Children's home run by Invested Childcare Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 2584899 1 Registered provider: Invested Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider and was registered in July 2020. The home provides care for up to four children who may have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2020. Interim management arrangements are in place, as the registered manager is on planned maternity leave.

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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 4 November 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: Not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2584899 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2584899 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress because staff provide them with opportunities to fulfil their potential. Staff help the children to recognise children’s progress as staff routinely talk to them about children’s achievements. This gives children a genuine sense of pride and satisfaction. One child said, ‘I have come so far forward in my life and that would never have happened if I did not live here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children all have individual educational needs, and these are reflected in their varying schooling arrangements. Children who have historically had extended periods out of school now show a true commitment to education and to training. Some children have completed their GCSE examinations and other children are planning their futures, whether this is to attend college or to gain employment. Children have clear aspirations for their futures, and staff help children to take steps to achieve children’s dreams.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are skilled at meeting the competing needs of children of different ages. Staff are equally as comfortable and confident engaging in imaginary and childhood play, as they are providing guidance around healthy sexual relationships and teaching life skills. One child said, ‘It is mint living here; if this home was open when I first came into care, I would have had a stable home. The staff are so supportive, and it is more nurturing than any other children’s home that I have lived in.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Nurturing emotional relationships help the children to form positive and trusting relationships with staff in this home. The strength of these relationships help children to thrive as they feel secure and content in the presence of staff. Children like the cuddles and the empathy that staff provide them with. They enjoy spending time with staff and, together, they are creating lasting memories for each child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children hold their heads up high as their emotional health, well-being, self-esteem and confidence grows. They are also making positive changes to their physical health; they are encouraged by staff to be physically active and to exercise. Children’s diets are healthier as they are provided with the opportunity to eat a range of foods. One child said, ‘I can’t believe I have missed out on eating steak all my life because I thought I didn’t like it, I now love it!’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have the opportunity to enjoy a range of activities, and they said that they enjoy spending time with staff in the home. This is reciprocated by the staff, who are pleased to see the children enjoying life, learning new skills, developing new interests and making happy memories.

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

Risks to children’s safety are reducing. They are not routinely going missing from this home; this was a significant concern for some children prior to moving in. Staff Inspection report children’s home: 2584899 4 complete checks when children are spending time in the community away from the home. The staff’s recording of these necessary checks needs to be developed. Children are also no longer involved in criminal activity. Children are engaging with their youth offending workers, which further aids children’s understanding and abstinence from crime.

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

Children have been involved in incidents of violence and aggression at the home, and allegations have been raised. The interim manager has clear oversight and insight into all incidents and, together with the staff, takes immediate steps to protect children. For example, staffing levels have increased and changes have been made to children’s living arrangements. Practice is further strengthened by effective communication with outside agencies, including children’s social workers, police and the designated officer for the local authority. This approach supports multi-agency decision-making to keep children safe.

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

Staff take immediate steps to prevent children from harming themselves or others. They use different techniques to try and prevent such incidents. The inspector saw cushions deliberately scattered around the home so that staff can grab these and prevent children injuring themselves, for example, when children bang their own heads when they are distressed or upset. Children are listened to when they feel that their safety is affected by other children. Managers ensure that arrangements are made to maintain the safety of all children, individually and collectively.

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

Admission processes are thorough. Managers and staff want every child’s move into the home to be a positive experience so that they can thrive. There are open discussions with children when admissions are due to take place. Although children identify that it can be hard when new children first move into the home, they said that they can see the progress that other children make as a result of living in this home. Managers challenge placing authorities effectively when all pertinent information about a child is not shared, and lessons have been learned. The interim manager is supporting a child’s placing authority to create an accurate overview of the child’s achievements and needs, to help ensure the suitability of the child’s future placement.

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

Medication is safely stored and administered. Staff consult with health professionals when any changes are required, for example, changing the time that medication is administered. This action from staff helps children to safely take their medication, as it is now at a time in line with their daily routine.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is currently not in day-to-day charge of the home. An interim manager is in place, and they are in the process of submitting their application to register with Ofsted. The interim manager has a clear understanding of the home, and this supports the continued development of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the home opened, the staff team has remained stable. Staff are valued and are well supported by leaders and by managers. Staff development and retention Inspection report children’s home: 2584899 5 are supported through company incentivised schemes. This means that staff are encouraged and are motivated to continually develop their learning and skills. As a result, children receive care from a consistent staff team. Children form trusting relationships with staff because staff have the knowledge and the skills to help and support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff retention is good, and staff vacancies are quickly appointed to. Safer recruitment processes are followed, and these help to ensure that children are only cared for by staff who are deemed safe to work with them. The interim manager had failed to record a discussion held with a staff member about gaps within the staff member’s employment history, but this is a recording error and does not adversely impact on the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professional relationships with outside agencies is a strength of this home. Managers and staff want to know and to understand the children well, and they work in partnership with all agencies to help the children to thrive and to enjoy their life. Professionals consistently reported to the inspector that the staff go ‘above and beyond for the children’. A social worker said, ‘We had some concerns about residential care, but once we saw [Child’s name] in the home and how the staff go above and beyond to meet his needs, we knew he could not have got a better placement.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The interim manager uses internal and external oversight and monitoring systems to help him to identify any shortfalls in practice. The manager’s oversight is evident on all records as he strives to maintain the high standards of practice and continues to ensure that the service evolves to meet children’s needs. Inspection report children’s home: 2584899 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, as set out in regulations 31-33, good employment practice is maintained. This is with particular reference to clearly recording the exploration into employment gaps for new staff. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, and paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and that they understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. This is with particular reference to the recording of safe and well checks for children when they are away from the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, and 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: 2584899 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Invested Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Acklam Hall, Hall Gardens, Middlesbrough TS5 7BJ

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Inspector

Jennifer Fenlon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2584899 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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