Children's Home run by Staffordshire County Council in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 1 Registered provider: Staffordshire County Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been absent for the majority of this inspection period. During this time, an interim manager has overseen the day-to-day running of the home. The registered manager has now returned to work for the local authority and is planning a phased return to their post.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children lived at the home. Both children were present and spoke with 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 requires improvement to be 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 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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good

Date of last inspection: 3 December 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: 2736466 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/12/2024 Full Good 03/01/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, three children have been welcomed into the home and four children have left. Children’s experiences of leaving the home have been mixed.

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improvement to be good

One child experienced a positive and carefully considered move to foster care. Another child received good support to develop their independent living skills, which enabled a successful move into semi-independent accommodation. However, one child experienced a significant delay in returning to the care of their birth family. Opportunities were missed to escalate concerns effectively and consistently challenge the wider professional network on behalf of this child. This directly contributed to the delay in their return home. For another child, the ineffective management of their safeguarding needs within the home led to escalating risks to their safety and the safety of others. This directly contributed to their unplanned and premature move from the home.

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improvement to be good

Delays in care planning and identifying alternate living arrangements for children, due to the emerging risks, have resulted in a decline in outcomes for some children. The care needs of children are not always managed by the staff team effectively. As a result, children have experienced a significant decline in their education, lack any clear and consistent routine and have become increasingly isolated from their peer groups, accessing very minimal social opportunities outside of the home environment.

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improvement to be good

Staff and leaders do not consistently manage and respond when children’s prescribed medication runs out. The processes in place for the safe administration of some medication do not ensure that all children have appropriate access when needed to support their physical and emotional care needs. One child raised this concern directly with the staff team; however, no action was taken place to escalate this issue or seek immediate medical advice for the child.

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improvement to be good

Children’s achievements are celebrated, and systems are in place to help children understand how their progress is recognised by adults caring for them. Rewards are personalised to reflect each child’s individual interests, which helps to promote a sense of value and motivation.

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improvement to be good

The communal living areas of the home are generally warm and welcoming. However, damage to furniture in children’s bedrooms is not consistently repaired. One child was missing wardrobe doors, with no record of how the damage occurred or how long it had been present. Another child had no curtains on their window, again with no explanation recorded and no plan in place for repair. These conditions do not promote children’s well-being and reflect a lack of attention to maintaining a safe and nurturing environment. Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 4

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improvement to be good

Managers do not consistently inform relevant professionals when safeguarding incidents occur. In some cases, Regulation 40 notifications have either been submitted late or not submitted at all. This limits the regulator’s ability to maintain timely and effective oversight of safeguarding concerns and undermines accountability.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always follow the guidance from children’s risk assessments when children go missing from the home. In particular, staff do not always adhere to individual protocols regarding when a child should be reported missing to the police. This inconsistency negatively impacts on the effective management of incidents and delays efforts to locate and return children to safety.

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improvement to be good

When children move into the home, managers do not always consider how known risks may impact on each individual child. For example, during one assessment, the risks of self-harm and suicidal ideation were not considered, despite these being known vulnerabilities. Managers failed to identify and review the potential impact on all children and the capacity of the staff team to manage these needs effectively.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour support for children is generally effective. When physical restraint is required, it is used as a last resort and is proportionate to the level of risk that is presented, ensuring the immediate safety of children. Following incidents, both children and staff receive appropriate support to help meet their emotional needs and well-being.

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good

There has not been consistent management oversight of children’s case records. Managers do not demonstrate sufficient professional curiosity when reviewing and evaluating incidents. As a result, shortfalls in staff practice have not been identified, and appropriate action has not been taken to ensure children’s safety and well-being. These weaknesses have contributed to failings in the quality of care and the protection of children.

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good

Monitoring and review systems implemented by leaders and managers are ineffective. For example, there are multiple duplications and inconsistencies in recording practices, which undermine the accuracy and reliability of case records.

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good

Management oversight of safeguarding incidents lacks sufficient consideration of actions required by the staff team to reduce the risk of future harm to children. There are no recorded timescales for reviewing ongoing support to minimise harm, which results in delays in children accessing appropriate help to build resilience. Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 5 Staff do not consistently receive formal supervision in line with the home’s statement of purpose. As a result, senior leaders have failed to identify and address key shortfalls due to a lack of effective oversight. This has negatively impacted on the overall effectiveness of the home in delivering good-quality care.

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good

There has been instability in the leadership and management of the home. Plans are in place to review the current leadership arrangements. However, the effectiveness of these measures has yet to be tested, and it remains unclear to review what impact they will have on improving the quality of care provided to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure the accurate review and administration of medication for children. It is also essential that the guidance provided to staff is clearly understood and consistently applied by all staff to promote children’s safety. 31 October Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 7 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 (1) requires the registered person to—

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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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that improvements are implemented to review significant safeguarding incidents and the completion of agreed actions to ensure children’s welfare. This also includes ensuring that all staff have consistent access to formal supervision in line with the home’s stated aims. 31 October

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s admissions into the home are well planned and take full account of all known safeguarding risks and vulnerabilities for each child being considered. 31 October Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 8

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Recommendations

 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. In particular, this refers to recordings being sufficiently detailed and of consistent quality. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2736466 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Staffordshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Staffordshire Place, Stafford, Staffordshire ST16 2DH

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Inspector

Charlotte Tippett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2736466 10 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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