Children's home run by Homes for Support

Inspection report children's home: 2553274 1 Registered provider: Homes for Support Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to six children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, and for children who may have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered by Ofsted in February 2020.

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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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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 2553274 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

This is the home’s first inspection. Inspection report children's home: 2553274 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home was registered in February 2020. This is the home’s first inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides spacious and clean living accommodation for children and is decorated to a high standard. The home has additional benefits of a communal games room and multiple shower rooms. The dining area is furnished and used as an additional study area. This has been effective over recent lockdown measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A child said that they would like to be able to change the decoration of their own bedroom and choose a free-standing wardrobe. Allowing children to personalise their space promotes a sense of pride in their surroundings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children were accommodated at the time of the inspection. Inspectors spoke to all of the children regarding their daily life experiences and observed courteous, respectful and warm relationships with staff. All of the children reported feeling happy and safe, and liked living at the home. One child said: ‘I’m focused on my education now and I haven’t attended school before. Living here is just the same as having a parent, but there’s more of them.’ Two young people reported that they did not like the location and the surrounding area due to local gangs and crime. This can have a negative effect on feeling safe in the community or gravitating to criminal activity in the area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has an additional building used by one of the children. The child is currently on a 2:1 staffing ratio to help support his emotional needs. This child has benefited from being in the smaller building as it is a less stimulating environment. However, a gate separating the buildings was locked during the inspection. It is important that children have free access to come and go between both buildings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good routines and boundaries. They told inspectors that the staff are fair and balanced in relation to opportunities they have and rules in the home. Children are encouraged to explore their interests. One child is involved in the local football team and is building positive relationships with his peers. Another child has free expression to explore his creative interests in arts and his room is covered with images he has drawn. Staff promote individualised activities that build on children’s talents and promote their levels of confidence. They also offer new healthy leisure activities, such as walking and bike riding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Social workers report noticeable differences in the children. One social worker said that there has been a significant decline in missing from home episodes and fewer incidents of physical aggression. Another social worker said that that they had seen the child ‘blossom’ since living at the home. Children have improved hygiene and physical health. Improved emotional resilience shows an empathy and consideration for others. Inspection report children's home: 2553274 4 Children who have been out of education before, now attend school. One child talked of his aspirations to complete his A levels and join the military at a senior level. Another is starting college in September to begin a course in carpentry. Children aspire to build better futures, and this is significant progress from their original starting points. Children are proud of their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are registered with local health services and are seen by the local authority nurse to ensure that health assessments are kept up to date. Some children would benefit from earlier assessment and support with their emotional needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is evidence of lack of referral to specialist services to expedite support to children who may benefit from further advice regarding their mental well-being. Some children would benefit from referral to agencies which can help to promote a better understanding of their sexuality and maturation process. Some children have a multi-agency team and actively engage in speech and language services.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel listened to through the home’s ‘you said, we did’ consultation. Through this process, some children have had an opportunity to explore their culture and heritage.

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improvement to be good

There is evidence of detailed risk assessments and individual behaviour support plans to manage risk-taking behaviours. However, there is a large number of risk assessments on children’s records. Consequently, this makes accessing and locating information in an efficient manner problematic. A recommendation has been made to streamline assessments so that they become a more effective tool to manage behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Physical intervention records indicate that actions are fair and proportionate. Overall, there has been a decrease in physical interventions. One incident was triggered as a result of the child being interrupted during online education. Staff were able to support the child to conclude the session. Staff use a therapeutic approach to their daily practice and focus on building rapport with children. Children’s needs and triggers are understood to help minimise incidents.

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improvement to be good

Key-work sessions are completed to ensure that children have an opportunity to explore their feelings and actions in depth. Not all key-work sessions demonstrated effective management oversight. The home has adopted the use of ‘recording of conversations logs’ to support those children who do not engage in their key-work sessions. This demonstrates that meaningful conversations are taking place to help children understand risks, consequences and actions. One example is when staff took an opportunity to address concerns relating to sexual exploitation while a child made toast for breakfast. Inspection report children's home: 2553274 5 Children who are ready for independence do not have a detailed and broad timetable. Local authority pathway plans, and placement plans for independence, lack detail. Children have some support to help with cooking, but are not equipped to deal with wider services such as benefits agencies, landlords and utility providers,

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improvement to be good

or helped to understand their rights when leaving care and what happens if they become homeless.

