Children's home run by Care and Management Services Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC419217 1 SC419217

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Registered provider: Care and Management 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

This privately operated children’s home provides care for up to two children who may have experienced early childhood trauma and may exhibit complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Both children were spoken to.

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Information about this children’s home

The newly registered manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024. She is a registered manager for another home within the organisation.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 21 November 2023

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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: SC419217 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/11/2023 Full Outstanding 04/01/2023 Full Good 19/10/2021 Full Good 21/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC419217 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home and one child has moved in. Children live in a home that is warm and welcoming. Staff build trusting relationships with children, and moves in and out of the home are supported well by staff. As a result, children have positive relationships with each other and are making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are promoted. Staff support children to develop their understanding of personal care and independence through well-planned discussions. As a result, children are developing their independence and personal skills, and this is having a positive impact on their experiences. One child has been supported with assessments to understand their needs further by the neuro-developmental team. This has enabled the staff team to further understand the child’s needs. Additionally, staff have adapted practices based on new understandings. For another child, staff have made a referral to a specialist agency regarding substance misuse.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff promote education. Children attend full-time education provisions, and attendance levels are high. Both children make academic progress. In addition, staff support one child with independent living skills, which is in the form of detailed discussions and practical tasks. This enables the child to build on their confidence and prepare for the transition to adulthood. Education reviews are held regularly between education and the management in the home. However, the manager has not suitably escalated concerns for obtaining the children’s plans from the relevant authorities. This leaves staff unaware of what actions are required to support children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend time with people who are important to them. For example, staff have supported one child to continue to have a family member stay overnight regularly. This creates a family environment and supports children to maintain positive relationships with people who are important to them. In addition, one child’s parent said, ‘Family time is absolutely amazing. Staff make us feel so welcome, we all eat together. [Name of child’s] siblings love visiting. [Name of child] has built amazing relationships with staff.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they are listened to by staff. Children feel confident to speak to staff and raise any worries they may have. In addition, children have advocates to support them as part of an independent approach. However not all children know who they are or how to access this support.

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

Since the last inspection, there have been no complaints or allegations made. Children say the staff keep them safe. One child said, ‘I feel safe living in the home, Inspection report for children’s home: SC419217 4 especially at night, as one member of staff works throughout the night.’ This approach helps children to feel relaxed at nighttime, when some anxieties increase for children.

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

Children rarely go missing from home, but when they do, staff act accordingly in line with the children’s plans and children return home safe. Children are supported to understand risks through discussions and direct work. As a result, incidents are minimal in the home.

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

Children’s plans and risk assessments do not always include all the steps that staff need to take to keep them safe. For example, for a child who has increasing risks around substance misuse, the guidance for staff lacks detail and direction. In addition, the manager does not suitably review the risks in line with increasing incidents. As a result, there is no clear guidance or changes made in accordance with presenting risks. The manager took immediate action in response to this shortfall, including adding additional guidance to the risk assessment, and has chased a request for a care plan meeting as part of a multi-agency approach to manage this risk.

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

Staff understand children’s risks and vulnerabilities well. This understanding helps to keep children safe. Staff act appropriately in the event of incidents. This practice does go beyond documented guidance in children’s risk assessments. Staff have a good general understanding around exploitation and substance misuse.

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

Instances of physical intervention are rare. When restraint is used, this is appropriate, proportionate and for the shortest time possible to keep children safe. Children and staff are spoken to after. However, some records do not detail the staff debrief, and the management overview is of poor quality. For example, the manager does not explore the incident fully, including any patterns or themes. This is a missed opportunity to improve and adapt practices to help children.

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good

The registered manager is relatively new in post. She is suitably experienced and qualified for the role. She is supported by an experienced deputy manager who helps to supervise some of the staff team. The home consists of a full staff team that has been in post for a number of years. This provides children with consistency and continuity of care. Staff say they enjoy working in the home and feel well supported by the management team.

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good

The manager is dual-registered and has struggled to manage her time effectively to oversee the running of the home. As a result, this has impacted on the overall monitoring, such as reviewing and updating children’s records in accordance with their care plans, updating in-house records and the manager’s ability to identify and address shortfalls in the language used in children’s records. For example, some records are not child-friendly, and language used does not match the home’s Inspection report for children’s home: SC419217 5 therapeutic model. In addition, communication between the leadership team is not always consistent. This has led to some gaps in understanding children’s current plans.

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good

Team meetings are well attended, and the agenda is child-focused. However, the quality of the recording is poor and records do not provide records do not provide clear information about discussions involving children. Staff receive regular supervision by leaders who have completed the relevant training to do so. However, some supervision records lack detail and do not consistently address shortfalls in practice. In addition, these records do not have action plans for improved practices. Despite these shortfalls, the manager has recently made some improvements in this area.

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good

The majority of staff hold the required qualification. However, two members of staff have not obtained their qualification in residential childcare within the required time frame. This means that not all staff have been trained to the required level to meet children’s needs. The manager is yet to form a plan to address this.

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good

The independent person visits the home each month and provides Ofsted with a report. However, at times, the report received is out of required timescales. In addition, the independent person does not always speak to children. This shortfall impacts on children’s ability to share their views, wishes and feelings to someone independent of the home.

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good

There has been one occasion when the manager has not notified the regulator of an incident relating to a child’s welfare. Although other relevant professionals were notified, and staff responded well to support the child, this leaves the regulator unaware that the incident occurred, which therefore cannot be reviewed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC419217 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the registered person escalates non- responses to the relevant persons. In addition, the manager must ensure that records of children’s education plans are on file. 30 March 2025

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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’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; 30 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC419217 7 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met;

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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)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure the use of monitoring and review systems, including evaluations after incidents, to reflect on and improve practice.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)) 30 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC419217 8 In particular, the registered person must plan to ensure that staff have the necessary qualification within the required time frame.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

in cases not falling within sub-paragraph (a), for 75 years from the child’s date of birth;

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Requirement Due date

securely in the children’s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there. (Regulation 36 (1)(b)(c) (2)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must obtain all children’s care plan records. In addition, they must keep records up to date and ensure that records are signed and dated. 30 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must make arrangements for children to speak to the independent person regularly. 30 March 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all children have access to appropriate advocacy support. Where possible, this should be provided by a person that the child chooses. Looked-after children are entitled to an independent advocate to advise them and ensure they have the support needed to express their views, Inspection report for children’s home: SC419217 9 wishes and feelings about their care and lives. The registered person must ensure that children have their advocate details to access services as they wish. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 23 paragraph 4.16)  The registered person should notify Ofsted under Regulation 40, and other relevant persons, of the situations specified relating to an incident of the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph

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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: SC419217 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care and Management Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Park Business Centre, Wood Lane, Birmingham B24 9QR

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Inspectors

Jas Nahar, Social Care Inspector Joanne Humphreys, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC419217 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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