Children's Home run by Homes2Inspire Limited in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report children’s home: 1256367 1 Registered provider: Homes2inspire Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and may provide care and accommodation for children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It can provide care and accommodation for up to 5 children.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be 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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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: This is the home’s first inspection following its registration.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home requires improvement to be good because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 There are a number of outstanding maintenance and décor issues in the home.  Some young people say that they feel unsettled due to property damage in the Inspection report children’s home: 1256367 2 home.  Some young people are regularly smoking cannabis, and there is no clear plan to address this.  Young people’s food is not stored safely.  Consultation is not effective. Young people do not feel that their views are listened to or acted on.  Staff routinely lock bedroom doors when the young people are not in their bedroom. Young people do not have bedroom keys, so are unable to freely access their rooms.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The new manager has some good ideas about how to improve the home.  The staff and management work well with external agencies. Referrals are made promptly to external agencies when a young person has a specific need.  Some young people have stabilised since being in placement.  Young people are safeguarded. Risk factors are identified by staff and work is carried out with young people to minimise risks.  Effective action is taken by staff if young people run away from the home. This minimises risk.

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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, 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. In particular, the standard requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (2) (b)) 20/02/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1256367 3 The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. (Regulation 7 (1) (c)) 20/02/2018

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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

promotes their welfare. (Regulation 13 (1) (b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff store young people’s food safely. 20/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (2) (a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure there is a record of all visitors to the home, and to children, including the names of visitors and the reason for the visit. 20/02/2018

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Recommendation

 The children’s home should be a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. The home will, in most cases, be a homely, domestic environment. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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improvement to be good

Young people’s experiences are variable. Young people have a range of views about the quality of care that they receive. Some expressed frustration about their care. For example, an increase in challenging behaviours and difficult relationships between peers have altered the dynamics of the home. One young person reported, ‘Things in this home have been going downhill for some time now. It’s not like it used to be.’

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improvement to be good

Some young people also expressed concerns about the lack of consultation between them and staff. They said their views are not always considered. One young person said, ‘I have told them what I am unhappy with but they just blow me off, like it’s a joke.’ This means that young people do not always feel that their wishes and feelings are seen as Inspection report children’s home: 1256367 4 important.

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improvement to be good

Despite these concerns, other young people report having good relationships with staff members and being happy in the home. Some were able to identify the progress that they had made. For example, one young person has excelled in his education and his behaviour has stabilised. Another young person said, ‘The best thing here is the staff. I feel part of the family.’

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improvement to be good

Creative ways of engaging young people in education are used, such as alternative education provisions. However, these strategies are not always successful because some young people are not going to school.

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improvement to be good

Young people who are on independence plans are supported to develop practical life skills in preparation for adulthood. Staff are helping young people to gain qualifications in relation to their independence skills. The room containing the young people’s fridge and freezer is routinely locked. This prevents young people from freely accessing their food and does not promote their independence.

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improvement to be good

Young people are encouraged to be healthy and active. The strategies that are implemented, however, are not always successful. For example, one young person is not receiving necessary dental treatment due to a failure to improve his oral hygiene. Creative ways of engaging young people to take responsibility for their own health are not yet embedded into practice.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s bedrooms are locked when not in use and young people are not provided with a key. This means that they have to ask permission to go into their bedrooms. This does not promote young people’s dignity or privacy.

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improvement to be good

A strength of the home are the positive relationships that staff and management have with partner agencies. Once the needs of young people are identified, referrals are promptly made to specialist services such as education providers, mental health services, and drug and alcohol services. A social worker said that, ‘The home have been brilliant in terms of accessing external agencies.’

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improvement to be good

While some young people feel safe because of the positive relationships that they have with staff, others report feeling unsettled due to incidents in the home. One young person spoke about damage being caused to the property. He said, ‘It’s our home, I don’t know why some others would want to smash it up.’ Because the home environment is not always settled, there are times when some young people do not feel secure. Some young people expressed frustration about the running of the home. One young person raised concerns about damage to his bedroom door and items being stolen from his room. This has resulted in the young person not feeling safe. Inspection report children’s home: 1256367 5 There is an ongoing concern with some young people smoking cannabis. There are occasions when the smell of cannabis is noticeable in the home. This does not create a nurturing home environment. Managers have not yet developed a coherent plan to

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improvement to be good

address drug use on a day-to-day basis, although there has been some engagement with specialist agencies.

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improvement to be good

Despite the above shortfalls, staff have worked hard to build positive relationships with young people. Some young people are making progress in various aspects of their lives. A social worker noted that one young person has become safer. She said that the young person ‘has improved from what was happening previously. The main thing that is keeping her safe is her relationships and respect for the staff. She is a lot happier in this home.’ Work undertaken with young people about the dangers of going missing are a significant protective factor.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments and behaviour support plans are thorough and accurate, and help to keep young people safe. Staff are able to recognise and minimise the vulnerabilities of young people who are at risk of sexual exploitation and going missing. Information from the police confirms that the staff report incidents and intelligence to them in a timely way. A police officer reported, ‘The manager has worked hard to develop good lines of communication between us and them. They are keeping the young people as safe as they can, which is not always easy.’

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improvement to be good

Physical intervention is used as a very last resort. Despite some young people displaying very challenging behaviours, the interventions have been of a very minor nature and for very short durations. All incidents are appropriately recorded and analysed by the manager. This helps to ensure that practice remains appropriate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The week of the inspection coincided with the registered manager moving to a new role within the organisation and a new manager taking on the leadership of the home. The new manager has some good plans to improve the home and has recognised the improvements that are required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are currently staff vacancies, including a vacancy for a deputy manager. In addition, two interim managers have provided cover for the registered manager who is on maternity leave. This has created some instability and uncertainty for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Some complaints made by young people have not been responded to. As a result, some young people do not feel listened to. Not all complaints have been recorded. This hinders management oversight of complaints.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are very poor records of visitors entering and leaving the home. This has the potential to hinder safeguarding reviews, and limits the ability of managers to monitor the contact that young people have with adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are a number of outstanding maintenance and décor issues. In addition, Inspection report children’s home: 1256367 6 managers had not identified that some food is not stored safely. While some improvements were made during the inspection, the home was not consistently well presented.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

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: 1256367 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes2inspire Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Prospects House, 19 Elmfield Road, Bromley BR1 1LT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Angela Muchatuta

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Inspector

Davinia Lawton, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1256367 8 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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