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improvement to be good

Children staffed on a 2:1 ratio, and who are at risk of criminal exploitation, continue to go missing from the home, although the number of incidents of missing from home has decreased. Children who go missing from home are at risk of anti-social and sexually exploitative behaviour while in the community. The employment of additional waking night staff does not prevent children from going missing and staff do not routinely search for children if they go missing from home during the night. Managers attend local area risk management strategy meetings with police and the local authority. However, further information is required so that staff understand the risks and concerns and develop strategies to reduce risks.

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improvement to be good

Allegations referred to the designated officer for the local authority are not sufficiently followed up and are incomplete. Following an allegation, the records do not confirm that the child was spoken to about the allegation or the process for investigating the concern.

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good

The registered manager is experienced and has previously worked in children’s settings. The manager shows high expectations for children in his care and understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home. However, there are some aspects of management oversight that require improvement.

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good

Information was difficult to obtain quickly and efficiently to assist this inspection. This led to delays in sharing information which evidenced the current practice for managing missing from home incidents, how risks are managed and outcomes for children. The over-complicated electronic system evidenced a lack of management oversight to ensure that there are clear audit trails in relation to complaints and allegations. Some incidents did not cross reference with daily logs. The manager referred to his lack of confidence with the electronic recording system and may benefit from some additional training.

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good

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of children’s needs, their risks and how best to communicate with them. Some staff demonstrate high levels of sensitivity and insight into children’s triggers, and how to build rapport and trust. Staff spoke fluently about children’s strengths and vulnerabilities. Team meeting minutes are detailed and staff have an opportunity to discuss children, including any new or on- going risks and any progress they have made.

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good

Staff have good access to training. However, the training matrix indicated that there are no staff qualified to the minimum requirement, and there are at least six staff Inspection report children's home: 2553274 6 still in their probation period. Timelines for supervision are inconsistent for new staff and new staff should receive support in line with company expectations. The manager acknowledges the difficulties with staff recruitment and retention. Safer recruitment is not robust to assess risks when concerns are noted on forms or references.

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good

Staff have completed training in relation to child exploitation, but there is a lack of specialist training to ensure that staff fully understand the risks associated with county lines, criminal exploitation and child sexual exploitation. This is essential to ensure that managers and staff have the skills, experience and qualifications to manage and reduce risks of vulnerable children. Furthermore, over-optimistic care planning has had a negative effect on one child where risks have escalated. The manager ended the placement as he acknowledged he was no longer able to keep this child safe. The matching and impact risk assessments do not fully consider the complex histories associated with sexual exploitation and the effect of complexities that develop among children in the home.

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good

Professionals report good communication and working partnerships with the staff. Social workers are kept informed and updated on a regular basis. Social workers report a high level of commitment by staff.

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good

Internal and external monitoring systems ensure evaluation and progress of the home. Views of children and, if appropriate, views of parents/family are not routinely captured in reports. Some sections from internal monitoring, such as health and well-being, and positive relationships, are not reported on. Inspection report children's home: 2553274 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, the 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 fulfil their 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 that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(d)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h)) 3 December 2021 Inspection report children's home: 2553274 8 The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iii)) 3 December 2021

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi)(b)) 3 December 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that children’s homes are nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children. They will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children contribute to the furnishing and colour choice of their bedrooms. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report children's home: 2553274 9  The registered person must ensure that the home only accepts placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. Staff must be supported so that they have relevant skills and training to manage and reduce risks. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that the necessary support is given to children to enable them to access their education or training. Support may include quiet learning spaces for children who struggle with concentration caused by noise. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.13)  The registered person must ensure that the home is located in an area that supports children’s safety, well-being and personal development. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 3.23)  The registered person must ensure that staff understand that restraint also includes restricting a child’s liberty of movement. This includes, for example, changes to the physical environment of the home. Restrictions such as these, and all other restrictions of liberty of movement, should be recorded as restraint. Children should have free access to move between both buildings. (‘Guide to the

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Recommendations

children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.42)

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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: 2553274 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes for Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1st Floor, Cloister House, Riverside, New Bailey Street, Manchester M3 5FS

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Inspectors

Kamal Bhamra, Social Care Inspector Pauline Yates, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2553274 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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