Children's Home run by HAVEN CARE GROUP LIMITED in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2548333 1 Registered provider: HAVEN CARE GROUP LIMITED

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a privately owned company and was registered in January 2020. It is registered to care for up to four children who have had adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and presenting complex behaviours. At the time of this inspection, there were two children living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a suitably qualified manager who is registered with Ofsted.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2548333 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/05/2024 Full Good 09/05/2023 Full Good 19/07/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/04/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2548333 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have remained living at the home, and three children have left. When children leave the home, staff promote positive endings. Children have goodbye meals and are provided with a goodbye gift. One social worker described their child’s move as ‘great’ and said staff supported the child to improve their independence skills. This ensures that children’s moves are positive and successful.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and invest time in them. As a result, children receive care that is sensitive to their needs. One child is being supported by staff to explore their gender identity, using child-friendly books. This support helps the child to feel valued and accepted.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a wide range of activities. Children in the home will be going on holiday abroad this summer. One child goes ice-skating as they enjoy this hobby. Another child has a gym membership and goes swimming regularly. This helps to build the children’s self-esteem.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in their education. This progress is recognised and rewarded by staff. One child has recently been given a new doll to recognise their improved attendance at school. This motivates the children to continue to try their best. Communication with one school could be improved. One teacher said, ‘Staff in the home do not pass information on to each other.’ As a result, a child’s dinner money has not been paid in full.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have effective relationships with health professionals. When one child has refused to attend health appointments, staff ensure that appointments are rebooked and that key work is completed. This helps staff to understand why the child does not want to attend. This ensures that children’s health needs are well met.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff understand the importance of family time for children. They consider when parents may struggle with transport and arrange activities close to the family home to ensure that family time is positive and able to take place. As a result, one child’s family time has become more reliable and accessible.

p.3

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

Children in this home are protected from harm. They have trusted adults with whom they can speak to about any concerns. Allegations are well managed and are shared with the appropriate agencies. Feedback is given to children when outcomes are reached. As a result, children know that their concerns are taken seriously. Inspection report for children’s home: 2548333 4 Positive behaviour is consistently promoted. Staff use incentives effectively, including praise and individual reward charts. This is supporting one child to develop their independence skills. Consequences are restorative, and as a result, the children’s behaviour is improving.

p.3

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

Safer recruitment ensures that staff are safe to work with children and have relevant skills and experience. Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and the risks these pose to them and take effective action to safeguard children where required.

p.4

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

Children rarely go missing. When they do, staff actively look for children. However, there have been two occasions where staff have not followed the missing-from-home procedures and have not contacted the police soon enough. On one occasion, this has led to a member of the public reporting a child as being missing before staff at the home did. This delayed the child being returned home for a short period of time. The manager’s oversight did not recognise this, to enable reflection and learning.

p.4

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

Physical intervention is used as a last resort to keep children safe. Staff and children are spoken to following each incident. Children receive help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings safely. Staff ensure that they give children the space to talk about what has happened and identify triggers for unsafe behaviours. Records of incidents are kept but these are not always clear. The manager has failed to consistently identify this as an area to develop staff practice.

p.4

good

The manager of the home is suitably qualified and has been managing the home for over a year. There have been significant changes in the staff team over this inspection period. Professionals have noted that this has impacted on the children building stable relationships in the past. However, over the past six months, the staff team has stabilised.

p.4

good

The manager does not have effective systems in place to identify and address shortfalls in staff training and qualifications. Only two staff are suitably qualified, with two others approaching qualification; however, delays mean statutory timescales have not been met. Although staff have completed training relevant to the children’s needs, some have not received training in areas such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and self-harm. These gaps have not been recognised or addressed through robust monitoring, potentially limiting staff’s ability to meet children’s individual needs.

p.4

good

The manager does not ensure that the home environment is maintained to a high enough standard. One child’s bedroom had an unpleasant smell and pieces of used chewing gum hanging from the ceiling. Although the manager and responsible individual had previously recognised shortfalls in cleaning, they had failed to ensure this had improved. There is damage and wear and tear which has not been Inspection report for children’s home: 2548333 5 addressed quickly enough. This compromises the quality of care that children are receiving.

p.4

good

The manager does not ensure that notifications of all significant events that relate to the welfare and protection of children in the home are made to the regulator. This fails to ensure that the regulator has the necessary oversight of incidents. However, the manager does ensure that they take necessary action following the incident to ensure that the child’s needs are met and that they are safe and protected.

p.5

good

Staff say that they feel well supported. They receive good-quality supervision that is reflective. Team meetings are well attended and are a safe place for staff to discuss children. Staff were observed to take part enthusiastically in a ‘pop quiz’ during a team meeting. Inspection report for children’s home: 2548333 6

p.5

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.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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

p.6

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))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to cleanliness and maintenance in the home, ensuring that staff are suitably trained and qualified to meet children’s needs, monitoring and oversight of incidents and working collaboratively with other agencies. 2 September

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 2 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2548333 7 that staff—

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(v))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, staff should follow the home’s procedures and individual risk assessments to keep children safe. This also relates to staff completing accurate records of incidents within the home.

p.7

Recommendation

 The registered person should notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

p.7

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: 2548333 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: HAVEN CARE GROUP LIMITED

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Haven Care Group, Unit 6, Barberry Court, Parkway, Centrum One Hundred, Burton-on-Trent DE14 2UE

p.8

Inspectors

Jenny Smith, Social Care Inspector Kirsty Truesdale, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2548333 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.

p.8

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9