Children's home run by Country Care Children’s Homes Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 2590408 1 Registered provider: Country Care Children’s Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. The home provides care for up to three children who have experienced trauma which has left them with emotional difficulties and associated challenging behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager holds a level five qualification.

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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 24 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2590408 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children are currently living at the home. One child moved into the home during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager plans well prior to any child moving into the home. Matching information is good and well considered. For example, one child was able to visit the home and meet staff and the other children before moving in. As a result, children settle quickly and develop a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have built up trusted relationships with staff. Staff know the children well and have a good understanding of their starting points. During the inspection, the inspector observed relaxed and humorous interactions between children and staff. As a result of this, children feel that they are able to talk to staff when they feel worried. This helps children to develop positive relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend school. One child, who did not attend school before coming to the home, is now in full-time attendance. Their teacher informed the inspector that they had made fantastic progress. Two children have successfully obtained college placements for the new academic year. This is a good achievement for these children and shows the progress they have made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their independence skills. For example, one child has just started a part-time job, and another is using public transport independently. Both children are developing their confidence and are making great progress with their independence. This helps children to prepare for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend all required health appointments. This ensures that children receive the help and support that they need to address their health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has an in-house therapist. She has a good oversight of the emotional support and care that children receive. The therapist attends staff meetings and offers consultations to staff. She supports staff to reflect on their practice and learn from challenging incidents. Some children attend therapy sessions and are starting to put in place strategies to support their emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated to a high standard and has a warm and welcoming feel. The kitchen is the hub of the home and is where children and staff spend time together. Children’s bedrooms are bright and personalised to their taste. This helps children to invest in their home.

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

Staff work hard to keep children safe. Staff have a sound knowledge of the strategies in place to manage known risks. Staff follow child protection procedures Inspection report children’s home: 2590408 3 when required. One child informed the inspector that they felt safe in the home. As a result, risks to children are minimised. This helps children to feel safe.

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

Risk assessments and behaviour management plans provide staff with clear guidance to keep children safe. However, in some isolated examples, not all incidents are recorded in the risk assessments. This recording shortfall does not have a direct impact on the safety of the children.

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

Staff have the skills and training to manage children’s self-harming behaviours. Staff are calm, understanding and empathetic in their approach. Staff use the input of the home’s therapist to consider how best to respond to such behaviours. A child’s social worker informed the inspector that, due to the support offered by staff, there had been a decrease in self-harming incidents for her child.

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

Staff respond quickly when children go missing. This is because staff understand what they need to do in such situations. Staff undertake thorough searches for children using their knowledge of the likely places that children will have gone to. When required, staff do not delay in reporting children as missing to the police. When children are located, staff take the time to understand the reasons why children may have gone missing. This helps to inform the planning for any further such incidents.

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

Staff are effective in managing children’s behaviours. This is because staff follow the agreed strategies that are in place. This means that staff are also successful at de- escalating children’s behaviours. As a result, incidents in the home have reduced.

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

Staff use rewards and sanctions to encourage children to make positive choices. Children respond well to this practice and enjoy receiving rewards for their good behaviour. This helps children to feel valued and to want to make positive choices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is appropriately qualified and experienced. She is supported by an equally skilled and experienced deputy manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a stable staff team. This is because staff retention is high as staff enjoy working at the home and feel supported by the management team. This provides children with a level of stability which supports their positive outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that staff have regular supervisions. These are beneficial and productive and support staff in developing their skills further. The registered manager is also well supported by senior managers and receives regular supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a varied training programme which is tailored to help staff meet the individual needs of the children. Most staff hold a level three qualification and those who do not are working towards it. This equips staff with the level of knowledge and skills needed for the role. Inspection report children’s home: 2590408 4 Professionals are positive about the home and the support provided to children. A social worker told the inspector that, ‘The communication from the home is great, the home provides regular updates.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that children’s views are heard. She takes appropriate action to address any issues that they may have. She is a strong advocate for children and will challenge local authorities to ensure that the right decisions are being made. This helps children to feel valued. Inspection report children’s home: 2590408 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 registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s plans, including their risk assessments and behaviour management plans, are kept up to date. 25 August 2021

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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: 2590408 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Country Care Children’s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Meadows, Beech Lane, Dove Holes, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 8DJ

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Inspector

Lydia Isaac, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2590408 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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