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

Inspection report children’s home: 1236625 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

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a private provider.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 28 November 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/11/2017 Full Good 24/01/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1236625 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, 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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies.

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Requirement Due date

This is with reference to ensuring that staff receive training to enhance their knowledge and skills in respect of peer-to-peer harm, and allegations against adults who work with children. 10/12/2018

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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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) 10/12/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1236625 3 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there.

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Recommendations

 Staff should have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to help children to understand and, where necessary, work to change negative behaviours in key areas of health and well-being. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18) This is with reference to reducing and preventing children smoking tobacco.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, children have experienced stable and consistent care in this home. There have been no changes to the group of children and very few changes to the staff team. There have been some incidents of concern because of the complex needs of individual children and the combination of needs resulting in peers influencing each other at times. This has not prevented children making progress. In some areas of development and behaviours, they have made exceptional progress. The ethos of the home is to develop open communication and trusting relationships between children and their carers. Children contribute daily to decisions about their care. The home environment is well maintained and comfortable. One child said: ‘I like living here because when I come home it feels like a family home, not a children’s home.’ All children reported that staff and managers listen to them and spend time with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children openly share information, which is promptly responded to, and there is an established culture of children’s views being welcomed. Children have detailed health plans and they are supported to attend preventative health appointments. Staff and managers work closely with healthcare colleagues to ensure that any specific health needs, including emotional and mental health needs, are being assessed and met. There has been slow progress in identifying an appropriate specialist resource to meet one child’s needs. The managers are robustly following this up with the placing local authority. Since the last inspection, staff have received refresher training in administering medication. The monitoring of administering medication has improved, supported by the development of the recording database, consistent staff practice and management monitoring. One area of health advice and support needs to be revisited by managers. There is not

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

yet consistent and robust practice by staff to support the prevention and reduction of Inspection report children’s home: 1236625 4 children smoking tobacco. Children who have previously experienced signficant difficulties in education have improved attendance and engagement, and are making progress. Staff have supported the children to overcome obstacles and develop confidence. Staff are aspirational for children to achieve. They are tenacious in engaging children and they motivate them to do the best they can. One child is very active in their local authority’s children’s council. He has been complimented for his commitment and conscientious contributions. Children have access to and enjoy a range of social and recreational opportunities. Children’s achievements are celebrated, and progress is positively reinforced. Children report that they have benefited from living in this home. They have grown in

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

confidence and develop new skills, such as independent living skills. Staff are particularly effective at promoting, supporting and, in some cases, repairing relationships between children, family and friends. Staff supervise and facilitate contact arrangements. This includes supporting a family holiday for one child. Staff understand the value of children having the opportunity and support to maintain their significant relationships.

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improvement to be good

Children with complex needs and vulnerabilities have detailed risk assessments and behaviour management plans in place. These plans support staff to keep children safe and support their work with children to help them to keep themselves safe. Information about risks to children is shared and understood in daily shift handovers, individual staff supervision and group supervisions. The information database, which all staff use for recording, is a strength. It means that there is an up-to-date chronology of incidents and events to inform ongoing assessment of needs. There are also clear daily and weekly planners for each child. Staff work closely with the police and social workers to share information to keep children safe. There has been a reduction in the number of incidents referred to the police. This includes a reduction in the number of incidents when children have been reported missing from the home. Records demonstrate that missing procedures have

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improvement to be good

been adhered to, including follow-up interviews with children and individual direct work with their key workers. Children are encouraged to provide information about the incident which will help to prevent risk-taking behaviour in the future. One child has significantly reduced their missing behaviours, one of the main objectives of their placement. One child has significantly reduced risk-taking behaviours and is now trusted with increased free time and responsibilities outside the home. This represents meaningful progress in their care plan. Staff refer to community resources and voluntary organisations to support children to address behaviours that they want to change. This has been effective, for example in reducing substance misuse. One child who has recently reported feeling bullied has been listened to and a robust action has been devised to address the concerns. Children have access to independent visitors and advocates and confidently raise any concerns in a

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improvement to be good

range of ways. Inspection report children’s home: 1236625 5 Unfortunately, there have been two incidents of potential peer-to-peer harm when staff and managers did not fully adhere to child protection procedures. There has also been an occasion when an allegation against a member of staff was not referred immediately to managers. Managers have ensured subsequently that procedures are followed. Managers have undertaken ‘lessons learned’ exercises and action has been taken to ensure that staff follow relevant procedures in the future. Monitoring of child protection concerns has also been improved. Requirements are made to ensure that all staff receive refresher safeguarding training in peer-to-peer harm and allegations against staff working with children procedures to enhance their knowledge and skills.

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

The home’s manager has recently been appointed. There has been a supportive, planned and careful handover from the previous registered manager. The new manager is an experienced senior practitioner and knows the home and the children well. She has a suitable management qualification. There is a stable, resilient staff group. The staff group provides a gender balance and is representative of the diverse community. Staff report that they receive supervision of their practice and that team morale and team working are good. Support and development needs are identified, and training is provided. There are a range of monitoring and quality assurance mechanisms in place. Monitoring and quality assurance mechanisms require improvement to provide more effective challenge and to support the development of the service. Managers have recognised this and met with the independent visitor prior to the inspection. There have been two occasions when managers should have referred incidents to HMCI.

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

These are associated with two child protection incidents referred to earlier in the report and form part of the ‘lessons learned’ exercise undertaken by managers. A requirement has been made which refers to ensuring that relevant notifications are made in the future. Partnership working is good. There are excellent links with schools, social workers, police and health professionals. This means that relevant information is shared to ensure that individual needs are known and children’s plans are progressed. Managers have been proactive in liaising with one local authority’s placement commissioning team and case responsible social worker, where there has been a need for problem-solving in relation to progressing one child’s care plan.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1236625 6 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: 1236625 7

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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(s)

Cathey Moriarty, social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1236625 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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