Children's home run by Courtyard Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2650054 1 Registered provider: Courtyard Care Limited

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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 is privately owned. It is registered to provide care for up to six children with learning disabilities. Two children and one 18-year-old young person were living at the home at the time of the inspection. These children contributed to the inspection. The home is led by a registered manager.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2650054 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/08/2023 Full Good 14/02/2023 Full Good 16/11/2022 Full Inadequate 16/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2650054 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy living at this home. There are well-developed relationships between children and staff. Children like spending time with the staff. A child’s social worker said, ‘[Name of child] is in the right place. He is happy to be there, and they are meeting his needs.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans are part of a wider care planning folder. There are various documents that help staff to understand the needs of the child. Plans are written in a way that paints a picture of the child. Their likes and dislikes, routines and areas needing specific help are clearly explained. Therefore, staff know how to care for each child and keep them safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is seen as an important part of the child’s life. Children are supported to attend schools. They are provided with learning opportunities when not in school. There is good communication between staff at the home and teachers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the children well. They know each child’s preferred communication methods. Children who are non-speaking use pictures, symbols, Makaton and electronic devices. They are helped to make choices and express their feelings. This is throughout the day and in one-to-one sessions with staff. As a result, children make decisions about the environment, menus and activity planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met well. There are detailed health plans that explain each child’s specific needs. This includes the reasons for medication children need and any additional support required. Staff help children to attend health appointments, including ones that they could not cope with before. Additional help is provided to meet a child’s mental health needs, for example thorough attempts are made to find a reason why a child had started self-harming behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to learn independence skills in line with their understanding and abilities. Children have made particularly good progress in areas of their personal care. Their achievements are praised. Older children are helped to learn new skills in preparation for adult provisions.

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

Children’s risk assessments are clear and detailed. They are reviewed regularly. Staff understand risks to children. This includes the additional vulnerabilities of children with learning disabilities. Ways that staff can minimise risks are clearly explained.

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

Staff manage children’s unwanted behaviours well. Individual behaviour support plans are in place for each child. They help staff to know what might trigger the behaviour and how to care for the child when they are upset or angry. Staff are Inspection report for children’s home: 2650054 4 trained to use brief holds as a last resort. This is to keep the child or others safe. There are good learning outcomes following incidents. This includes staff and child debriefs and management oversight.

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

Allegations against staff are responded to appropriately by the manager. Processes are in place to keep children safe while thorough investigations are undertaken. This includes working closely with safeguarding professionals.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. There is always one-to-one staffing. However, there are clear procedures and protocols in place should a child go missing. Staff are reminded of the extreme risk to children with learning disabilities being missing.

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

The manager ensures that safe recruitment processes are used for all new staff coming to work at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the manager. She is approachable, and staff feel able to raise any concerns. One staff member said the manager ‘is brilliant and has done an amazing job’. A child’s parent was also very positive about the managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff receive a comprehensive induction to the home. This includes time for self-reflection and manager feedback. There is a comprehensive training programme during staff’s induction, and this is ongoing afterwards. There are courses specific to caring for children with learning disabilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recorded staff supervisions are held regularly. The manager has overseen an improvement in this area. Further changes are planned. These are needed to provide a more developmental approach to these important support and learning sessions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager holds team meetings each month. There is a thorough review of the care of each child. There are also good discussions on operational issues and some focus on procedures. The manager knows the strengths of the team and has developed a more open culture at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A wide range of quality assurance and monitoring tools are used by the manager. She spends time with children and observes staff practice to ensure that the children receive a good quality of care and protection. All recordings of incidents, key-work sessions and children’s meetings have management oversight added. Findings from audits inform an ongoing action plan. This identifies further development for the team and the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager feels very well supported by an experienced responsible individual. She also values the support of the wider senior management team. She receives regular supervision and support whenever needed by phone. The responsible individual also makes regular visits to the home and spends time with the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2650054 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff supervision enables staff to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. This relates to ensuring that supervision helps staff to reflect and further develop their practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2650054 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Courtyard Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Siskin Drive, Middlemarch Business Park, Coventry CV3 4FJ

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Inspector

Shaun Caplis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2650054 7 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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Inspector

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