Children's Home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children's home: 1256135 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private company that is owned and operated by a national charity. It is registered to care for up to three children with complex needs who have experienced trauma and loss.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager at this home. The post has been vacant since November 2020. The current manager started working in the home in June 2021 and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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 30 March 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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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 24 February 2020

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: In October 2020, Ofsted took the Inspection report children's home: 1256135 2 decision to reduce the number of children the home could care for from five to three and issued a compliance notice under regulation 13.

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requires improvement to be good

In November 2020, a monitoring visit identified that children were not safe in the home. As a result of the significant concerns identified, Ofsted made the decision to issue a notice to suspend the registration of this home. This took immediate effect, running from 4 November 2020 until 26 January 2021.

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requires improvement to be good

On 19 January 2021, a further monitoring visit took place. The visit found that the provider had continued to comply with the suspension notice. The provider decided not to admit children until the senior managers’ action plan was implemented. Inspection report children's home: 1256135 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/02/2020 Full Good 04/02/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 24/04/2018 Full Good 30/11/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: 1256135 4

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improvement to be good

The home closed for a period of time for refurbishment, staff reflection and training. The home reopened in April 2021. Two requirements from the previous inspection, under regulation 6 and regulation 12, have not been fully met and are therefore restated.

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improvement to be good

One child spent only a few months living in the home before moving on. Despite staff’s best efforts and good partnership working, the child was missing from the home much of the time. This had an impact on his progress and development. For example, he did not attend school or health appointments.

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improvement to be good

Another child has recently moved into the home. She has lived there for about six weeks and moved into the home after a stay in hospital. A social work manager told the inspector that, ‘The move was managed well.’ In-depth meetings took place between professionals and this effective information-sharing helped the child to settle quickly. The child was able to start to build up good relationships with staff before she moved in as they visited her each day in hospital and wrote her daily letters. This helped the child to understand that she is cared for.

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improvement to be good

Despite the good planning and partnership working, staff have not yet undergone all the necessary training to help them to fully support the child. For example, the child has some complex health needs but staff have not yet received training around these. Training is booked to take place shortly.

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improvement to be good

The home has a new kitchen and has been redecorated. However, areas of the home still require improvement. For example, the bottom half of the front door has been boarded up for several weeks and the current child’s bedroom window has burn marks on it.

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improvement to be good

The current child has settled into the home and is starting to make progress. She is building good relationships with staff, which is having a positive impact on her emotional well-being.

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improvement to be good

The child likes spending time with staff as they respect her wishes and feelings. The child has enjoyed painting staff’s nails, playing at the local park and going out for the first time to enjoy a cooked breakfast. This participation helps the child to build positive childhood memories.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not always kept the child living at the home safe. On two occasions, a member of staff did not follow the child’s risk assessment. This enabled the child to Inspection report children's home: 1256135 5 take risks that led to her hospital admission. The manager shared this concern with the designated officer and an investigation is ongoing. Furthermore, during the inspection, the inspector noticed an item that should not be accessible to the child in the home. Quick action was taken to remove this.

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improvement to be good

Child-friendly records demonstrate positively the support and guidance the child is receiving. Staff are knowledgeable about the child’s care. However, this knowledge is not fully captured in the child’s risk assessments. Despite this having minimal impact on the child, this omission could lead to inconsistencies in practice.

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improvement to be good

Good partnership working takes place. For example, hospital staff took part in a virtual tour of the home and discussed how risks within the home could be minimised before the child moved in. This approach has helped to keep the child safe. Weekly meetings and information-sharing have continued. This means that the child gets the right support at the right time.

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improvement to be good

Most staff have remained focused and supportive of the child’s needs. Sanctions are not used as there is an ethos of learning from mistakes, moving on and celebrating the positive aspects of the day. This approach is helping the child to embrace a more positive way of thinking.

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good

A new manager started working in the home in June. He has applied to register with Ofsted. The previous manager left after working in the home for a short time and did not register with Ofsted. The new manager has a clear vision for improvement and development for the future of the home. He and the deputy manager work well together and have high aspirations for the home, staff and children.

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good

Staff are now happy in the home but spoke of a difficult journey to date. They reflected on their frustration at not being able to help one child to make progress and in the change in management arrangements. However, they now feel motivated by the new manager and his new ideas and ways of working. A member of staff commented how this new approach benefits the child in the home. This has helped to raise staff morale.

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good

Supervisions do not take place regularly. The manager has already identified this and has an action plan to address the weakness. Despite this, staff have daily opportunities to seek support and say they feel supported.

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good

Other shortfalls identified during the inspection included that the home’s quality of care report does not capture the voice of the child and that the home’s location risk assessment does not record that the home is on a busy main road. Currently, the child does not go out alone, which minimises potential risk associated with the road while the shortfall is rectified. Inspection report children's home: 1256135 6 Staff are committed to ensuring that the child has a reliable staff team around them. Despite some staff vacancies, there is a stable staff team that is flexible so that the child receives consistent care from staff who know her well.

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good

Managers and staff actively promote tolerance, equality and diversity within the home. Staff have helped the current child to understand and embrace her identity. For example, they are helping her to understand how to care for her skin and hair. Staff are helping the child to shop for foods to suit her diet and they are embracing some new foods, such as eating chicken feet. The child has thoroughly enjoyed staff trying these foods with her. Inspection report children's home: 1256135 7

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the childrens home s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the front door and child’s bedroom window are promptly repaired.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the previous inspection in relation to the condition of the garden and is restated. 30 September

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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; 30 September Inspection report children's home: 1256135 8 have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the homes child protection policies.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff follow guidance written in risk assessments to keep the child safe.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the previous inspection in relation to staff following risk assessments and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff undergo the necessary training to support them in their role in working with children. Also, that staff receive regular supervision in line with the organisation’s policy. 30 September

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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

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s risks are accurately reflected in their written documentation. 30 September Inspection report children's home: 1256135 9 The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring the review includes the opinions of children. 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the main road the home is located on is considered in the review. 30 September

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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: 1256135 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lumonics House, Valiant Office Suites, Valley Drive, Swift Valley Industrial Estate, Rugby CV21 1TQ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Matthew Earnshaw

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Inspector

Louise Battersby, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1256135 11 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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