Children's Home run by Worcestershire County Council in Worcestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2812370 1 Registered provider: Worcestershire County 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 was previously managed by a holding company. It was re-registered with Ofsted in September 2024, and is now managed by the local authority.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide short breaks for children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager re-registered with Ofsted in September 2024. He holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2812370 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, four children were receiving a short break. All the children were seen and spoken to. The recent changes in registration of this home have not had any impact on children or the care they receive. A strength of the home is how well staff get to know children and build positive and trusting relationships with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves to the home are well planned, and the manager considers the matching of children well. Children who have not settled in other settings settle quickly and say they enjoy their visits.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is homely. Staff prepare children’s rooms before each stay with children’s preferred bedding and things they like. There are lots of toys, books and games. Outside there is space for children to play, which includes a trampoline, covered sandpit, bikes and scooters.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure children have lots of fun when they stay. Children are given choices in things they would like to do. Staff take children swimming, to youth clubs, parks, shopping and out for meals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are monthly topics which staff help children to engage in. The topics are informative and help children to understand things like risks from fires through to games and activities. There are also topics on foods which encourage children to try foods they would not normally.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to make progress as a result of their short breaks. Staff work well with the children’s schools and other professionals. This helps to ensure that there is consistency in approach to support children to reach their targets. This has included consistency in how children’s toileting plans are supported, which has helped them become continent, and sharing strategies and ways of working to help children manage their emotions, resulting in a reduction in incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have positive relationships with children’s families and other professionals. Staff welcome advice and they share ideas which help children to progress. Staff advocate well for children and always put the child first.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Families and professionals are very complementary of the care children receive. They say that staff are committed and that they go above and beyond to support children, not just when they have their short breaks but at other times as well. This has included supporting professionals to undertake assessments of children when they are on their short breaks, when doing them at the child’s home may be difficult. Inspection report for children’s home: 2812370 3

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

Staff know the children well and keep them safe. The manager’s careful consideration when matching children means there are few incidents between children.

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

Children do not go missing from home. However, there are clear plans in place which tell staff what they would need to do if a child were to go missing.

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

Staff create plans that detail children’s behaviours and how staff can support the child when they are anxious or upset. This helps staff respond to children in ways that help them calm at these times. However, these plans are not always updated with the most current information, and ways of informing staff of changes are not always used effectively. This leaves the potential for staff to not be fully up to date on the best strategies to support children.

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

Staff manage incidents well and rarely need to use physical intervention to keep children safe. When restraints do take place, records of them are detailed, and the manager seeks advice and support to review incidents and develop new strategies. However, during one physical intervention staff restrained a child was on the floor. The manager did not ensure that staff were told about the need to be trained to do floor holds or the risks associated with these types of holds. Since then, action has been taken to provide staff with the appropriate training.

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

There have been two medication errors which have occurred through human error. These errors were not identified until a medication audit was completed. Investigations found there was no harm to children as a result. However, when children do not receive the correct medication, this could cause harm to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and wants the best for children. His commitment and passion shine through and he knows the home and children well. He has made sure that recent changes have not impacted on the home or care provided to children. The manager has seen the change in the home’s registration as a new opportunity and has an ambitious plan to improve the home further.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a full staff team. Following a successful recruitment campaign, experienced workers have now started in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by managers. They are provided with regular supervision which helps them to reflect and share ideas. As a result, staff are enthusiastic and have introduced lots of new ideas, which have enhanced children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a wide variety of training which is delivered face to face and online. When new training needs are identified, the manager is proactive in sourcing this. However, for those staff who have little or no experience, there has been a delay in them receiving Inspection report for children’s home: 2812370 4 training in understanding how to care for children with a learning disability and associated conditions, such as autism.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have not been any complaints or allegations from children or others about staff since the home was re-registered. When the manager has identified dips in staff performance, he has not been afraid to challenge staff and remind them of the expected standards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager previously found that not all children were able to express their views effectively. As a result, he has introduced new methods of helping them do this, using children’s individual communication systems. These changes have made a difference, with all children now able to give their views about their stays.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses monitoring systems to check on the quality of care provided to children. However, occasionally children’s records are not always updated promptly with new information and on occasion language used has not provided clarity about actions taken by staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2812370 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 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staff being informed of and understanding new risks to children and strategies to manage these. In addition, ensure staff understand risks associated with floor restraints. 7 March 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff maintain a child’s ongoing health treatment, including the management of medication on arrival and departure from the home. This includes having a system which promptly identifies when medication has not been administered in accordance with the child’s prescription. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.20)  The registered person should ensure that staff are suitably trained to meet the assessed needs of all children in the home. This relates to new staff, with limited or no experience of working with children with learning disabilities and autism, being given introductory learning while waiting for more formal learning opportunities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1)  The registered person should ensure that children’s records are kept up to date with

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Recommendations

information changes such as email addresses of social workers and the number of overnight stays the child receives. In addition, the registered person should ensure that shortfalls in staff recording, and terminology are addressed promptly. (‘Guide to Inspection report for children’s home: 2812370 6 the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.2)

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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: 2812370 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Worcestershire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Spetchley Road, Worcester WR5 2NP

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Inspector

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2812370 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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