Children's home run by M.J. Children’s Services Limited

Inspection report children’s home: SC068991 1 SC068991 Registered provider: M.J. Children’s Services 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 provides care for up to four children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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

Date of last inspection: 9 December 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: SC068991 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/12/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/08/2018 Full Good 26/06/2017 Full Good 24/11/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC068991 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are two children currently living at the home. Due to their complex needs and the level of risk for these children, the staff provide high levels of supervision. They spend time with the children encouraging regular opportunities for them to express their views and to take part in activities that are meaningful to them. One child has a passion for making music and the staff have secured the chance for him to record his songs in a professional studio.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work closely with the children’s schools. They coordinate the children’s education plans, which consist of a mixture of school and home-based lessons. The staff are persistent in ensuring that the children follow set routines. This has enabled one child in particular to make good progress in his learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff recognise the importance of promoting the children’s well-being and actively encourage the children to access specialist services. The children therefore have a good knowledge of what support is available and have been able to request the services that they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Developing independence skills is a strong focus of the care provided. The staff model these skills to the children. They understand the need for patience, persistence and sensitivity to enable the children to learn new skills. This approach has enabled the children to build their confidence and self-belief.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff enable the children to see their families. They work closely with the social worker to explore how to best support maintaining these relationships. This means that children uphold their sense of identity and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming with plenty of communal spaces for the children to enjoy. However, there is some maintenance work required. In one of the bathrooms, the paintwork on the ceiling is flaking and a door in one of the children’s bedrooms is broken. In another child’s bedroom, new curtains are required. The manager is aware of these issues and is addressing them.

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

The staff use praise to promote positive behaviours and use restorative approaches to address negative incidents. These individualised consequences encourage the children to reflect on their behaviour and how they can behave differently in the future.

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

The staff have developed close and trusting relationships with the children. The staff have taken time to understand children’s past experiences and how these relate to current risky behaviours. The staff respond with warmth and compassion. This has led to a reduction in missing-from-home episodes.

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

When children do go missing, the manager has not obtained feedback from return home Inspection report children’s home: SC068991 4 interviews. The lack of follow-up of return home interviews means that potentially valuable information to better inform safety planning for the children has been missed.

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

Safeguarding incidents are managed well. Managers thoroughly investigate incidents and liaise promptly with the designated officer, social worker and parents. These actions protect the children from harm.

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

The children’s risk assessments are regularly updated and provide detail of how to manage complex risk-taking behaviours. However, not all the triggers and preventative strategies are fully explored. This means that the staff may not be able to act proactively to all the children’s warning signs before incidents occur.

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

A minority of the staff have not undertaken specialist training on self-harm. This means that some staff may not be as effective in responding to the children’s mental distress .

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been several staff changes, including frequent changes of managers. The directors have struggled to recruit a suitable manager. However, by both stepping in to provide day-to-day management oversight, they have been able to ensure consistency in the leadership of the home. They have now appointed a new manager, who is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The organisational management of the home is good. The manager uses weekly and monthly internal auditing systems to assess the quality of the care. External monitoring systems are routinely used to obtain the views of associated professionals, parents and the children. This feedback is used to improve the experiences and care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff say that despite there being a long period without a manager, they have regular supervision and feel well supported. Role expectations are set within supervision and in staff handover and team meetings. This enables the staff to be clear about their responsibilities and promotes good teamworking.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The feedback from the children’s parents and social workers is very positive. They value the regular communication from the staff and inclusion in decision-making. The children therefore benefit from a joined-up approach to their care planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have not ensured that the quality of recording is always consistent. In one section of a child’s risk assessment, it refers to the wrong child’s name. Such incorrect recording means that if a child wanted to view their records it would be confusing for them. Inspection report children’s home: SC068991 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 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

the children’s risk assessments explore triggering events and preventative strategies to reduce risk;

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Requirement Due date

all staff have training in managing self-harm and ligatures and suicide awareness. 18 June 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. Specifically, repair flaking paintwork on the ceilings in the bathroom, replace the damaged door and provide curtains in the children’s bedrooms. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. The registered person 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 Inspection report children’s home: SC068991 6 regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, ensure that staff carefully record children’s names in records. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC068991 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: M.J. Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Arbutus House, 4 Loddington Lane, Belton-in- Rutland LE15 9LA

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Inspector

Leemya McKeown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC068991 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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