Children's Home run by Inspirations Leicestershire Limited in Leicestershire

Inspection report children's home: SC486398 1 SC486398 Registered provider: Inspirations Leicestershire Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider owns this home. The home can provide care and accommodation for up to four children with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 8 October 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: 25 February 2020

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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: SC486398 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/02/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/01/2019 Full Good 26/09/2017 Full Good 18/10/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC486398 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children report that they are happy living in this home. Previous concerns regarding bullying and difficult peer relationships have been addressed. The home is now a warm, welcoming, happy environment where children enjoy living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although some children have struggled to fully engage with full-time education during the pandemic, they make steady progress. For example, because staff have supported one child to explore their interests and aspirations for the future, the child is now preparing to start a full-time college course in September. During the inspection, another child received exam results which were highly celebrated by them and the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy participating in a wide range of physical and social activities. Staff encourage children to try new activities and join clubs. Children have fun and make progress emotionally and socially.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to take good care of their health. Staff regularly remind children about the dangers of smoking. Children’s physical health is promoted by a personal trainer who has recently been commissioned to come into the home to promote healthy living and exercise. Specialist support for children provided by a commissioned psychology service is also helping to improve children’s emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last assurance visit, children’s daily routines have improved. Particularly in the evening and at night, children have clearer expectations and are more settled. Although morning routines have improved, this is still work in progress for some children. Clearer recording of morning routines and daily logs would enable better monitoring of progress in this area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the fact that there has been a significant turnover of staff since the assurance visit, children speak fondly of the current staff team. Children report that the staff are kind and fair, spend time with them, listen to them and help them. While this is positive, the high staff turnover has served to reinforce some children’s perception, from their past experiences, that staff leaving is a normal part of being in care. One child commented: ‘You can’t get too close to staff as they always leave.’

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

Risk assessments and behaviour support plans are regularly updated, clear and detailed. Children are kept safe because staff fully adhere to the plans.

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

The manager and staff support children well in relation to their specific vulnerabilities. For example, work undertaken with one child has helped them to develop better insight into the risks that they face in the community and to make Inspection report children's home: SC486398 4 safer choices. As a result, risks of sexual exploitation, which were previously high, have significantly reduced.

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

Incidents of children going missing have also become infrequent. When incidents have occurred, staff have followed individual safety protocols and children have been quickly located and welcomed back home. Clearer recording in records of children going missing, in respect of timelines and actions to prevent further incidents, would help to further enhance practice.

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

Proactive behaviour support strategies are largely effective. High levels of praise and targeted incentives motivate children and make them feel good about themselves. Children appreciate the clear boundaries in place for them. One child stated: ‘I know exactly where I stand.’ These clear and consistent boundaries, coupled with the support provided to staff from a commissioned psychology service, help staff to better understand children’s behaviours and support them to regulate their emotions.

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

The use of physical intervention is rare. When restraints have been necessary, records of incidents are clear. Debriefs always take place with children and the staff involved. Robust management scrutiny means that practice in this area is continually improving.

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

Managers and senior leaders have responded promptly to any concerns raised by children about their care. This ensures children’s safety. Managers deal with all concerns in an open, transparent manner. Reflection and learning following investigations have helped the manager and staff develop increased insight into some of the reasons why children may make allegations and how to respond to them.

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

Careful scrutiny of any prospective employee or temporary agency staff helps to ensure that only those adults who are suitable to work with children are employed in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager, appointed since the assurance visit, has brought greater structure and stability to the home. She is aspirational and sets high standards. She leads by example and provides her staff with high levels of support and challenge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and senior leaders are very reflective. They use any allegation, complaint, or significant incident as an opportunity for learning and improvement. For example, learning has taken place following the breakdown of an emergency placement. Taking lessons from this, the manager carefully planned and matched the next admission, resulting in a highly successful transition into the home for a new child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff employed at the time of the October 2020 assurance visit have left. In recognition of this high staff turnover, recruiting and establishing a consistent and permanent staff team has been a priority action for managers and senior leaders. A Inspection report children's home: SC486398 5 small number of skilled established staff remain. New staff present as committed and enthusiastic, with transferable skills for their new roles. The children speak positively about these new staff. Building a skilled and consistent team remains work in progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff have up-to-date personal development plans and receive regular supervision. Together with regular team meetings, this gives staff time to reflect on the needs of the children they are caring for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff have completed the mandatory training in areas such as safeguarding, first aid, health and safety, and physical intervention. However, given the relative newness of the majority of the staff to their roles, most are yet to complete more specialised training in subjects that could have an impact on the children they are working with. For example, there are some gaps in training in areas such as exploitation, gangs and county lines, self-harm and suicide. Such gaps in training have the potential to limit the effectiveness of staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is strong. External professionals and a parent spoken to during the inspection were highly complimentary about levels of communication. One professional described the manager as, ‘proactive, supportive and tenacious in getting a child what they need’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring systems in the home meet regulations. Managers and leaders have recently taken action to improve these systems and make them even more effective. By introducing a new independent visitor and by streamlining internal monitoring and tracking systems, children’s experiences and progress are now more clearly understood. Inspection report children's home: SC486398 6

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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 their full 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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the turnover of staff and staff training. 31 July 2021

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Recommendation

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘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: SC486398 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspirations Leicestershire Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 131a London Road, Oadby, Leicester LE2 5DP

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Inspector

Rachel Griffiths, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC486398 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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