Children's home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1255744 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

This privately owned children’s home is operated by a large national provider. It is registered to care for up to three children aged between 10 and 17 who have complex needs and have experienced trauma and loss.

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Information about this children’s home

The last registered manager left in March 2019. A new manager has been appointed to the home, and she took up post in October 2019. She holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management and has started her application to be registered with Ofsted.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was issued with three compliance notices. These have all been met. Inspection report children’s home: 1255744 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/07/2019 Full Inadequate 07/12/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 01/05/2018 Full Good 06/06/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1255744 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 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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12(1), (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)) 13/12/2019

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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. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report children’s home: 1255744 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive individual care that enables them to make progress. For example, one child has been supported to re-establish links with their family and to re-engage in education after a long period out of school. A professional for another child commented, ‘This is the most stable she has been’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are able to build positive relationships with staff. One child told the inspector that he feels well supported by the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are heard and acted upon. For example, staff prepare children well for meetings and ask them how they want their meetings to be managed. This enables children to know that their views are valued and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to develop their independence skills. Consequently, children are confident to wash their own clothes and, when they are at the right age, are supported financially to learn how to drive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is welcoming and has recently benefited from refurbishment.

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improvement to be good

On an isolated occasion, there was a delay in staff taking appropriate and timely action to prevent a child from going missing from the home. This is currently subject to an investigation.

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improvement to be good

Some children’s plans lack clear guidance to help staff to understand how to keep children safe. This can lead to inconsistences in staff practice and care.

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improvement to be good

Although staff manage children’s challenging behaviours well, the records by staff following an incident are poorly written. The absence of detail means that practice cannot be accurately assessed.

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improvement to be good

The staff and the local police regularly meet and share essential information. This joined- up approach has enabled children’s welfare to be protected.

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improvement to be good

Safe recruitment practice ensures that new members of staff are safely employed and confirms their fitness to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leadership and management have driven improvement since the last full inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although there has not been a registered manager in the home for some time, the Inspection report children’s home: 1255744 5 provider has ensured that children have had consistency in terms of managerial oversight. The home’s deputy manager has stepped up to manage the home and the responsible individual has helped to provide effective managerial oversight. Senior managers have acknowledged that there has been a delay in recruiting a new manager. However, they have shown diligence in their appointment process to ensure that the right person is appointed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel safer, and they are being asked to be more reflective in their practice. The introduction of better-structured staff supervision and learning circles is helping the staff to increase their understanding of what best practice looks like.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are good at supporting children to understand and embrace their cultural identities. For example, one child has recommenced practising aspects of his faith. This has helped him to have a greater sense of his heritage. Inspection report children’s home: 1255744 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: 1255744 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: Shaw Trust House, 19 Elmfield Road, Bromley, Kent BR1 1LT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Suntheep Dulay-Kainth

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Inspector

Louise Battersby, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1255744 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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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