Children's home run by Nottingham City Council in Nottingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC470928 1 SC470928 Registered provider: Nottingham City Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for 4 children who have learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2022.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were 3 children living at the home at the time of the inspection. Their views were sought during the inspection.

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 good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 14 January 2025

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC470928 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2025 Full Good 20/06/2023 Full Good 20/03/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC470928 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All 3 children are making excellent progress. Two children are relatively new to the home. They have settled in very well and quickly established trusted relationships with staff. Children have very good routines, which means there is a balance of attending education and time to relax and have fun. Staff encourage children to play games, go to clubs and have new experiences. One child is going on a trip abroad for the first time, which is significant progress for them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have moved on to new accommodation. The team offered outreach support to both children, which enabled their new carers to better understand their needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported to use their preferred communication systems. They express their views and are listened to. This enables children to influence their care planning, which is important for developing confidence and self-esteem. Staff cherish the children and value their contributions to society. There has been a recent fundraising event. One child presented the funds raised to the charity in person. This gave them an opportunity to be proud of their achievements.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff help children to develop independence. They learn to take care of their daily needs at a pace that is right for them. Staff ensure that children keep progressing, as they have high aspirations and want children to excel. One child can now dress and toilet independently, which has given them more autonomy and privacy in their life.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children see people who are important to them. This helps children to maintain their identities and sense of belonging to their families, which is important for ongoing stability. Communication is generally very good with families. However, there has been one occasion where staff did not tell a parent of a medical appointment, which caused some anxiety. This was quickly addressed by the manager to prevent repetition.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children well with health appointments. Where they are anxious, staff use ‘mock appointments’ to help children become familiar with the equipment they might encounter, for example during trips to the dentist. This has been very effective. One child has developed a healthier lifestyle due to the consistent support and boundaries offered by the team.

p.3

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

Managers and staff understand the risks and vulnerabilities for children well. Overall, there are effective risk management plans in place. However, one child’s plan had a restrictive measure included that was no longer relevant. This had not been removed by the manager. At the time of the inspection, it was unclear whether staff were still using Inspection report for children’s home: SC470928 4 the measure. It is important for managers to have oversight of all risk management strategies to ensure that they remain proportionate to the child’s needs.

p.3

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

The manager and staff ensure that children are kept safe from hurting themselves and others. Incidents of self-injury have reduced. On occasions where this happens, staff use their knowledge of the child to ensure that they receive safe levels of monitoring and medical attention.

p.4

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

Children have trusted adults to talk to. They know they will be heard and their wishes acted on. As children get older, staff ensure that they have opportunities to take risks appropriate to their age and stage of development. This is rewarding for children and important for developing their skills in independent thinking and problem-solving.

p.4

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

The manager has a plan in place for one child to be monitored at night through a device. This has been agreed with the child’s social worker. However, there are no plans in place for this to be reviewed or seek the child’s views. Following inspection, the manager recognises the importance of reassessing this arrangement regularly to ensure it remains relevant to the child’s best interests.

p.4

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

A new member of staff has been recruited through vetting processes. However, the manager had not reviewed their required documents.

p.4

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

Medication is stored in a locked cabinet. However, some of the children’s medication boxes were not well organised, which leaves room for error.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced manager who is dedicated to her work. She is supported by an assistant manager, who is equally committed to children. They work well together and take pride in children’s achievements. Children enjoy spending time with managers and know that they are valued. Professionals and parents have confidence in the care provided for children and their feedback was complimentary.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a strong advocate for children, ensuring that their wishes and feelings are heard and influence the wider care planning. One child was supported to make a formal complaint about delays in finding them a school place. This was effective as they now attend full time.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is diverse and well established. Staff are skilled in supporting children with a range of needs. Regular training and supervision are in place, which helps the team to stay informed and reflect on children’s care. Managers support the staff well, which positively influences staff retention and resilience.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers make good decisions about children who have moved into the home. The children get along well and there is little conflict between them. This prevents children from experiencing distress caused by unplanned endings. Inspection report for children’s home: SC470928 5 The manager has introduced some new developments to the home since the last inspection, for example coffee mornings for parents and an annual festival. These are opportunities for family and friends to become more involved in children’s care. It promotes transparency and openness, which is important for children’s safety and emotional wellbeing. Inspection report for children’s home: SC470928 6

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

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))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that there is management oversight and review of children’s risk assessments and the safe recruitment of staff employed at the home. 23 April 2026

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that observation, monitoring or surveillance of children must not remove reasonable privacy, and should allow as much privacy as is possible, including in dressing, washing and using the toilet. Reviews of the monitoring arrangements should take place to ensure that monitoring is in place only in the child’s best interests. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 19, paragraph 3.36)  The registered person should ensure that care is taken to ensure that prescribed medicines are only administered to the individual for whom they are prescribed. Regulation 23 requires the registered person to ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. These are fundamentally the same sorts of arrangements as a good parent would make, but are subject to additional safeguards. This includes ensuring that there is a system for

p.6

Recommendations

Inspection report for children’s home: SC470928 7 storing medications in an organised way. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 36, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should have a key role in seeking to develop the home’s effective working relationships with relevant people for each child including their parents. This includes ensuring that there is clear communication regarding medical appointments taking place. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 52, paragraph 10.3) Inspection report for children’s home: SC470928 8

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: SC470928 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nottingham City Council

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG2 3NG

p.9

Inspector

Laura Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC470928 10 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.9

Inspector

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.10

Inspector

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

p.10

Inspector

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

p.10