Children's Home run by TLC Youth Care Ltd in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report children's home: 2532139 1 Registered provider: TLC Youth Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

A private organisation runs this home. It provides care for up to three children who may present with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in March 2021.

p.1

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.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 19 February 2020

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2532139 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/02/2020 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2532139 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good care from a well-trained staff team who understand the children’s needs. Children like where they live and the people who care for them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are listened to and acted upon by staff, wherever possible. Children and staff spend good-quality time together. Staff organise a variety of activities that boost children’s self-esteem and help them keep physically fit. The atmosphere in the home is welcoming and children have good relationships with each other and so bullying is not an issue in this home. Children are nurtured and offered hugs from staff. Staff speak positively about the children and can easily identify their talents and strengths.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to join clubs and they go on regular bike rides with staff. Each child’s personality is celebrated and difference is embraced. For example, staff support children who are interested in animal welfare, the environment and vegetarianism. Staff encourage and support children to develop friendships at a pace the child is comfortable with. This enables friendships to become long lasting and meaningful.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped and supported to make progress with education. Some children make very good progress, while others require more support from staff to engage with education. The manager has developed good relationships with the schools that children attend. Staff have a good grasp of each child’s academic progress. Children are encouraged by staff to fulfil their potential and be ambitious for the future.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager is a good advocate for children. For example, one child was unhappy about their care plan. The manager listened to the child and supported them to communicate effectively with their social worker. However, more could be achieved by the manager and staff to fully engage children in their own care and placement plans and to obtain and act on the views of children in relation to the plans that matter to them.

p.3

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

The manager carefully considers the implications, for children and staff, before agreeing to any new children moving into the home. When children have additional vulnerabilities, the manager has ensured staff have received the appropriate training to meet the identified needs of the child. The manager liaises with the involved professionals. This helps to formulate a good understanding of the child and their family history, including important risk and vulnerability factors. The manager and staff also understand when they can no longer meet the needs of a child safely. They facilitate the child’s move from the home in a planned, careful and sensitive manner. Inspection report children's home: 2532139 4 Incidents of concerning behaviour are rare. When incidents do take place, the staff maintain clear boundaries for children to keep them safe. Children are spoken to by staff about their behaviour and encouraged to reflect on how their behaviour may

p.3

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

Children become safer once they join the home. Incidents reduce and managers are proactive in getting the right support in place to help children become safer. The manager and staff record incidents well and this enables them to learn valuable lessons from incidents, so that they may manage future incidents better.

p.4

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

Children seldom go missing from care. On the occasions this has happened, staff have acted in accordance with agreed protocols. Relevant agencies and families are notified immediately, and the staff work hard to get the child back home safely. The right level of care and support is provided to the child on their return.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers maintain high expectations of the staff team in relation to the care provided to children. Managers have equally high expectations that staff will update their knowledge and skills through training and development. Staff are not yet benefiting from training in understanding children’s attachments and how this shapes how children see themselves.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers empower and encourage staff, both practically and emotionally, to improve their practice. For example, they give staff extra support to keep documentation up to date. They recognise the positive things staff do for children and write them individual notes to say thank you. This helps to improve staff confidence and morale, and helps staff feel valued.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular and effective professional supervision. Individual supervision sessions provide the staff member with the opportunity to discuss matters important to them and their care practice. Team meetings feature regularly in this home. This enables staff to share their experiences and coordinate their day- to-day routines and care of the children. Staff can also receive an award, for employee of the month, chosen by the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff provide high-quality, positive, nurturing care to children. When staff start their shift, handovers are clear and child focused. Staff speak about the home as if it is their second home and they are supportive of each other. There is a consistent staff team in place who enjoy caring for children and making the home look clean and tidy. When new staff join the home, they are welcomed, and their previous experience is valued, as is what they can bring to their new position.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Involved professionals and family members say that they trust the registered manager is doing an excellent job caring for the children. They report that communication is good and that they are working in partnership. The staff team describe the registered manager as ‘fantastic, supportive and organised’. Inspection report children's home: 2532139 5

p.4

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure staff work in partnership with relevant people as appropriate to ensure that each child is provided with support (appropriate to their age and understanding) to communicate their views, wishes and feelings and participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. This may include the use of and support to use communication aids, equipment and/or any necessary language support. This specifically relates to enabling children to better understand their care plans and to further promote children’s abilities to contribute to decision-making. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. This specifically

p.5

Recommendations

relates to staff receiving additional training in relation to children’s attachments. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

p.5

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: 2532139 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 19 Harrier Park, Northampton, Northamptonshire NN4 0QG

p.6

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Duncan MacKenzie

p.6

Inspector

Andi Lilley-Tams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2532139 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

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

p.7