Children's home run by Solace Care 7kings Limited

Inspection report children's home: 2595182 1 Registered provider: Solace Care 7kings Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately owned children’s home. In its statement of purpose, the provider states that it provides care to children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The home was registered with Ofsted on 19 October 2020 with its current manager.

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Information about this children's home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2595182 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Inspection report children's home: 2595182 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child said that this is a happy home. Other children also said positive things about the home and were observed joyfully laughing with staff. Staff’s welcoming attitudes and emotional warmth help children to feel comfortable and safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff enable children to express their feelings, views and choices in the knowledge that they will always be respected and supported. Children report feeling listened to. This helps them to engage with staff and develop their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have excellent knowledge and understanding of children. A therapist said that staff are curious about the individual children and make a genuine effort to provide the best for children in their care. A mental health specialist from a youth offending team talked about staff’s empathy and the positive impact that this has on the well- being of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children have a well-being box with content that they specifically chose for themselves. Staff use children’s preferences, interests and talents to positively engage them. An effective key-working system complements the less structured discussions to help children to develop their personal, social and life skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s positive relationships with their families and friends. This includes children who are placed at a distance from their families. A parent talked with appreciation about the staff’s positive influence on his son.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed strong partnerships with the wider network of professionals to ensure that children receive holistic care. An example of this is how they support children to engage with their personal tutors and continue to learn even when they are not able to attend their schools. One teacher commented that the home’s staff have found a way of working with a particular child that secures this child’s engagement in online learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All professionals spoken to are highly satisfied with the quality of care provided and the progress that children are making. They had only very positive things to say about the quality of support provided to children and the difference that the home was making in children’s lives.

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

Staff safeguarding practices are proactive, collaborative and relationship based. Children’s trusting relationships with staff allow them to develop feelings of well- being, security and safety.

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

Staff appropriately involve children in finding out what helps them to be safer. Staff work in effective partnerships with other professionals to identify and implement Inspection report children's home: 2595182 4 safeguarding interventions. The awareness of contextual risks and the multi-agency approach to risk management result in children’s increased safety. A professional from a youth offending team said that the staff do everything they can to keep a child safe.

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

Staff enable children to build positive relationships within the home. Children talked warmly about each other and reported having positive peer relationships. There is no bullying, intimidation or discrimination in this home.

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

Staff reinforce rules and expectations in a firm, caring and non-judgmental manner. Children know what would happen if they do not abide by the rules. Children sign up to making efforts to do their best. Staff favour reflecting with children about the behaviours rather than using sanctions. A clear system for rewarding children’s constructive behaviours is in place and their behaviour is evaluated on a weekly basis.

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

Incidents of children behaving in ways that challenge adults are rare. When they happen, staff manage the incidents well. Through targeted keywork sessions and reflective debriefs, staff help children to find safer, healthier and more constructive behaviours. One child talked about staff helping him to manage his anger better.

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

Staff minimise the risks to children effectively, for example the risk of sexual and criminal exploitation and other types of harm. Children do not go missing from this home. Although some children talked about running away, staff members were able to convince children to stay with them at the home.

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

The home has a comprehensive recruitment procedure that includes thorough vetting of staff before they start working with children. All staff have received training on how to safeguard children from a wide range of risks. However, this has not included the risk of female genital mutilation to children.

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

Staff understand the role of the local authority’s safeguarding lead for dealing with allegations. The manager has appropriately shared concerns with this lead about an educational professional. Appropriate actions were swiftly put in place to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has had an excellent start. In the short period of time, leaders and managers were able to translate their vision into practice and fulfil the home’s statement of purpose. This shows that the leaders and managers have excellent motivation, skills and capabilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are always at the centre of decision-making. Leaders, managers and staff are good advocates for children. They offer a robust challenge to other professionals when it is in the best interest of children. Inspection report children's home: 2595182 5 The leaders and managers have developed a culture of inclusivity, togetherness and continued improvement. The team spirit is strong. Staff talk highly about the support that they receive from each other and from the management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff members complete a thorough induction programme. This includes having access to training on a wide range of relevant topics. Frequent formal supervision meetings give staff the opportunities to review their practice and reflect on their learning and professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All experienced care staff are appropriately qualified. The staff members who are new to working in a children’s home have many transferable skills. These staff are working towards obtaining a qualification that is required for their current role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent visitor’s scrutiny contributes to the home’s quality assurance processes. Improving records on staff and children’s files requires further attention. Another area for improvement relates to fine-tuning the threshold for sending notifications to Ofsted.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff complete training on safeguarding from female genital mutilation and that the home’s records show that this risk is considered. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12)  The registered person should improve the quality of record keeping so that all files are well-organised and all records provide up-to-date information. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should review and lower the threshold for sending notifications of significant events to Ofsted. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.12)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: 2595182 6

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Solace Care 7kings Ltd

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Inspectors

Seka Graovac, Social Care Inspector Tolulope Sawyerr, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2595182 7 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

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