Children's Home run by Progress Children’s Services Ltd in Dudley

Inspection report children’s home: 2746884 1 Registered provider: Progress Children’s 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 home is operated by a private organisation. The home provides care for up to seven children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a permanent registered manager, who is suitably experienced and is working towards a relevant qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, six children were living at the home. All children were present and spent time with the inspector.

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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: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2746884 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/06/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2746884 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience a stable home and they receive good care. One child moved into the home and no children have moved out since the last inspection. Overall, children get along well and enjoy spending time together. Two children go to a youth club together each week and they also enjoyed a caravan holiday away. Where children’s needs compete, staff take action to minimise the time that these children spend together. The spacious and well-planned home environment means that this is achieved with relative ease.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to play and enjoy a range of activities at the home and out at places they enjoy. Staff listen to children and act on their wishes. For example, one child asked for a toy toolbox. He now enjoys imaginary play ‘fixing’ things around the home. Staff help children to get involved in celebrations, including the home’s Easter party, which included a large inflatable bouncy castle, party food and an abundance of fun and laughter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend school, which is clearly embedded as part of their routine. Managers and staff are proactive in communicating with school staff. As a result, shared ideas and strategies increase the consistency of care for children across both settings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to attend all necessary health appointments, and managers escalate the need for specialist services, such as child and adolescent mental health services. Children are helped to prepare for appointments through creative approaches. For example, one child was helped to prepare for a dental appointment through a social story and role play using play dental equipment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers respectfully challenged a health professional’s advice to lock the kitchen door. They highlighted that this would be restrictive for all children at the home. Alternative strategies are in place to help the child achieve healthy eating habits.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children’s plans lack detail and do not provide current information. One child does not have a current health assessment. These shortfalls could impede staff’s understanding of children’s needs and the care they require. In addition, an action from one child’s review was for a bank account to be opened. While the manager has made some enquiries, this has not yet been completed.

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

Staff prioritise the safety and well-being of children. They understand the risks for the children and know how to provide care to keep them safe. They provide a high level of reassurance and guidance to children about their routines and activities, using communication aids to support this. This helps children to understand what is expected of them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2746884 4 Staff are attuned to children’s well-being and are responsive to their needs. When there are behavioural incidents, staff act swiftly to help children to manage their emotions effectively. The use of physical intervention is infrequent, only being used when necessary.

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

Managers seek the expertise of the physical intervention trainer and the home’s therapists when reviewing incidents. This advice is then used in developing strategies to manage children’s needs. Children are helped by staff to reflect on their behaviours. Accessible resources, such as symbols and videos, are used to help children learn about kind behaviour. This gently and consistently reinforces this message to children, in line with their abilities.

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

There are effective systems in place for medication storage, administration and record- keeping. When minor errors have occurred, action has been taken to learn lessons and minimise the risk of reoccurrence. For example, additional audit checks have been instigated. There are systems in place for monitoring and managing health and safety and these are used consistently. This ensures a safe environment for children.

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

There are a relatively high number of accidents recorded for children. This is afforded to their young ages and needs. Staff are vigilant in recording all accidents and seeking medical attention accordingly. However, staff do not consistently follow two children’s risk assessments that stipulate that body maps are to be completed daily. This could impede potential safeguarding investigations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are an insufficient number of permanent staff at the home. As such, the home relies on up to half the staff team being agency staff every day. Agency staff have an introduction to the home and their roles and responsibilities are made known. In general, agency staff are known to the children as they attend the home regularly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior managers are taking this very seriously and are collaborating with the recruitment team to adopt creative approaches to resolve the insufficient number of permanent staff. For example, recently, a recruitment day was held at the head office and this was successful in progressing some applicants through to the next stage of interview. There are also some new staff due to start working at the home upon completion of safer recruitment checks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers support staff well-being and development through regular supervision and an annual appraisal. However, this does not consistently extend to agency staff who work regularly at the home as they have not received formal supervision. This responsibility has recently been assigned to a team leader. Inspection report for children’s home: 2746884 5 The manager welcomes external monitoring and takes all feedback seriously. There have been several complaints; the manager has responded to each complaint and taken action to resolve matters. Leaders and managers have also listened to staff feedback in relation to their working hours. As a result, staff working patterns are now more conducive to allow them to fulfil their key working responsibilities for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an organised approach to staff training. The training pathway sets out the expectations for training to be completed by staff. There is a clear and structured approach to staff induction to working at the home. This covers a good breadth of essential information-sharing and topics. Staff training also includes a planned induction when staff change roles at the home, such as when there are new team leaders. The organisation is very committed to staff development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight is enhanced by support from senior leaders and the organisation’s quality assurance team. All action plans relating to the home are diligently reviewed on a weekly basis. New monitoring tools are being embedded to support the manager’s role and sustain the required level of oversight of this large home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2746884 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that children have all essential care plans in place, including current health assessments.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, ensure that children’s plans provide staff with sufficient detail about their care arrangements, and that staff consistently follow children’s plans.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to managers ensuring that actions from children’s care plan reviews are followed up in a timely manner. 31 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the supervision of casual and agency staff who regularly work at the home. 31 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2746884 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there are sufficient suitably trained staff on duty to meet the assessed needs of all children in the home. The registered person must 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)

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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: 2746884 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Progress Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Progress House, 127 Millfields Road, Wolverhampton WV4 6JG

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Inspector

Alison Snell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2746884 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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