Ofsted: Social Care – Looking After Children With Complex Needs |
Posted: March 9, 2023 |
Dispelling Myths About Inspections and the Need for Suitable Homes. There is a growing demand for highly specialised homes that offer high-quality, nurturing care to children with various and complicated needs. These children are detained in certain situations, and many of them have mental health issues that are not being handled elsewhere. Ofsted is aware that some providers are worried about caring for some children and the 'impact' on inspection ratings. Ofsted understands that the progress of many children will not be linear, with new crises arising and risks identified. They want to see homes and services adapt and respond appropriately to children; we all know that this takes time and tenacity. Nonetheless, this should not have an impact on a home's grade. In this context, provision for children with the highest level of need continues to be exceptional in comparison to other provider types. What Does Children’s Homes Data Tell Us? Ofsted statistics show no significant difference in quality between private, voluntary, and local authority-run provision. Understandably , all sectors have good quality but, unfortunately, poor provision. There is no easy narrative that one industry is 'good' and the other is 'bad'. However, Ofsted is worried about costly placements that are not of good quality or giving specialist support. For example, with provider notifications, children's homes must tell Ofsted of a various major issues. Many of this notifications show that providers are managing complex situations well. Simply looking at numbers can miss the complexities of practise that often sits underneath. However, we know that some providers are concerned about taking children whose behaviour is likely to increase the number of notifications to Ofsted, and assume this would result in an inquiry or an early inspection. Many notifications do not automatically lead to either of these activities. Notifications are reviewed thoroughly, but if Ofsted is satisfied that the provider has managed the situation or incident appropriately, they do not need to take further action. So much of what children’s homes do is manage risk, not eliminate it. Ofsted inspectors are charged with distinguishing providers equipped to handle complex and risky situations and work to high standards and those lacking the experience, knowledge or support to respond to the needs of the children living in the home. This needs careful assessment by inspectors. When things are challenging for children, and they express their anger, frustration, or hurt, the home may ‘feel’ unstable. Concerns About Unregistered Provision However, too many children are placed in unregistered homes because local authorities can’t find registered homes that will accept them. It’s not right that children are being cared for in homes without oversight. The volume of applications they receive continues to rise. Still, two problems remain:
Ofsted has stated they will continue to look carefully at capacity pressures in children’s homes and the other areas they regulate across children’s social care. They will continue speaking out about what they see as the gaps in the provision across the country, both geographically and in meeting the specific needs of children. At ClouDoc, our complete, ready-to-use children's home and management forms are designed to help your children's services business meet Ofsted regulatory requirements. Our Home care policies provide guidelines for delivering high-quality service. It aims to establish guidelines for staff to follow so that the company can deliver consistent, safe and quality services. All our documentation is editable online and downloadable in PDF and MS Word. Call our team today on 0330 808 0050 for more information on how we can help you with your care business. Visit us now.
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