Children's home run by Happy Group (UK) Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1270393 1 Registered provider: Happy Group (UK) 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

A private company operates and runs this home. The home provides care for children and young people whose plan is to live in a medium-term to long-term residential setting. The appropriately qualified manager has 16 years’ experience in residential care. She became the registered manager of this home when it opened in March 2018.

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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: not applicable. This is this home’s first inspection.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1270393 2

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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 independent person must produce a report about the visit which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes the children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b)) 30/07/2018

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Recommendations

 Some records may be kept electronically provided that this information can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view it and, if required, be reproduced in a legible form. Electronic records should be held at the individual home in accordance with data protection principles. Electronic records should clearly demonstrate who the author of the record is and contain reference to any paper records held in the home that pertain to the entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child.

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Recommendations

(‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (regulation 36 (schedule 3(14)). This information should be shared with the placing authority and, where appropriate, with the child’s parents. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.31) Inspection report children’s home: 1270393 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All of the records in the home, including the children’s and young people’s day-to-day care plans, are kept electronically. Good key-work sessions evidence how the children and young people are supported to actively participate in their plans and have access to their records. However, some of the detail on the electronic records is not written in a way that would be clear or useful to the children and young people. It is not clear how information would be accessed if the electronic system were to fail.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people enjoy living in a spacious, detached property, which has been decorated and furnished to a high standard. They have chosen their bedrooms and have the option of bath or shower in which to relax. The kitchen is very much the heart of the home where the children and young people spend time together with staff, chatting after school or baking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although they have only been in the home for a short period of time, the children and young people reported that they are happy and feel settled. They have good and trusting relationships with staff team members. The children’s and young people’s sense of belonging is enabling them to interact with each other, and the staff team, in an age- appropriate way which reduces their stress levels. A young person said: ‘I am very happy here and it is better than the last place.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A very good guide provides the children and young people with full information about the home in child-friendly language. The children and young people are enabled to share their wishes and feelings in a variety of methods and gain the confidence to do so in a productive manner. Independent advocates, including an interpreter for a young person whose first language is not English, ensure that the young people are heard. The children and young people grow in self-esteem and feelings of self-worth as they feel valued. A young person said: ‘I feel that I am listened to and that I can say what I want to.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s and young people’s emotional health and well-being improve as they make good progress in all aspects of their lives. Their physical and psychological health needs are met as a result of the good partnership working the staff team members have fostered with health professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager’s proactive stance on education, with the support of the virtual headteacher, ensures that the children and young people have appropriate education provisions. The children and young people now benefit from daily school attendance where they are able to engage with learning. Previous issues that had prevented the children and young people from engaging have been addressed by the home, for example, ensuring that the children and young people are dressed in school uniform every day. An education support worker said: ‘Communication has been good, and if I have any concerns or worries we speak to each other. [Name] is making progress and she is safe in the home.’ Inspection report children’s home: 1270393 4 The manager and staff team have developed good working relationships with partner agencies that benefit the children and young people. Good levels of communication and information sharing ensure that children and young people receive consistent care

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

messages, which contribute to their progress and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people are prepared for transition in line with their placement plans. One young person has successfully left the home and returned to live with family members. While he was resident, the young person attained consistent school attendance and gained a range of independence skills, which will enhance his future life and employment opportunities. A social worker said: ‘He did so well there, and we never thought that he would. He was able to grow there and learn some skills.’

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

A comprehensive range of assessments identifies the individual risks faced by the children and young people. The staff team works closely with the children and young people to enable them to understand how some behaviours could make them vulnerable. The children and young people are learning self-protection skills. A social worker said: ‘I liked the way they did key-work sessions so that he learned how to keep safe in the community and go on buses and talk with people.’

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

It is to the credit of the relationships that the staff team has built with the children and young people that there have not been any missing episodes. Locally agreed protocols would be applied if a child or young person were to be absent. However, it is not clear whether the current system would ensure that all relevant information would be recorded to establish patterns.

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

Effective safeguarding procedures and arrangements comply with government and statutory requirements and encompass the risks posed by radicalisation and extremism. The children’s and young people’s well-being and safety are promoted.

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

The children and young people are protected from the risks posed to them by child sexual exploitation. The staff team is trained to identify any triggers, and the manager has established a good rapport with a specialist police officer who visits the home to build relationships with the children and young people.

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

The children and young people feel safe and secure as a result of the warm and trusting relationships they have with the staff. Good behaviour management plans are effectively applied. The children and young people learn how to respect themselves and others. As a result, negative sanctions have not been necessary, and there has not been any need for physical intervention. A specialist police officer said: ‘It is very much a family home, with boundaries.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The experienced and nurturing manager is ambitious for the children and young people Inspection report children’s home: 1270393 5 in her care to achieve to the best of their ability. The enthusiastic staff team responds positively to the manager’s evident passion for her role and works with her to meet the children’s and young people’s needs. A member of staff said: ‘When compared to the previous companies I’ve worked for, it’s amazing. It’s like going from Poundland to Harrods. It helps when you’ve got such a good manager.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is achieving its aims and objectives as identified in the statement of purpose. The manager has instituted appropriate auditing procedures in order to ensure that any areas for development are identified and acted on. External monitoring visits are thorough, but the subsequent reports do not clearly identify whether the children and young people are safeguarded, and their well-being promoted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The newly formed staff team was carefully recruited for its skills and experience. The staff are well trained and supported to meet the needs of the children and young people. The staff have benefited from being able to concentrate on training as a group prior to the children and young people being admitted to the home. A member of staff said: ‘On the face-to-face training, we’ve all been there as a group, so it’s been team building as well.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has used her past experiences and connections effectively to ensure that the children and young people receive the consistent care and opportunities necessary to meet their developmental needs. This has included challenging agencies appropriately, for example, to meet the children’s and young people’s cultural and language needs.

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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: 1270393 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Happy Group (UK) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: West Walk House, 99 Princess Road East, Leicester LE1 7LF

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Inspector

Ann-Marie Born: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1270393 7 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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Inspector

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