Children's Home run by Hazelmont Social Care LTD in Walsall

Inspection report for children's home: 2667768 1 Registered provider: Hazelmont Social Care 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 home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to three children who have had adverse childhood experiences. At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home. Two children were spoken with by the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

A suitably qualified and experienced manager is in post.

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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: 27 February 2024

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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: 2667768 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2024 Full Good 08/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2667768 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is welcoming and well presented. Communal areas offer children warm and comfortable spaces to relax in and engage in activities that they enjoy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection in February 2024, one child has moved into the home. That child’s experience of moving was positive and well planned. They had the opportunity to meet staff beforehand, engage in activities, visit the home and meet the other children. This thoughtful approach ensures that children feel supported and safe during crucial points in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive relationships with staff. Staff work hard to build these relationships. They have important conversations with children to help them be safer and healthier, and to promote their education and independence. As a result, most of the children have made good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s engagement in education has greatly improved. Staff work closely with children and education professionals to identify barriers to education and overcome them. When necessary, the manager has challenged education professionals to ensure that children’s needs are met. As a result, most children are in full-time education. One child has returned to, and remained in, education after a long absence, enhancing their life chances. That child said, ‘Staff were very helpful, they were supportive and helped me get back into education.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is promoted. Staff are tenacious in their support of children’s physical and mental health. Staff encourage children to attend health appointments and undertake work with children to help them better understand the importance of their physical and mental health. This supports children to stay healthy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well prepared for their futures. They participate in planning for their next steps, and staff are adept at preparing children to live independently. As a result, children understand their plans and are developing the skills and confidence they require for adult life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a range of ways to share their views, make decisions about their lives and influence the care they receive. As a result, children feel valued and listened to, saying that staff are quick to address any issues they raise. One child said, ‘I feel I can make decisions about my life. If I don’t like things, I can speak to staff and they change it.’

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

Most children living in the home are becoming safer and feel safe. Due to emerging risks, staff are struggling to keep one child safe. The manager has worked closely with their social worker and the police to promote the child’s safety. Managers have kept their Inspection report for children's home: 2667768 4 placement under close review. When it became clear that they could not keep the child safe, managers took effective action in ending their placement. Managers continue to work closely with the child’s placing authority to ensure that the move happens in a way that is planned, and reduces disruption for the child, wherever possible.

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

Staff have a good understanding of how to keep children safe. When children go missing, they follow children's plans and work closely with the relevant agencies to bring children back safely. For one child, this is reducing the risks to her and enabling her to move from the home in a planned way.

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

Children’s ability to understand their emotions and express them positively is improving. Staff are skilled at supporting children to calm when they are upset or angry. They only use restraint as a last resort. When children are held, managers provide robust oversight of restraint practice. Children’s views are sought, and work is done to repair relationships between the child and staff. Because of this, incidents of children having to be held to keep them or others safe have reduced significantly.

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

Children’s achievements and progress are celebrated and encouraged. Consequences for negative behaviour are rarely used When they are, they are natural consequences that are restorative in nature. Children are encouraged to learn from incidents, and staff provide them with opportunities to make reparations. This is helping children to develop the social, emotional and practical skills they will require in later life.

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

When children make allegations, staff take them seriously. Staff take the necessary, immediate action to keep children safe and make the relevant professionals aware. Leaders and managers are quick to investigate allegations and resolve them. However, contrary to the home’s policies, children are not always given the outcome of investigations. This prolongs uncertainty for children, and reduces their confidence that adults are acting to keep them safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A suitably qualified and experienced manager leads the team. However, he is shortly to leave his role. Leaders are actively recruiting to fill his post. They have contingency plans to reduce the impact of this on children, and to ensure the continued operation of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there has been a turbulent period for the home, with a large reliance on agency staff and an influx of new staff members. This has stabilised in recent months because the home is now fully staffed. Staff and the manager accept that this was a difficult time for children. Managers have identified that they will, in future, better prepare children for staff leaving. However, at the time of inspection, this work was not yet evidenced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite the recent difficulties, staff enjoy working in the home and describe leaders and managers as supportive. Leaders and managers ensure that staff receive the training that they require to meet children's needs. When new risks emerge, specific training is Inspection report for children's home: 2667768 5 provided. This ensures that children are cared for by staff who are knowledgeable and skilled.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that staff benefit from the involvement of the home’s psychologist in team meetings. This helps staff to have a better understanding of children's behaviours. However, leaders and managers have not provided staff with regular supervision sessions. This has reduced opportunities for management oversight and the manager’s ability to ensure consistently good care for children. The impact of this on children is reduced by the manager’s strong oversight of incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Incidents are well managed. The manager looks carefully at each incident and identifies opportunities for learning. Any learning is shared with staff through debriefs and in team meetings. When new risks emerge, the manager ensures that children's plans are updated so that staff are able to keep children safe. As a result, staff manage risk well and, for most children, incidents are reducing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a good knowledge of the home’s strengths and areas for development. They use a range of methods to oversee all aspects of care for children. Where these mechanisms have not supported robust oversight, leaders and managers have made the necessary changes. One example has been introducing improved systems to monitor the regularity of supervision sessions for staff. This is likely to promote consistently good care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers build effective working relationships with other professionals. Feedback from professionals was positive. One professional said, ‘I'm very lucky to work with these guys; the communication is excellent.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that children are protected by using safe recruitment practices. They undertake the necessary checks to be confident that the staff working with children are safe and have the necessary experience. Inspection report for children's home: 2667768 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

ensure that staff are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(x))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that staff receive regular supervision. 30 May 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for ensuring that all staff consistently follow the home's policies and procedures for the benefit of the children in the home's care. This relates specifically to ensuring that the outcomes of any investigations into allegations made by children are shared with them. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 54, paragraph 10.20)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children's attachments are not overly disrupted, including ensuring that the employment of any temporary staff will not prevent children from receiving the continuity of care that they need. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 51, paragraph 10.1) Inspection report for children's home: 2667768 7

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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: 2667768 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Hazelmont Social Care LTD

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: West Midlands House, Gipsy Lane, Willenhall, West Midlands WV13 2HA

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Inspector

John Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2667768 9 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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