Children's Home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report children’s home: 1275228 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited 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 provides care and accommodation for two children. The home aims to ensure improved emotional stability for children and reduce risk- taking behaviours. The home opened in April 2018. Since this time, the same two children have remained in placement.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager was registered with Ofsted on 3 April 2004.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 11 to 12 February 2019

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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 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: This is the 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: 1275228 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

Engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met

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Requirement Due date

If the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5(c)) 28/02/2019

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being. (Regulation 10(1)(a)(b)) 28/02/2019

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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—

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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 to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12(1), (2)(b)) 22/02/2019

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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

promotes their welfare. 22/02/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1275228 3 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. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b), (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should review systems within the home to ensure that they are safeguarding young people. Inspection report children’s home: 1275228 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress. They have become more settled. Their experiences of living in the home are positive. Children report being happy. One child said, ‘It is nice here. I like most of the staff. It’s like a normal home; you don’t realise it’s a care home most of the time.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well. They have built positive relationships with children. They work hard to ensure that the children’s individual needs are understood and met. A therapeutic approach is starting to be fully embedded in the home. Children are sensitively helped to manage their complex emotions and behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend alternative educational provision and are doing well. A teacher said, ‘Academically, they are making some progress. Their biggest achievement is in relation to their behaviours. They present as much more able to manage and cope with their emotions.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to keep themselves healthy. A nutritionist has visited the home to offer advice and guidance about healthy eating. Both children have, however, waited a considerable period for access to a health service. This matter should have been escalated to the local authority and/or other partners sooner. Consequently, neither child’s significant health needs have been fully addressed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to take part in individual activities, to stay active and to follow their interests. Children are respected and valued by a committed staff team. Staff ensure that children’s identity and cultural needs are celebrated within the home.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they feel safe in the home. Physical intervention is used only as a last resort. When used, it is proportionate and necessary. Incidents of children going missing from the home are rare. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘They are very different in this home. They are more engaging, they seem happier and they are making great progress. Most importantly, they are safe, because staff have formed positive relationships with them.’

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improvement to be good

Despite this, managers and staff have failed to ensure that essential safeguards are in place for one child while they are not in the home. The management and staff have been slow to consider and appropriately balance the child’s need for autonomy against their need to be safeguarded. Local authority plans are not effective and have left the child vulnerable and potentially at risk. The necessary challenge to the local authority about these plans has not taken place. This requires improvement.

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improvement to be good

Although some key-work sessions focus on individual risk factors for children, others do Inspection report children’s home: 1275228 5 not. The quality of key working varies. Some sessions are well considered, while other sessions are simply conversations and fail to properly explore the child’s risk-taking behaviours. Children are therefore not consistently helped to understand the impact of their behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are detailed and clearly outline the concerns relevant to the child. They are updated regularly. Assessments do not, however, provide clear, direct and helpful information to staff about how each area of risk should be managed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about achieving high standards of care for children. She is supported by a deputy manager who shares her vision for excellence. They understand the needs of children and ensure that any decisions made are child centred.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers lead by example. The manager and deputy manager are highly respected by the staff and the children. All staff feel extremely well supported by the management team. Staff morale is high. Staff speak with enthusiasm about their love of working in the home. A staff member said, ‘The manager and deputy manager are very supportive. They empower the staff and play to staff strengths. They make staff feel valued and allow them to progress.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Productive team meetings and high-quality supervision ensure that practice is monitored and improvements are made to the delivery of care. The management team is committed to making continued improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective, robust monitoring and review systems need to be developed by the manager. This will ensure that shortfalls in the home are immediately addressed and acted upon. In turn, this will help to drive improvements to the service. Inspection report children’s home: 1275228 6

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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 difference 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: 1275228 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Angela Muchatuta

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Inspector(s)

Davinia Lawton, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1275228 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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