Children's Home run by JN Healthcare Group Limited in Sandwell

Inspection report for children's home: 2672241 1 Registered provider: JN Healthcare Group Limited

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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 privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities. At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home. The children were spoken with, and they shared their experiences with the inspectors.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has not had a registered manager since November 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 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

Date of last inspection: 11 December 2024

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the last full inspection, on 11 and 12 December 2024 and 23 January 2025, the home was judged to be inadequate. Significant shortfalls were found in safeguarding practice and leadership and management. Inspection report for children's home: 2672241 2 Due to the concerns, a restriction of accommodation notice was served. Two compliance notices were served, under regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. On 5 and 6 February 2025, a monitoring visit was carried out at the home. The steps in the compliance notices were met. The restriction on admissions to the home was lifted. Inspection report for children's home: 2672241 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/12/2024 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 2672241 4

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improvement to be good

Children are making progress from their starting points, but some shortfalls in their care impact on their overall progress and experiences.

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improvement to be good

Progress is encouraged using targets and incentives. However, the targets set for children are rarely met and have not been reviewed to ensure that they are achievable. This does not motivate children to aim high and succeed.

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences of moving on from the home are not positive. Since the last inspection, one child has moved on, in an unplanned way. The child was unable to pack their belongings and say goodbye to important people because they moved quickly. This compromised the child’s well-being.

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improvement to be good

Children said that the relationships with staff are ‘better’, but the use of electronic devices by staff to maintain records creates an unnecessary barrier between them. This is because staff use the devices to make daily notes while they are supporting the children. This is not nurturing or supportive to children. Leaders gave assurance that they will review this practice.

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improvement to be good

The children get along well, and they enjoy attending Army cadets together. Important events in children’s lives, such as their birthdays, are celebrated. This helps children to make happy memories.

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improvement to be good

Education is promoted. Children access education and when one child is reluctant to engage with their home tutor, staff persevere and encourage them to attend. Another child is enjoying learning. Their confidence is growing and they are keen to start at a new school and make new friends.

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improvement to be good

Some aspects of children’s health are not fully explored. Managers have not sought advice and support for a child in relation to a specific need and, without this, the child’s emotional well-being is compromised. In addition, there is no guidance to help staff support the child with this need. In contrast, another child benefits from specialist support which is helping them to overcome their past trauma.

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improvement to be good

The environment feels more homely and welcoming. This helps the children to feel at ease in their surroundings and gain a sense of permanence. A new conservatory has been built; this is a nice space for the children to enjoy. However, areas of the home are unclean. There was a thick layer of dust on the skirting board in the bathroom, there are marks and splashes on walls and the windows in one child’s bedroom were dirty. This detracts from a nurturing and comfortable environment that children can be proud of. Inspection report for children's home: 2672241 5

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

Children feel safe and they name trusted adults they can talk to if they have worries. In weekly meetings, the children are gently reminded about who to tell if they have any concerns. This informs children’s understanding and helps to keep them safe.

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

The safeguarding culture at the home has improved. Staff looking after the children understand their responsibilities to protect them. They know the safeguarding procedures that they need to follow to keep children safe. Consequently, children are safeguarded from harm.

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

Children know how to make a complaint. Their complaints are taken seriously and responded to quickly. Complaint outcomes are shared with the children, so they know what has happened, which contributes to their feeling of security.

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

During the previous inspection, a child raised a concern about the conduct of a member of staff which managers had not identified. As soon as this information was passed to leaders and managers, they took action to safeguard the children and work in partnership with external professionals. This multi-agency approach is a good safety net for children. While this demonstrated managers do not always identify concerns, it does show that they follow correct safeguarding processes once concerns have been passed to them

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

Good-quality support is provided to help children manage their feelings and emotions. Important discussions on a range of topics take place with children, which helps them to reflect on their decisions and behaviours. This support gives children guidance and builds emotional resilience. As a result, children are becoming safer and the number of incidents is decreasing.

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

Incidents are well managed and clear, child-focused records are maintained. Physical restraint is used infrequently and as a last resort. When this happens, children are spoken with by managers so they can understand their experiences. Any learning is shared, to improve practice.

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

Leadership arrangements have changed since the last inspection. There has been no registered manager since November 2024. The previous manager was in post for a short time and is now working in another role in the company. The operations manager has applied to register with Ofsted. They are the home’s third manager since the home opened eight months ago.

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

Leaders are reflective and show commitment to make improvements to ensure that children receive good-quality care. They understand the home’s strengths and areas for development. For example, they are keen to learn lessons to ensure children’s Inspection report for children's home: 2672241 6 experiences of moving on from the home are positive and relationships with local authorities are maintained to support outcomes.

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

Monitoring systems have been strengthened since the last inspection, but more time is needed to ensure that systems are effective and fully embedded in practice. Shortfalls, including cleanliness of the home and children rarely achieving their targets, had not been identified.

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

The review of children’s care for the home’s first six months of operation does not include the opinions and views of the children or external professionals such as the children’s social workers. This is a missed opportunity to identify strengths and areas for development in children’s care to support continuous improvement in the home.

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

Staff feel supported. They have frequent opportunities to come together to discuss learning and generate new ideas. This supports team cohesion and practice development.

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

Staff receive frequent reflective supervision sessions that provide them with time to reflect on their work. They also benefit from regular training. This includes specialist courses based on the children’s individual needs.

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

The development of staff remains a priority for leaders. Most of the staff team do not hold a qualification in residential childcare. A plan is in place to address this to support staff to achieve a qualification within the required timescale. Inspection report for children's home: 2672241 7

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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 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

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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that their monitoring systems are effective, to support continuous improvements in the home to benefit children. 30 May 2025

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Requirement Due date

The health and wellbeing standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met; 30 May 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2672241 8 children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all aspects of children’s health are fully explored. Advice and support for children’s specific conditions must be sought and guidance must be in place to help staff support children well.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect.

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all areas of the home are clean.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that positive relationships between children and staff are promoted in line with the home’s statement of purpose. In particular, staff use of electronic recording devices to make daily notes when they are supporting the children.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, targets set for children must be achievable and support children’s progress. 30 May 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2672241 9 This requirement is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(c) (5)) 5 September 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that each child is well supported in the period immediately before their departure from the home. This is in addition to the longer- term support for children to move on from the home effectively (regulation 6(2)(b)(vi)). The registered person should work with the placing authority to ensure that each child’s transition is planned, and help each child to prepare for leaving, both practically and emotionally. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9)

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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: 2672241 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: JN Healthcare Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 36 Navigation Street, Art Court Building, Walsall, West Midlands WS2 9LT

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Inspectors

Amy Richards, Social Care Inspector Louise Naylor, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2672241 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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