Children's home run by City of Wolverhampton Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC378153 1 SC378153 Registered provider: City of Wolverhampton Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a local authority and provides short breaks for up to 6 children aged between 9 and 17. The children may have experienced childhood adversity that has resulted in emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

A manager and a responsible individual have been recruited, and the manager has submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

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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

Date of last inspection: 15 January 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC378153 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/01/2025 Full Good 22/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/06/2022 Full Good 22/02/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC378153 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were staying at the home for a short break. One child was staying for the first time, and the other had come to stay at short notice. The inspector greeted both children briefly; however, due to their individual circumstances, it was not appropriate to speak with them in detail.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy staying at the home. They are warmly welcomed by staff, who help them to have positive and meaningful experiences during their stay. Staff support children to prepare for their visit by inviting them to come to the home beforehand with people who are important to them. This helps children to become familiar with the environment and understand what to expect. Staff also use these opportunities to learn about each child’s preferences so that individualised plans can be developed. This child ‑ centred approach helps children to build trusting and positive relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children who have previously stayed at the home are no longer able to return due to changes in their personal circumstances, staff provide thoughtful and sensitive support. Where appropriate, they facilitate a planned farewell. This helps children to feel valued and emotionally supported during periods of change.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to providing children with high ‑ quality care. They are proactive in developing a thorough understanding of each child’s plans and their wider circumstances. For example, one staff member described how they are actively liaising with relevant professionals about a child’s education, health and care plan status, ensuring that information is shared appropriately and that the child’s needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well presented and maintained. The environment is comfortable and homely, helping children to feel relaxed during their stay. Recent improvements, including new carpeting throughout most of the property, enhance the home’s appearance. Plans are underway to re ‑ carpet children’s bedrooms, further improving the quality of the accommodation.

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

Incidents of children going missing from home have reduced. When children have gone missing, staff have responded promptly and communicated appropriately with safeguarding agencies, family members and carers. However, when children have been located, they have not been offered an independent return home interview. Although children may not continue their short break following a missing-from-home episode, the opportunity for an independent and confidential conversation is important. It helps to understand the child’s reasons for going missing and informs strategies to prevent this from reoccurring. The lack of independent return home interviews is therefore a missed opportunity to strengthen safeguarding practice. Leaders recognise this as an area that requires improvement. Inspection report children’s home: SC378153 4 Since the last inspection, there have been several medication errors. Leaders and managers have taken a proactive and effective approach to addressing this issue. All

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

staff have now received face ‑ to ‑ face training and a competency assessment. Increased management oversight of medication procedures has strengthened safeguards and reduced the risk of further mistakes. There have been no medication errors since the training. Staff report that they feel the revised process is safe and reliable.

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

There have been few incidents since the home reopened, which reflects that children are settled during their stays. However, when incidents do occur, the quality of recording is poor, and records are not stored in a single, coherent location. This makes it difficult to understand the child’s experience and to follow the chronology of staff responses. This weakens the ability of leaders to analyse patterns or assess the effectiveness of practice.

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

Children know how to make a complaint. Although no formal complaints have been submitted, two children expressed that they were unhappy about experiences during their stay. Staff listened to these concerns and took action to address them wherever possible. This demonstrates that children’s views are taken seriously.

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

Notifications to Ofsted are made in a timely manner. This ensures that the regulator is appropriately informed, and it provides reassurance that the provider understands its safeguarding responsibilities and takes suitable action when required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been several changes in leadership and management. This has created instability and uncertainty for the home. Although leaders have taken a proactive approach to recruitment, staffing levels became insufficient, resulting in the home temporarily closing for several weeks towards the end of the year. The home has now reopened, and a new manager took up post shortly before the reopening. The manager demonstrates commitment to the home and has applied to register with Ofsted. This has contributed to improved stability and oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New processes introduced since the home reopened, including changes to shift structures and the increased frequency of team meetings, have largely strengthened team relationships and morale. Most staff report that they feel happy in their roles and believe the quality of care for children has improved. However, a minority of staff do not share this view and report that practice is not consistently child focused. Leaders and managers are aware of these concerns, and ongoing work is taking place to address them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A significant area of shortfall relates to the recording of information. The absence of a centralised recording system makes it difficult for staff and leaders to access information and increases the risk of records being misplaced. Although the manager has begun to address this, it remains an urgent issue because it undermines the effectiveness of monitoring arrangements. In addition, the quality of records is inconsistent. Some entries are poorly written and do not support an understanding of children’s needs. For example, Inspection report children’s home: SC378153 5 records of physical interventions are handwritten, difficult to read and lack essential information such as dates and staff names. If a child were to request access to their records in future, these documents would not help them understand the care they received.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from external professionals is largely positive. Social workers report that children enjoy their stays and are well cared for by staff. One social worker highlighted that staff work hard to build positive relationships with children and with their families and carers. However, arrangements for children to stay at the home are not always communicated to the child’s social worker, which limits effective partnership working.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision, during which they are supported to reflect on their practice and develop their skills and knowledge. Inspection report children’s home: SC378153 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; 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)(v)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff are aware of their responsibilities when children go missing from home. 31 March 2026

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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

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)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person and leaders should ensure the home’s system of recording is accessible and effective and that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. 31 March 2026 Inspection report children’s home: SC378153 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are kept and enable them and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure that there are effective care planning and strong working relationships between the staff of the home and the placing authority as these are essential to the success of placements. This specifically relates to social workers being informed of all arrangements for children to stay in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.2)

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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: SC378153 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: City of Wolverhampton Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Wolverhampton City Council, Office of Chief Executive & Policy Co-ordinator, Civic Centre, St. Peters Square, Wolverhampton WV1 1SH

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Inspector

Becky Rutter, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC378153 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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