Children's home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1255748 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Ltd

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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 run by a large independent provider. It provides care and accommodation for a maximum of five young people who have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager resigned in March 2019. A new manager was appointed in May 2019 and has submitted an application to register with Ofsted.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1255748 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/05/2019 Full Inadequate 11/12/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/11/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1255748 3

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(i)(iv)(x)) 31/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on ─

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; 31/10/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1255748 4 encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vii)(viii)(xi))

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(iv)) 30/09/2019

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 30/11/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1255748 5 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

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Requirement Due date

This includes the need to ensure that all staff have the appropriate qualification as detailed in Regulation 32.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

that arrangements are in place to ensure the effective induction of each child into the home; manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(c)) 30/09/2019

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Recommendations

 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. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report children’s home: 1255748 6

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, some young people have left the home and no new young people have moved in. This has provided an opportunity for staff to address weaknesses and improve the quality of care provided.

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improvement to be good

The home is now much more settled, which has benefited the young people. Young people have made progress in some areas since the last inspection. They are receiving a better standard of care.

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improvement to be good

The home has gone through a major refurbishment. This provides young people with a more pleasant and comfortable environment. They have been involved in choosing the decor.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s care records now accurately reflect their needs and risks. Records are regularly reviewed and there is good oversight by the manager. This ensures that staff are clear about how to support young people. However, terminology used is not always child friendly, and could be perceived as being stigmatising.

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improvement to be good

Young people are now better supported to attend their health appointments. When young people refuse to attend, staff ensure that appointments are rearranged. This approach has been successful because young people do attend the rearranged appointments. Key-work sessions have been used effectively to reinforce the importance of attending health appointments. A young person has recently engaged with mental health services and is now making their own appointments.

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improvement to be good

Some young people are making better progress than others in their education and training. One young person has secured a place on a college course. Staff advocated effectively on behalf of the young person to ensure that the she was able to enrol on the course she wanted. Other young people, despite the best efforts of staff, are still refusing to engage in education.

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improvement to be good

As a result of improvements made since the last inspection, young people’s behaviours have improved. Young people are clearer about what is expected of them because staff have more consistently implemented boundaries. The misuse of substances has reduced, as has the number of episodes of young people going missing. Staff and managers are committed to sustaining these improvements and achieving a consistently good standard of behaviour management in the home. Inspection report children’s home: 1255748 7 Young people are safe. This is because staff now fully understand their roles and responsibilities in regard to keeping young people safe.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s risk management plans are much improved. The plans now give clear details about risks and how to reduce these risks. The plans are reviewed regularly. This ensures that staff are following guidance that reflects young people’s current risks and needs. As a result, risk management is more effective.

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improvement to be good

Young people now receive regular key-work sessions on how to keep safe. A range of agencies and professionals have been used to provide young people with different types of important information about keeping safe.

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

A new manager was appointed in May 2019. She has transferred from another home that is run by the company, and is very experienced. She is appropriately qualified and has submitted her application to register with Ofsted.

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

The new manager has made some significant improvements, despite having no deputy manager or senior support workers. This demonstrates her commitment to improving young people’s lives. However, more time is needed for staff to fully address many of the requirements made at the last inspection.

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

A number of staff have left since the last inspection. Six new staff, including a deputy manager, are currently going through the three-week induction and training course. Although this is a very positive step, it will take some time for the new staff to become familiar with the young people and the systems in the home.

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

The manager, with some support from other managers, has assessed each member of staff’s understanding of their roles, key policies and procedures, as well as their competency levels. Staff have completed several exercises on safeguarding young people. The results of these exercises have been discussed in individual supervisions and team meetings. As a result, young people are now receiving better care.

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

Staff morale has improved. The staff are happier, and they are clear about what is expected of them. They said that they are working more consistently as a team. Staff feel well supported by the manager. They appreciate and have benefited from the support and training that they have received since the last inspection.

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

Staff undertake a range of mandatory training courses. They have also received additional training based on the requirements made at the last inspection. However, only four staff out of 10 hold the required level 3 qualification in residential care.

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

There is a real commitment to partnership working. The effectiveness of partnership working is strengthened because the manager is not afraid to challenge professionals to ensure that young people have access to all the services that they need. Inspection report children’s home: 1255748 8

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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: 1255748 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Rachel Rodriguez Rosario

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Inspector

Katarina Djordjevic: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1255748 10 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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