Children's home run by Caring Steps Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2672636 1 Registered provider: Caring Steps Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. All three were present during the inspection and two spoke to the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2024 and is suitably qualified.

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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: 20 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: 2672636 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/02/2024 Full Good 21/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2672636 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in all aspects of their lives and staff and managers aspire for children to flourish. Children enjoy new experiences and activities, which are varied. They are encouraged to attend education. They are also encouraged to develop their social and emotional skills and maintain relationships with people who are important to them and with friends. For example, children’s friends and siblings visit for sleepovers. Overall, children are settled in the home and make progress in education and with their social and independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting relationships with staff and managers. They approach staff for their needs to be met and staff respond to children with affection and humour. Staff capture children’s days in daily diaries. This approach is used to celebrate their achievements and offers children understanding when they may not have had a good day. This indicates to children that staff and managers care about them each day, regardless of what has occurred.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers promote positive behaviour using a range of strategies. For example, children may be given verbal or written praise for their positive actions or small presents as a token of appreciation. Children’s achievements are celebrated, no matter how big or small.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers seek children’s views. Children can have a say in a structured manner as well as in natural discussion. This enables them to feel that they are participating in the care they receive. Feedback from professionals is positive. They say that communication and information-sharing are strengths, which enable children to receive care from the wider network around them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is large and spacious, with plenty of room for the children to interact with one another or to spend time on their own. Children’s bedrooms are individualised. However, there are scuff marks on the paintwork and the general maintenance of the home needs to improve, as this detracts from the nurturing environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The use of door sensors and window restrictors in the home, detracts from the homely feel and contributes to an institutional look and perception. Risk assessments regarding the use of window restrictors do not clearly identify sufficient risk to warrant their ongoing use. This restrictive practice requires review. For some children door sensors are used despite no formal assessment of whether these are required or not. One child is said to now have anxieties about the door sensors being switched off. The normalised approach of monitoring some children’s liberty contributes further to an institutional feel and would warrant further assessment and planning to ensure children to feel safe in their home without monitoring systems. Inspection report for children’s home: 2672636 4

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

Children know how to make a complaint. The manager regularly consults with children to give them an opportunity to share any concerns. When children raise concerns, they are responded to by the manager and given timely responses. Concerns are shared with relevant professionals when appropriate. This helps children feel listened to and increases their feeling of safety.

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

Staff use physical interventions proportionately. Records relating to these interventions are detailed and include the de-escalation measures used by staff. Managerial oversight is recorded and analyses the effectiveness and learning from these interventions.

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

Most safeguarding concerns are identified, and prompt action is taken to keep children safe. However, there have been some occasions when staff have failed to adhere to the home’s safeguarding policy. Strategies put in place by the manager ensure that appropriate action is subsequently taken to ensure children are safe and that learning is identified to mitigate future risk, but these incidents mean that some children are not consistently safeguarded and this impacts on the manager’s ability to keep them safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are shortfalls relating to some children’s experiences of restrictions, the staff reporting and response to safeguarding issues and the correct and timely response to notifiable incidents. Managerial oversight is mitigating some of these issues and whilst there is no apparent detriment to the children, staff are not consistently fulfilling their responsibilities in reporting these incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Not all staff have completed their mandatory training or qualifications within the required timescales. One member of staff has continued to lone work with children, despite failing to achieve their qualification and training within timescales. Whilst management action is being taken to address these issues, It is not clear how the manager is assured that staff are equipped to meet the needs of children in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has not always notified Ofsted of significant events, for example, an allegation made by a child. When Ofsted is notified, some notifications have been delayed. This means that Ofsted’s capacity to monitor the safeguards has been reduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, the staff team has been through significant change. Several staff have left the organisation, for a variety of reasons. The manager has now established a strong and reliable team, who work well together and have a range of knowledge and expertise. A high number of agency workers have been used while recruitment has been ongoing. The manager has ensured that, when possible, the same agency workers are used consistently to provide children with continuity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is managed by an experienced manager who understands her role. She has a clear vision for the home and has high expectations for children and staff. She is supported by a long-standing skilled deputy manager. An experienced responsible Inspection report for children’s home: 2672636 5 individual provides oversight of the leadership team. Leaders and managers acknowledge the shortfalls identified and accepts there are areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has built strong relationships with the children and is present in the home. This increases her ability to ensure that children receive care that is based on their unique needs and enables them to advocate on behalf of children. The management team is reflective in their practice and determined to build a strong team to effect positive change in children’s lives. Inspection report for children’s home: 2672636 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 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— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate a child is in any way at risk of harm. Staff must follow the safeguarding policy and procedure of the organisation. This includes notifying the manager about safeguarding concerns without delay. 30 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2672636 7 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;

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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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and

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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)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff complete their qualifications and the organisation’s mandatory and house-specific training within timescales. 30 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any [other] incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all serious and significant incidents are reported to Ofsted within the required timescale. 30 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the use of motion sensors and restrictions is appropriate, and that regular reviews take place to ensure their continued use remains appropriate. 30 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2672636 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home provides a nurturing environment that meets the needs of the children. The home should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than institutional impression, specifically in relation to ground floor window restrictors and ground floor door locks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2672636 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Caring Steps Limited, 29 Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 4DJ

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Inspector

Tonia Dubidat, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2672636 10 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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