Children's home run by Birmingham Children’s Trust Community Interest Company

Inspection report for children’s home: 2711552 1 Registered provider: Birmingham Children’s Trust Community Interest Company

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by Birmingham Children’s Trust and provides long-term care for up to three children who may have experienced social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since December 2022. He holds a relevant level 5 qualification.

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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 effectives services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 17 October 2023

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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: 2711552 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/10/2023 Full Good 09/05/2023 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2711552 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of inspection, three children lived in the home. All children were spoken to during the inspection. Children told the inspector they felt safe and enjoyed living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children have moved out of the home since the last inspection. This was in line with their care plans, and planning took place to ensure that they experienced a positive transition out of the home. Children who come to live at the home are welcomed by staff, and this allows them to settle quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusted relationships with the staff who are looking after them. Staff know the children well and listen to them. Children have a range of positive experiences when living at the home; they get involved in cooking, take part in driving experiences, attend martial art and football clubs and are encouraged to follow individual faiths and attend places of worship. These experiences provide children with memories and support their identity needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make a complaint, and the manager investigates children’s complaints in a timely manner. However, children do not always receive a response to their complaint, which means that they are not supported to know what has happened as a result of their complaint.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children living at the home attend school regularly, which supports their learning and development. There have been occasions where children have found attending school difficult and staff have supported them to overcome these challenges so that they can re-enter school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s health needs, and they are encouraged to learn about a healthy diet and lifestyle. Furthermore, children are also educated about sexual health, positive relationships and vaping. They are taken to all appointments to promote their well-being and are well supported by staff. When children’s needs are more complex, staff make referrals to relevant professionals so that children receive support to address their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to spend time with their families and other important people. Staff have recently supported one child to reconnect with their birth family, and they have spent regular time with them because of this support. This provided one child with the opportunity to experience an ongoing connection with their birth family. Inspection report for children’s home: 2711552 4

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

Children’s plans identify known risks and provide strategies to support staff to keep them safe. However, when staff identify emerging risks, children’s plans are not updated to reflect these new concerns. As a result, children are not always supported to keep themselves safe.

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

There has been an increase in incidents between two children living in the home. However, they have been supported by staff through mediation and emotional support. As a result, they now experience a more positive relationship to enable them to live together in the home.

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

If children go missing from the home, staff actively follow children and report their concerns to the necessary agencies. Despite children being welcomed when they return home, children are not always offered a return interview with someone independent. This prevents external oversight to develop an understanding of any possible triggers for going missing. Positively, children currently living at the home do not go missing, which evidences that they feel safe.

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

When there are concerns about staff practice, the registered manager informs appropriate agencies, such as the local authority designated officer. When the registered manager is completes an internal investigation, these have not always been thoroughly completed. This reduces the manager’s oversight of incidents and does not provide opportunities for learning. In addition, this hinders further development of the staff team.

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

When physical intervention is required to support children’s behaviour, this is proportionate, and children are offered first aid and medical attention after the incident. However, recordings are not always clear, and not all children are offered the opportunity to discuss their feelings about the restraint. This prevents the manager from gaining valuable learning from these experiences.

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good

The home is managed by a registered manager who is suitably qualified and experienced. They speak warmly and fondly about the children living at the home. The registered manager has encountered a challenging time since the last inspection due to a high staff turnover and a vacant deputy manager post. Despite a deputy manager and staff team being recruited, this has impacted on their ability to ensure appropriate oversight of the home.

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good

Staff complete mandatory training. Staff will be attending training to support them in their roles as senior management intends to introduce a specific model of care into the home. Staff told the inspector that they are happy in their roles and spoke positively about the children they support. Inspection report for children’s home: 2711552 5 When staff come to work at the home, the registered manager follows safer recruitment procedures to ensure that they are suitable to work with children.

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good

The registered manager has monitoring and review systems in place to review the quality of care provided. However, these are not effective as shortfalls identified at this inspection had not been identified by the manager. As a result, this has impacted on the home’s progress and ongoing developments to continually improve experiences for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2711552 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 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

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

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)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager’s monitoring systems must identify where there are shortfalls, and they must take appropriate action to resolve these. 2 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2711552 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person must ensure that written records of restraint are detailed and accurate to enable the review of the use and effectiveness of the restraint. The registered person must also ensure that any child who is restrained has the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as practicable. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59).

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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: 2711552 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Birmingham Children’s Trust Community Interest Company

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Avenue Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 4DU

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Inspector

Charlotte Love, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2711552 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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