Children's Home run by Seasons Care Ltd in Dudley

Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 1 Registered provider: Seasons Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in March 2024. It provides care for up to two children with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and complex needs. The home is privately owned and forms part of a small social care organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living in the home at the time of this inspection. They did not wish to speak to 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 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: 4 September 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: 2745565 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/09/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is one child living in the home. They were present and observed during the inspection. A high number of staff support the child to keep them safe. There is also a large team of professionals involved in supporting the child’s care planning. The child has been living in the home for eight months.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A dedicated and nurturing staff team provides the child with a stable and secure home. Staff are highly committed, know the child well and are proud of the child’s accomplishments since they have been living in the home. As a result of the caring support from staff, the child is starting to make progress. For example, they are building relationships with staff, they have participated in education and they are engaging with health appointments and life-story work. This support is helping the child to develop their skills and learn to understand their emotions in a safe environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education. While the child is not in education, they encourage the child to engage in home tutoring. This is significant for the child, as they have been out of education for over four years. Additionally, staff have supported the child to visit local schools and colleges. Staff work in partnership with education departments and relevant professionals. This provides the child with opportunities to improve their learning and reach their full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to take part in a wide range of activities, try new things and develop hobbies and interests. These include activities such as the cinema, bowling and driving experiences, as well as enjoying a short holiday. Sharing activities enables the child to grow in confidence, improves their self-esteem and social skills and enhances their experiences of living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff ensure that the child has opportunities to make decisions and influence their care. The child has participated in weekly meetings and in team meetings, where the child chose their key workers. Staff also write a monthly newsletter to the child, which informs them of and celebrates their achievements. This practice supports the child to develop their sense of self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the child’s health needs. Staff are supported by the child’s local authority outreach service, which provides weekly consultation and advice on how to support the child. This further promotes the child’s emotional well-being and provides stability. When there are concerns about the child’s diet and use of e-cigarettes, staff carry out work with the child to help them understand the risks to their health. However, staff have not appropriately recorded the risks effectively in the child’s plans. This shortfall does not ensure staff have guidance on what actions they are to take, which can impact on the child’s health. Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 4

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

Overall, staff and managers take appropriate action when safeguarding concerns arise. Staff know the child well and understand the child’s risks and the actions they need to take to keep the child safe. In addition, staff work with the child to understand their anxieties, risks and triggers. This is supporting the child to become safer. As a result, incidents are reducing over time.

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

Staff provide the child with clear guidance and boundaries. As a result, the child is learning what is expected of them. When the child’s anxieties escalate, staff are alert and prompt to intervene. As staff know how to meet the child’s complex needs, their actions often de-escalate behaviours successfully. Staff physically intervene where necessary to keep the child safe. These incidents are recorded in full. Managers have oversight to identify any learning or revisions needed to the child’s plans.

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

There have been no missing-from-home incidents. Staff ensure that there are clear protocols in place, which align with the local police joint protocol. Staff are clear about the actions that they would need to take if the child were to go missing from the home.

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

Managers follow safer recruitment practices. This ensures that only appropriately vetted adults work in the home.

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

On one occasion, the registered manager did not identify or take appropriate action when the child made a complaint about staff’s practice. Consequently, there was a delay in sharing information with professionals and subsequent safeguarding processes being followed. While managers have now acted, the delays did not support the child to feel listened to and confident to raise concerns in the future. Furthermore, failure to promptly follow safeguarding processes has the potential to put the child at risk of harm.

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

Managers lack understanding of the thresholds for serious notifications. As a result, they have failed to notify Ofsted about safeguarding concerns in a timely manner. As a result, Ofsted does not consistently have all the relevant information to understand what is happening in the home.

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

The home is led by a registered manager, who is part of a stable management team. While the registered manager has a good working knowledge of the home and the child, some of their leadership systems are not yet consistently effective in making continual improvements to the home. In addition, gaps in managers’ knowledge and experience have contributed to the management shortfalls identified. These shortfalls have the potential to compromise the child’s safety and the quality of care they receive.

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

Managers ensure that staff have specific training to meet the child’s needs. However, senior leaders have not ensured that managers have the training required to support them to carry out their roles. For example, managers lack some understanding of the Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 5 regulations and have not had training in notifiable events and management investigations. This has affected their ability to have effective oversight of some incidents. Leaders and the registered manager acknowledge this and are looking into training to enhance managers’ knowledge and improve their oversight.

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

The statement of purpose clearly outlines the aims and objectives of the home. This helps parents and placing authorities to have a clear understanding of the aims of the service. However, this has not been sent to Ofsted following any review. While this does not impact on children, it does not ensure that Ofsted has up-to-date information about the operation of the home.

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

Leaders are reflective, open to learning and do have a good understanding of the strengths and areas for development of the home. Managers have an abundance of improvement plans and aspirations that demonstrate high ambition for the development of the home and the child’s care. All managers and staff share high aspirations for the child to continue to make progress.

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

Managers ensure that there are sufficient staff to meet the child’s needs. This promotes consistency and a sense of security for the child. Staff morale is good. Staff say that they enjoy working at the home, and they are positive about the support they receive. Staff receive regular supervision. Team meetings and weekly consultation are reflective. This supports staff to work together as a team, develops staff practice and improves the quality of care the child receives.

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

The staff and managers work closely with a wide range of professionals. This helps the child to receive well-coordinated care. As a result of this partnership approach, the child’s risks are reducing, and their outcomes are improving. Managers challenge those who are not meeting the child’s needs or when they feel decisions made are not in the best interests of the child. Overall, feedback from professionals is positive. One professional said, ‘Communication is good. Staff are all really calm and able to de-escalate. [Name of child] has had a positive experience. Staff can keep them safe. They are reflective and open to criticism and learning.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 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—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that they promptly explore any allegations or concerns raised by children and that they inform professionals without delay. In addition, the manager must ensure that they attend training to support them to have the knowledge and skills to take effective action when there are safeguarding concerns. 30 July 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

promotes their welfare. 30 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 7 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; 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)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that monitoring systems are effective in identifying shortfalls. In addition, the manager must ensure that they attend training to support them to have the knowledge and skills to have effective oversight of the home, in order to meet the regulations.

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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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

must include details of— 30 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 8 the matter;

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter; and

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there are clear plans for staff to follow to work with children to support children’s health and well-being. For example, to provide a healthy diet and exercise. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18)  The registered person should ensure that they develop the home’s statement of purpose and keep it under review. It should be child focused, indicating how the home provides individualised care to meet the quality standards for the children in their care. They should ensure that they notify and send a copy of the revised statement to Ofsted within 28 days of the revision. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)

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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: 2745565 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 121 Livery Street, Colman House, Birmingham B3 1RS

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Inspector

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 10 regulates 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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