Children's Home run by Florinee Homes in Peterborough

Inspection report children’s home: 2522796 1 Registered provider: Florinee Homes 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

A private organisation runs this home. The home offers care for up to six children who may have experienced trauma, neglect or abuse, and family or placement breakdowns.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in January 2020. A new manager has been appointed and is due to start on 6 February 2020. This is the home’s first inspection since registration.

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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 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2522796 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making good progress because of the care and support that they receive. They enjoy living in an environment in which they feel secure. The children are happy and respond well to staff, who are child-focused and consistent in their practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have high aspirations for the children. Proactive attempts to source school places for all the children have been made. Two of the children are currently home tutored while awaiting suitable education provisions to be sourced. One child is due to start her chosen college course and another child will be attending a local school shortly. Social workers confirmed that the home has challenged education providers and local authorities consistently, and described the staff as good advocates.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning is good. The children discuss their goals for the future and are encouraged to gain age-appropriate independence skills. The children learn valuable life skills such as cooking, budgeting and how to wash and take care of their clothes. During this inspection, one of the children made pancakes for all, and another child proudly said that she knows how to cook all her favourite foods.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are encouraged to maintain relationships with their friends and family. The staff work well with parents and professionals to ensure that arrangements go smoothly. Older children are supported to travel on public transport to meet up with their loved ones. This further increases their independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The transitions into the home have been well planned. The staff visit the children and the children are encouraged to visit the home prior to their admission. This provides an opportunity for them to familiarise themselves with the home and the staff and ask any questions, and helps to reduce any worries about moving that they may have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s meetings are regularly held. The children make their own choices for the weekly menu and any activities that they wish to do. This ensures that the children are fully included in the running of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from participating in a range of activities that reflect their individual interests. They enjoy roller-skating, bowling, trampolining and days out to the seaside. All the children have passes to the local gyms. These opportunities help the children to increase their confidence and widen their social peer groups.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making enjoyable memories and the staff take photographs of these events. However, the children do not yet have their own albums or memory boxes to remind them of this chapter of their childhood. Inspection report children’s home: 2522796 3

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

Children have positive relationships with the staff and feel safe at the home. One child said, ‘It’s good. It is one of the best homes that I have ever been in. My behaviour is much better now as the staff work with me in the right way. I feel cared for. I trust staff and I want to stay here.’

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

The staff are skilled at de-escalating incidents. There has been only one physical intervention incident. The staff were debriefed, the views of the child were obtained and the manager evaluated the practice. This approach enables children to reflect and the staff to gain strategies to reduce the likelihood of further incidents.

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

Sanctions are fair and proportionate. The staff understand the importance of recognising children’s positive behaviours and reward them when they have done something well. The children can see that the staff recognise and celebrate their achievements.

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

Several of the children have a significant history of going missing. This risk-taking behaviour has greatly reduced. One child was missing from care prior to her admission to the home and two children have gone missing directly from the home for a short time. The staff are proactive in locating children and follow missing-from-home procedures to ensure their safe return. However, independent return home interviews have not been consistently requested.

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

There has been one safeguarding incident. The designated officer was consulted and the incident has now been satisfactorily resolved. However, no notification was made to Ofsted. This prevents effective monitoring of the home by Ofsted.

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

The registered manager left shortly before this inspection took place. The home is currently being overseen by the responsible individual and the director until the new manager starts in February 2020. Staff said that they feel well supported in their roles through this transition period.

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

External monitoring of the home is strong. The independent visitor’s reports are comprehensive and detailed and provide actions for improvement. Good practice is evident in several areas. However, the internal monitoring and review systems have not been consistently sustained.

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

Staff receive good-quality supervision. However, several of the staff have not received practice-led supervision during their inductions at the frequency set out in the home’s own policy. This reduces opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice and means that their professional development is not being fully overseen.

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

Records kept of visitors to the home are incomplete. There are spaces where visitors have not been signed out. During this inspection, two visitors to the home were not Inspection report children’s home: 2522796 4 asked to sign in. Failure to provide accurate records of persons visiting the home demonstrates ineffective monitoring.

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

All the staff are up to date with the organisation’s mandatory training, including safeguarding and physical intervention training. However, one staff member has not achieved a relevant level 3 qualification within the required timescales.

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

The recording and filing systems require attention. Important information is often difficult to find in a timely manner. This may result in staff being delayed from gaining prompt access to necessary details and may hinder good practice. Inspection report children’s home: 2522796 5

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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 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

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)) 06/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 3 Diploma’); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1 April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016. (Regulation 32(4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b)) 24/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— 06/03/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2522796 6 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) The registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must maintain a record of all visitors to the home, and to children, including the names of visitors and the reasons for the visit. (Regulation 37(2)(a) Schedule 4(5)) 06/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 40(4)(c)) 06/03/2020

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Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  Ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording, and that information regarding the child is 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) In particular, ensure that children’s records are well maintained and clearly filed.  The home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life

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Recommendations

history. Staff should understand their important role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. Staff should keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of their time spent living at the home and help them to record significant events. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 2522796 7 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: 2522796 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Florinee Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 20 Broadway Gardens, Peterborough PE1 4DU

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Inspector

Lynne Drage, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2522796 9 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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