Failing children's home temporarily closed

A council-run children's home has been temporarily closed after inspectors found serious and widespread failings less than six months after it opened.

It is the only one currently run by under-scrutiny Solihull Council, which last year said it wanted to open a total of three homes.

Bosses have been under the spotlight since the murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes in 2020, although a report last month said overall services had improved.

The council said it was disappointed by the latest report, and said it planned to reopen the home once improvements had been made.

The inspection of the home, which can provide care for up to three children with social, emotional and behaviour difficulties, was carried out at the beginning of October.

Its exact location cannot be revealed but at the time of the visit there was one child living there.

It was registered on 31 May 2024 and the manager was absent during the visit.

Inspectors said the home was inadequate on every measure, including the overall experiences of young people, how well they were protected and the effectiveness of leaders and managers.

"There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded," the report read.

"The care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress."

The report found:

• Staff had not received training to equip them with the skills to safely meet the child's needs
• Staff had reinforced the child's feelings of guilt and shame following their traumatic childhood through poor responses to their behaviour
• Staff forgot to buy the child the correct uniform for their first day at a local school
• The child and their visiting sibling were hurt and later ran away after fighting in the back of a car driven by a staff member

Inspectors wrote that staff had formed positive relationships with the child, who said they liked living in the home and trusted adults there.

But the report found workers did not understand the child's needs and behaviour, including on one occasion when the police were called.

"The staff called police as they were unable to keep the child safe," the document stated.

"After the incident, the child alleged that a staff member had harmed them. The responsible individual took appropriate action to ensure the child was safe."

Max McLoughlin, the council's Green Party leader of the opposition, said the report was shocking.

"Anyone who reads it will be concerned for the safety of vulnerable children in Solihull Council’s care," he said.

"Children have yet again been let down in Solihull.

"The report cannot be downplayed if anything is to improve. There cannot be any corners cut when it comes to keeping children safe."

A council spokesperson said it was making significant progress on children's services, as evidenced through monitoring visits.

"The findings from Ofsted’s inspection of one of our new children’s homes is disappointing [but] this is a specific operational issue," a statement read.

"Our intention is to welcome children back into the home within the coming months once we and Ofsted are satisfied that we can provide the high quality of care we expect for our children."

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