Children's Home run by Progress Children’s Services Ltd in Walsall

Inspection report children's home: SC038526 1 SC038526 Registered provider: Progress Children’s Services Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private organisation operates this home. The home provides care for up to nine children who may have learning disabilities, physical disabilities and/or sensory impairments. There is a permanent manager, who is suitably experienced, and they became registered in April 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection there were seven children living at the home. Inspectors spent time with all the children.

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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 good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: good Inspection report children's home: SC038526 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/06/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/06/2022 Full Good 01/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: SC038526 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a good experience living at this home. Some of the children have lived there for several years, providing them with a real sense of belonging and stability. One child has recently moved in. They had a planned and successful move to the home. Managers made an assessment that their needs could be met, as staff have the necessary experience and skills. The child benefitted from introductory visits, and they have settled very well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall staff are knowledgeable about children's health care needs. They are vigilant in acting upon signs of ill health. Staff ensure that children attend all routine and specialist health care appointments, including arranging emergency care when needed. They have provided nurturing and quality care to children following operations and through periods of illness. They exhibit pride in children’s resilience through these health challenges.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have very clear routines; this ensures all their needs are met. Going to school is a key part of their routines. All children attend school; staff visit children’s schools for special events including parents’ evenings, sports days and one child enjoyed having staff visit their school for a teddy bear’s picnic.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have effective communication with schools on a day-to-day basis. This includes planning for sharing equipment and resources to help children. For example, one child has brought their standing frame home to use during the summer holidays. This helps the child sustain progress with their posture and strength and provides opportunities for sensory play on their tray.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy activities in line with their interests. Staff are attentive to children and know when their interests change. For example, one child now really enjoys watching the football and plans are being made for them to attend a match. There is an increase in the frequency that children go out for leisure and activities. Staff are now organised and proactive in their planning. Children’s activities and outings are captured through photographs; one child is having a slide show of their photos created as an accessible ‘memory book’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s preferred methods of communication. This includes the subtleties of their facial expression or vocal tones. They actively help children make choices. For example, children have been shown images of different activities on a screen, and staff have observed their responses to plan outings. For some children, choices are made using objects of reference, such as choosing between two different drinks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have clear targets in place, for developing skills in line with their abilities. Staff actively help and encourage children to work towards these and provide praise and Inspection report children's home: SC038526 4 celebration for their progress and achievements. All children have recently received a certificate for their efforts towards their targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's cultural needs are promoted. Some children attend church, and they listen to culturally specific music and nursery rhymes. However, there is a lack of creativity and missed opportunities to help children understand and celebrate their cultures.

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

Staff recognise the extent of children’s vulnerabilities and prioritise their safety. Staff are vigilant about the safety of the home environment. For example, there is an extensive project underway for renovation of the gardens. The manager has implemented a clear risk assessment to manage this and ensure that children are fully safeguarded. The manager was vigilant in ensuring that contractors fully understood the requirements of keeping the site safe.

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

Staff talk to children about important topics to encourage their awareness and understanding. For example, one child was supported with a social story to help them prepare for an operation. Staff understand the importance of always involving children in their care. As a result, children receive respectful care that promotes their dignity.

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

Staff provide consistent responses to children’s behaviour, which effectively de-escalates their emotions and behaviours. As a result of staff’s proactive approach, there are a very low number of behavioural incidents. Managers and staff recognise that behaviours are part of children's communication. Physical intervention is not used at this home, and there have been no incidents where this would have been necessary.

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

There has been one concern raised by a staff member about an isolated incident of alleged poor practice. There was some delay in this being reported to managers. This was investigated thoroughly and appropriate action taken to address the skill of staff in meeting children’s nutritional needs, and to upskill staff in the importance of timely reporting of concerns. While staff have had relevant training, the child’s plans do not sufficiently detail the bespoke techniques to undertake this care task. This could impede the staff’s understanding.

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

Overall, children have the necessary specialist equipment to meet their individual needs. The health and safety of specialist equipment is assured through regular checks and annual servicing. However, one child has been without a shower chair for over a year. Managers have raised this request with the Local Authority, but no progress has been made. Managers have failed to escalate this further. While the child’s hygiene needs have continued to be met, this is preventing their access to showering which staff note would be beneficial for both hygiene and their sensory experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has brought about improvements to the quality of care and to children’s experiences. Staff recognise that the change of management has led to Inspection report children's home: SC038526 5 greater stability at the home for all. Staff say they are very well supported by leaders and managers. Staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities and feel trusted in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The number of complaints at the home has reduced greatly. This is largely due to managers building more effective communication and improving partnership working with others. Any complaints and concerns are always taken seriously, and the manager takes diligent action to address these without delay. There has been a wealth of compliments, highlighting the improvements in children’s care and experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has invested in the development of the team leader, and they have an active and key role in the leadership and management of the home. Recruitment is underway to increase the number of team leaders.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been some changes of staff at the home. However, there is an experienced core staff team. There is currently a high number of agency workers required to sustain staffing levels. However, they are usually familiar people who have worked at the home for a length of time. There is a determined effort to address the staffing shortfalls and progress is being made with some staff currently on boarding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Permanent staff receive training in a breadth of topics that equips them well for their roles. While agency staff do have some training delivered by their employer they do not benefit from the full training programme that the core staff have. This reduces the staffing expertise overall. All staff receive effective supervision, and managers now ensure that this is sufficiently frequent to consistently support wellbeing and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has an organised approach to oversight. The wider organisation also provides a high level of audit activity and scrutiny. The home has had an improvement plan in place, which is overseen by senior leaders, and the manager welcomes this. This ongoing monitoring and action planning has been effective in making and sustaining positive changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has led by example and created a pleasant and calm atmosphere at the home. As a result, staff enjoy spending time with children. They provide friendly interactions and bring a sense of fun, enhancing children’s experiences. Inspection report children's home: SC038526 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, 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to—

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Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that children's plans provide staff with clear guidance about how to meet their nutritional needs.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to managers ensuring that all children have the necessary equipment to meet their health and care needs. Furthermore, that any delay in this being provided is escalated with the relevant agencies. 01 November 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are able to maintain and develop their cultural or religious beliefs as far as practicable and where appropriate, through participation and instruction, and by observing religious requirements. This includes using creative approaches to help children understand and to celebrate their culture. Inspection report children's home: SC038526 7 (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.22)

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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 children's home: SC038526 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Progress Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Progress House, 127 Millfields Road, Wolverhampton WV4 6JG

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Inspectors

Alison Snell, Social Care Inspector Alison Smale, His Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC038526 9 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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