Children's home run by Homes2Inspire Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1254308 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 provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for up to five young people with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since April 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 10 to 11 September 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 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: 19 February 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1254308 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/02/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1254308 3

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Recommendations

 Homes must gain consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the placing authority (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16). This is with particular reference to the use of bedroom door alarms. Managers should also review and ensure that relevant parties are aware of the monitoring capabilities of the prepaid card system used by young people.  The registered person should ensure that recruitment plans include recruitment of qualified staff. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, young people have made good progress and continue to do so. Progress is particularly evident in relation to young people’s education and health. Young people are happy and settled. One said, ‘I love it here, I am very happy, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people are now receiving education. One young person is now at college studying theatrical make-up, having already achieved qualifications of a higher level than had been expected. Attendance at school has improved dramatically. For some young people, 100% attendance, even for a few consecutive days, has been a huge achievement. Staff support young people who are anxious about school. The staff’s understanding of emotional well-being has enabled one young person to reduce her anxieties to a level where she can attend education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people and staff have all made efforts to become more health conscious. Exercise, physical activities and healthier eating are all encouraged. Mealtimes have become more of an event, with everyone sitting together to share in a meal. Meals are usually home cooked and nutritious.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy a range of activities, including walking, going to the cinema, river rambles and childhood games such as hide and seek. Young people have enjoyed a weekend in Wales and a week’s activity holiday. These opportunities have helped to build positive relationships and improve young people’s emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Achievements and milestones are celebrated. Young people’s progress is monitored and recorded regularly. Because young people are helped to recognise the progress that they Inspection report children’s home: 1254308 4 make, they grow in confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people share their views and voice their opinions during regular house meetings. The registered manager or the deputy manager now attends these meetings. Having the decision makers present means that young people feel they have been listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are encouraged to be more independent. They carry out household chores and take responsibility for their own spending. They use a prepaid debit card system that enables them to see how much they are spending and what money they have left. There is a monitoring aspect to these cards, and the manager must ensure that everyone is aware that this is the case. Bedroom doors have alarms, and their use also needs to be reviewed.

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

The quality of risk assessment and risk management is good. Staff implement appropriate risk control measures that help to keep young people safe. Incidents of young people going missing from home have significantly decreased in number in recent months. Incidents of self-harm have also reduced in number. This is due, in part, to very good relationships between staff and young people. Strong relationships support a culture of openness and honesty between staff and young people.

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

Young people participate in ‘safe zone’ work. This helps them to identify where and how they feel safe and shows staff how they can support young people to become safer inside and outside the home.

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

There have been some concerning incidents during which young people have obtained alcohol, become intoxicated and caused damage to the home. The staff’s responses to these incidents have improved through debriefs and training. Issues relating to drug and alcohol misuse are discussed with young people through in-depth key-worker sessions, and with support from specialist agencies. Young people begin to recognise the dangers of alcohol misuse and the consequences of their behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management of the home has improved significantly, providing better experiences for young people, increased safety and a happier staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the senior team and their peers. Regular good-quality supervision and team meetings, as well as thorough debriefs after incidents, help staff to progress. An extensive range of training courses help staff to understand the needs of young people. Staff take on lead roles within the home in areas such as safety, independence and harmful behaviour. This helps to build their confidence in their knowledge of these topics, and provides other staff with a ‘go-to’ person if they need advice. The manager has completed training in mental-health first aid. This, combined with external Inspection report children’s home: 1254308 5 counselling services, helps staff to build their resilience when dealing with difficult situations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been an increase in staff numbers recently. This brings new skills and experience to the team. Many of the new staff are not yet qualified, but are undertaking the required course. The organisation should consider appointing some qualified staff in the next recruitment phase.

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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: 1254308 6

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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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Inspector

Judith Longden: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1254308 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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