Children's home run by Invested Childcare Ltd

Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to accommodate up to four children and/or young people with social and emotional difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a private provider and registered in July 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection date: Not previously inspected

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection judgement: Not previously inspected

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Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:

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Information about this visit

 children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership. This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Findings from the visit

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit. Assurance visit report: 2584899 2

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The care of children

The young people enjoy spending quality time with staff. This helps the young people to build trusting relationships with the staff, which shapes the culture of the home. One young person said, ‘Every child just wants a happy life and living in this home brings us happiness.’

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The care of children

Until the young people are in full-time education, the staff create ways to keep them focused during the day. The manager works in partnership with a range of professionals to ensure that appropriate schooling is sourced for the young people. An education professional said, ‘As an interim measure, the provider arranged for [name of young person] to attend the organisation’s private school, without charge to the placing authority. This attendance is having a very positive impact on their confidence and view of education.’

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The care of children

The young people can confidently express their thoughts and opinions, which means that they are involved in decisions about the home and their care. The young people’s trust and confidence in the staff enable them to openly discuss pertinent and personal issues. The staff also provide the young people with the necessary information and reassurance about the COVID-19 pandemic. The staff work together with the young people to ensure that they continue to keep themselves and others safe during this pandemic.

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The care of children

The staff understand the value of family time and the enjoyment and comfort that it brings to the young people. Young people have been helped to reconnect with parents, and maintain contact, even during the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. One young person said that during a period of self-isolation, he was ‘amazed’ to hear that the staff would collect his favourite home-cooked meal from his mother.

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The care of children

The staff take some steps to educate and encourage the young people to lead a healthy lifestyle. However, the young people continue to make poor choices that impact on their health; this includes smoking tobacco and following a poor diet.

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The safety of children

Young people say that the seclusion of the home’s location and the staff’s approach to care helps them to stay safe.

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The safety of children

The staff use the guidance and services from clinical professionals to help the young people to maintain positive mental health. Through clinical consultation, staff have developed the skills to pick up on the subtle changes in the young people’s presentation. This knowledge has enabled staff to identify when immediate action is required to prevent a young person causing significant harm to themselves. Assurance visit report: 2584899 3 Young people’s missing-from-home incidents have significantly reduced. One social worker said, ‘Before living here, [name of young person] was frequently going missing and found in unsafe situations. Since she moved here, we have only had one missing-from-home incident, and this was handled amazingly by staff.’ Individualised missing-from-care plans support the staff to make informed decisions and take immediate action to ensure the safe return of young people. However, the

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The safety of children

plans do not detail the necessary actions for staff should there be any additional safeguarding concerns in these circumstances. This could lead to a time delay in responses by staff to protect young people from possible further harm.

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The safety of children

When incidents occur, the staff demonstrate sensitive care and encourage the young people to make the right choices about their behaviours. Occasionally, the young people’s incident records fail to evidence if staff have taken all the necessary steps to reduce the risk of any harm. It is therefore unclear if staff could have taken further steps to reduce the risks that young people’s actions may have on their safety.

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Leaders and managers

The manager ensures that the staff deliver a model of care where the primary focus is to form good relationships and give the young people positive memories. This approach means that young people mostly have a positive experience of living in the home.

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Leaders and managers

Partnership working is a strength of the service. Social workers and other professionals praise the staff and the difference that they are making to the lives of the young people in their care.

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Leaders and managers

The manager uses external monitoring to address any gaps in practice and improve the standard of care for the young people. Since the home registered, the manager has endeavoured to maintain independent oversight of the home through the completion of regulation 44 reports. These completed reports highlight to the regulator any concerns about the well-being and safety of young people. However, the submission of these reports is not timely, which impacts on the regulator’s oversight of the safety of young people in the home.

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Leaders and managers

Learning and reflection are intrinsic to staff’s practice. The manager uses every discussion with the staff as an opportunity to improve practice. This is clearly recorded within team meetings, supervisions and incident debriefs. However, the manager is not routinely recording her oversight of the young people’s development and progress within their case records. This overview is necessary to provide further clarity and critical thinking about the actions that need to be taken to support the young people and consistently meet their needs. Assurance visit report: 2584899 4

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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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)) 01/01/2021

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(f)) 01/01/2021 Assurance visit report: 2584899 5

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Recommendations

 Staff should have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to help children understand, and where necessary work to change, negative behaviours in key areas of health and well-being, including but not limited to, nutrition and healthy diet, exercise, mental health, sexual relationships, sexual health, contraception and use of legal highs, drugs, alcohol and tobacco. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, and paragraph 7.18)  Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home's arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children living in the home. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, and paragraph 15.5)

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Invested Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Acklam Hall, Hall Gardens, Middlesbrough TS5 7BJ

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Inspector

Jennifer Fenlon, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: 2584899 6 to 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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