Children's Home run by Child First Residential Ltd in Sandwell

Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 1 Registered provider: Child First Residential Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and is one of two children’s homes run by the provider. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted on 28 February 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/06/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 3

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improvement to be good

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection, and they spoke with the inspector.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, some children have made progress from their starting points. However, some of staff’s safeguarding responses to children, and the management systems to develop staff practice, require improvement. Consequently, some shortfalls in these systems have had an impact on children’s overall experiences of living in the home.

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improvement to be good

The home is clean and tidy in parts, while other areas are messy and require improvement. Children’s bedrooms are personalised but require attention in terms of cleaning, tidying and redecorating in parts. Some parts of the home feel institutionalised due to the way they have been decorated. One child said that the home needs to be decorated and updated to make it feel more homely and welcoming.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage and support children to prioritise attending education. One child who was previously not attending school is now attending regularly and is gradually working towards attending school full time. As a result, the child has been provided with opportunities to learn and make progress with their education.

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improvement to be good

Staff prioritise children’s mental well-being. They carry out work with children to help them to understand their experiences, and identify the correct support. One child who had significant health issues has been supported to manage these, which has resulted in them no longer needing medication to manage their condition or attend health check- ups at the hospital.

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improvement to be good

Some children share kind and caring relationships with some staff. This is because some staff understand children’s needs well. Children’s feedback about the care they receive was generally positive. A child said that they ‘wouldn’t change anything about the home’ and that they feel listened to by staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to try new things and develop hobbies and interests. One child has learned to swim and now goes swimming regularly. Staff have arranged for one child to go on holiday to Spain to experience travelling outside of the UK and trying new things. Children learn new skills and have new experiences, which supports them in developing their confidence and view of the world.

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improvement to be good

Staff actively support children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Staff have supported one child to rebuild relationships with family members in a supportive and sensitive manner. Staff work closely with family members to ensure Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 4 that the time children spend with family is positive for the children. Children stay connected to their families and experience a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always assess risks effectively when working with children. In addition, they do not consistently identify that children may be at risk of harm or show curiosity to understand children’s actions. Following two incidents with one child in a short period of time, staff and leaders did not carry out a review or make changes to reduce these risks. These safeguarding shortfalls have the potential to increase children’s vulnerabilities and compromise their safety.

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improvement to be good

Children receive consequences that are sometimes punitive and disproportionate. Consequences are often not related to the behaviours children have displayed, are repetitive and can be excessive in their duration. Furthermore, the consequences used have little impact and contribute to children feeling unfairly treated.

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improvement to be good

Physical interventions are rarely used. Overall, many staff respond to children with empathy and patience when they are in distress and anxious. However, some staff do not respond to children in a therapeutic manner to avoid serious incidents. For example, on one occasion, a minor issue in which a child hid a games device led to staff carrying out a room search. This disproportionate approach increased the child’s anxieties and escalated into a physical intervention. Inappropriate responses from staff do not support children effectively or reduce their anxieties.

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improvement to be good

Staff’s responses to children experiencing challenging emotions do not consistently show empathy or patience. When a child was struggling to share information about harming themselves, staff were impatient and insensitive in their responses. As a result, children are not always responded to sensitively or therapeutically to express the challenges they are going through.

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improvement to be good

Despite some of the shortfalls identified, some safeguarding responses are good. For example, managers take allegations and complaints seriously and ensure they are explored. Managers ensure that investigations are robust and involve collaborative working with both children and professionals to evaluate all available information. Children are kept informed of the progress and outcomes of any investigation in a sensitive manner to minimise their anxieties.

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improvement to be good

Children do not go missing from the home. When children have left the home in an anxious state, staff have responded effectively and have taken action to safeguard them. These responses reassure children and promote their well-being.

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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 5 The registered manager is calm, reflective and committed to ensuring that children achieve the best possible outcomes. She is actively involved in the day-to-day care of children, which ensures she has a good understanding of children’s experiences and progress. However, although the manager has identified areas of development in staff practice and is starting to take action, her systems are not yet consistently effective in making continual improvements to the care that children receive in the home.

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

The registered manager is focused on improving children’s outcomes and experiences. She uses monthly team meetings, staff supervision sessions and reflective meetings with the home’s therapist to reflect, to learn and to improve practice.

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

Management oversight of incidents in the home is improving. The registered manager identifies areas for improvement and is keen to focus on reflective learning. For example, she has identified that staff’s responses to children and recordings of incidents are not always child focused. Staff have sometimes used stigmatising and punitive language that is not in line with the manager’s therapeutic approach. On occasion, children have been negatively labelled, which can contribute to them having a negative view of themselves.

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

The manager and staff have developed working relationships with the professional network for each child. They work closely with mental health professionals, teachers and social workers to ensure that children’s emotional, educational and health needs are managed well. External professionals were complimentary about the care children receive and some of the progress they have made. Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff are equipped with the skills and knowledge to assess children’s risks effectively, use curiosity to recognise when children are at risk of harm and take immediate action to reduce these risks. 18 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child. (Regulation 19 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff are using consequences with children that are fair and proportionate to the behaviour they are addressing. 18 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;

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 18 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 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; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that they have clear systems in place to improve staff practice and understand the impact that some of the responses from staff have on children’s experiences.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that staff are supported to understand and consistently use the home’s therapeutic model of care in their practice when working with vulnerable children.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them 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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the environment is well maintained, clean and homely. 18 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2745260 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Child First Residential Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 11 Hollyhedge Road, West Bromwich B71 3BP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rajinder Kudhail

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Inspector

Menaka De Silva, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2745260 10 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 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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