Children's home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC366080 1 SC366080 Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private company. It provides care for up to three children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and presenting complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager registered with Ofsted in June 2021. The registered manager is working towards the completion of the level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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 home on 2 and 3 December 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 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

Date of last inspection: 3 December 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC366080 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/12/2019 Full Good 26/11/2018 Full Outstanding 06/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/10/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC366080 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have left the home and two children have moved in. At the time of inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have a sense of belonging. Children are encouraged to personalise the home and their personal space. The home is decorated to a good standard. One child’s bedroom is decorated with posters from his favourite television shows and has a sensory tent in the corner for when he struggles with his anxieties. This personalisation enables children to take a sense of pride in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in important areas of their lives. Staff provide consistent, individualised support to the children and advocate what is best for them. For example, when a child disagreed with the plans that were being made for him to move on from the home, staff and managers supported his decision and advocated on his behalf. This resulted in the child moving on, in line with his wishes, to semi-independent living where he can continue with his education and planned college course.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are positive about the care they receive. They told the inspector that they know that they can speak to key adults about any issues they may have. One child said, ‘I like it here because I now have a routine. This is something I have never had.’ Subsequently, this helps children to feel confident about their relationships with staff and supports their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to attend weekly therapy sessions to promote their well- being. When children refuse to attend appointments, the organisation’s clinician supports the team through consultation. The clinician attends regular team meetings to provide training and discuss children’s targets. Because of this, children receive good care within a consistent, nurturing environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make sustained progress in education. Staff and education providers work collaboratively. Because of this, staff are aware of children’s targets and help children to achieve them. One headteacher told the inspector, ‘When [child] has missed work and needs to complete this at home, I am confident that this will be completed and returned on time.’ This supports children’s learning.

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

Managers and staff review and update risk management plans on a regular basis to include any new and relevant information. This ensures that staff understand each child’s needs and vulnerabilities and can provide safe care.

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

Managers recruit new staff safely. Staff are thoroughly vetted and assessed before Inspection report children’s home: SC366080 4 any appointment is confirmed. These safe recruitment procedures make sure that children are protected by preventing unsuitable adults from working in the home.

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

Staff use praise and reward well to promote positive behaviour and this reduces incidents in the home. When incidents do happen, staff de-escalate these effectively, so the need for physical intervention has reduced over time. Staff support children to make safer choices through the use of debriefs. Because of this good work, children are safer. However, staff do not always record instances of physical intervention in full. For example, when staff have intervened, the time and location of the measure are not always recorded clearly. This means that managers are not able to monitor and review the use of restraint effectively.

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

Staff ensure that the home environment is safe for children to live in. They complete a range of health and safety checks to assess whether there are any hazards which could pose risks to children. Children take part in regular fire drills to ensure that they know how to evacuate the home safely in case of such an emergency.

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

Staff use bedroom door alarms to monitor children’s movements in the home during the night. There is a clear rationale and risk management information available for why two children need these measures to keep them safe. However, it is not clear why one other child has his movements monitored. This means that there is no assessment as to whether the use of the door alarm for this child is appropriate and proportionate.

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good

A suitably qualified registered manager leads the staff team.

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good

Management arrangements at the home have not always been effective. One of the two requirements raised at the last inspection has not been met. The registered manager does not ensure that systems for recording new medication brought into the home are clear. As a result, the registered manager does not have complete oversight of the home, and shortfalls are not always acted upon. An additional four requirements have been raised as a result of this inspection.

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good

The registered manager regularly reviews and updates the home’s statement of purpose to include changes to the management and staffing structure. However, managers have not provided Ofsted with updated versions of the statement of purpose. This does not ensure that Ofsted has a good overview of the home.

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good

Children’s records do not include all essential information from their placing authority. For example, the registered manager has failed to gain copies of a child’s up-to-date care plan and education health care plan. Despite several requests being made to the authority, the registered manager has failed to escalate her concern about these requests not being responded to. As a result, staff do not have access to the most up-to-date information relating to children’s plans. Inspection report children’s home: SC366080 5 Staff are provided with a variety of training and development opportunities to further their knowledge of how to support children and help keep them safe. Most staff hold the required level 3 diploma qualification, and those who do not are supported to work towards this. However, not all staff have received training to help them meet the specific needs of the children in the home. This includes training in online safety

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good

and anti-bullying. This is a missed opportunity that has the potential to leave staff without the essential skills and knowledge for their roles.

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good

Children know how to make a complaint. Staff and managers respond effectively when children raise an issue. Staff are provided with the tools to manage allegations effectively. This good support enables staff to understand the impact of abuse and neglect and how to respond to protect children.

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good

Staff report that they find supervision sessions helpful and supportive. Annual appraisals are used to ensure that staff are provided with appropriate development opportunities.

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good

The manager and staff have developed positive relationships with children’s families and professionals to ensure that children’s needs are met. One social worker said, ‘I am really pleased with the communication. I think that is their biggest strength. I am aware of everything.’ This partnership working results in the children receiving good-quality care to meet their individual needs. Inspection report children’s home: SC366080 6

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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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to receiving statutory documents for each child. 1 November 2021

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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

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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers having effective monitoring tools in place that will highlight areas of improvement. This element of the requirement is restated from the last inspection. In addition, managers should 1 November 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC366080 7 ensure that staff have access to all the training opportunities they need to meet the specific needs of children.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the revised statement of purpose is received by Ofsted within 28 days of revision. 1 November 2021

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the use of door alarms on children’s bedrooms. 1 November 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the recording of newly received medication in the home. 1 November 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC366080 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are completed and kept that will enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond where any issues or trends of concern emerge. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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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: SC366080 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fitzroy Academy, Cruckton, Shrewsbury SY5 8PR

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Inspector

Kev Brammer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC366080 10 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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