children’s routines are not conducive to a structured daily life.

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improvement to be good

Staff aim to encourage the development of children’s independence skills. However, children’s current differing needs have resulted in this not being a primary focus for staff. As a result, children’s development of independence skills has slowed.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand children’s health needs. Support offered by staff has not yet been effective in reducing health risks for children. Some children have not been able to foster healthier life choices. For example, some children continue to smoke tobacco, cannabis or use vapes.

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improvement to be good

Children have raised concerns that at times there has been a lack of food in the home. The manager does not ensure that there is always a selection of varied and balanced food options available. When children speak to their chosen staff member about concerns, this is not always raised with management or recorded. Children therefore do not always feel heard or know what is happening as a result of their views.

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improvement to be good

The manager has not regularly reviewed children’s views about closed-circuit television (CCTV) around the home or how it may impact on a child’s privacy.

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improvement to be good

Overall, staff respond well when there are indicators that a child may be at risk. This includes advocating for children and raising complaints if it is felt that services are not taking the appropriate action to safeguard children. On occasion, staff have not responded appropriately or shown enough professional curiosity. For example, staff did Inspection report for children’s home: SC036243 4 not complete checks on a presumed family member visiting a child prior to allowing them into the home. This meant that staff could not measure the level of possible risk. Staff only physically hold children when necessary to protect them from harm. On one occasion a physical hold was not used which could have prevented a child from harming themselves. This was due to temporary workers not knowing how to fully support the child. This had a negative impact on the child.

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improvement to be good

Staff complete searches of children’s bedrooms daily, which is a requirement set in children’s plans. However, staff are inconsistent in their approach to the intensity of search. The manager does not ensure that this is regularly reviewed against the level of risk. Staff do not complete written records of the searches in full and do not record how information is shared with the child’s social worker or others involved in their care. Children are not always informed that the search has taken place.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that support and education are in place for children regarding their health needs. Despite this, staff resort to locking the pantry door to prevent a child accessing excess food, which could significantly impact on their health. This shows that staff are yet to find a successful way to educate the child. As a result, this means that other children in the home do not have easy access to all areas of the home or everyday food items. Management and staff rationale for locking the doors was inconsistent throughout the inspection. Key professionals for the child were unaware of such practice to manage risks. They deem that staff should be able to manage such behaviour through other means.

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improvement to be good

The manager has not always informed Ofsted of significant incidents involving children in a timely way.

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

Although the overall effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement, the manager is aware of the difficulties that the home faces at present. She has clear plans in place for the aspects that she can improve on. She actively advocates for the children in her care and appropriately challenges decisions that she does not have autonomy for.

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

When staff practice is put into question, the manager reviews this effectively in supervision and creates scenarios to test staff knowledge. The manager regularly raises with the staff team the need to use language that cares in written recordings. This, however, is still an area of concern.

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

Professionals have provided varied feedback in relation to communication with the manager and staff. Some note that communication has been ‘key’, whereas others have experienced inconsistent messages. At times, there has also been confusion in the information shared. This results in professionals being uncertain about the risks posed to children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036243 5 One child referred to the management team as family and spoke highly of the nurture they offer. The manager knows children well and speaks warmly of them and her aspirations for their future.

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

Management oversight has not always found practice-related issues. For example, management oversight did not recognise that children’s consequences were not restorative in nature. For one child, this resulted in them not being able to visit their friend, who plays a key role in their life.

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

The requirement in relation to regulation 44 that was set at the last inspection has been met. The manager has also been able to evidence that staff support children to access education and that their views on the quality of care are sought. Therefore, the two recommendations in relation to this have been met. Having suitably trained staff to provide continuity of care for children is an ongoing issue and has impacted on children a great deal. This recommendation has therefore been reset as a requirement under regulation 13. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036243 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 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

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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13) (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h)) 5 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC036243 7 In particular, this relates to the registered person ensuring that there are sufficient, experienced and skilled workers to care for children. It also relates to ensuring that these workers are known to children and they can provide consistent care. It also relates to the manager ensuring that they have robust systems in place to ensure their oversight leads to improvements in the quality of care children receive.

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Requirement Due date

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child.

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Requirement Due date

The following measures may not be used to discipline any child—

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Requirement Due date

any restriction, other than one imposed by a court or in accordance with regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), on—

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Requirement Due date

a child’s contact with parents, relatives or friends;

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Requirement Due date

visits to the child by the child’s parents, relatives or friends.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to ensuring that any consequences are restorative in nature and do not prevent a child from visiting friends or relatives. 5 February 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

is instigated; or 5 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC036243 8 concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the registered person ensuring that Ofsted is notified without delay in respect of any aspects outlined in regulation 40.

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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

develop positive relationships with them;

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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.

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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

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; 5 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC036243 9 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

help each child to understand how the child’s privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the registered person ensuring that children are regularly consulted about the use of CCTV on the property’s premises. It also relates to ensuring that staff have follow-up conversations with children to keep them informed of decision-making.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home continuously has varied and nutritious food options available. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.3)  The registered person should ensure that children have access to all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet their needs. Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  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

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Recommendations

recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that children’s bedrooms are only searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Immediate searching may be necessary where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being. The registered person should ensure that information from such searches is appropriately shared with Inspection report for children’s home: SC036243 10 professionals. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)

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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: SC036243 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Council House, Corporation Street, Derby DE1 2FS

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Inspectors

Ellen Monk, Social Care Inspector Caroline Hose, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC036243 12 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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Inspectors

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