Children's Home run by HAVEN CARE GROUP LIMITED in Bradford

Inspection report children’s home: 2577171 1 Registered provider: Haven Care Group Ltd 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 operated by a private company and provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been registered since July 2020. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 21 May 2021.

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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. We last visited this setting on 3 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on our 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: 2577171 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2577171 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good care from the staff, who provide a caring and nurturing home where the children can thrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The two children currently living at the home are progressing well from their initial starting points. One child praised the staff’s approach to them and stated: ‘They make sure I am happy, but most of all the staff really care about me.’ A child’s social worker said that the staff are doing a good job caring for a child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make children feel welcome and comfortable when they move in. In one instance, the staff enlisted the help of the children who were already living at the home to go shopping to accessorise a child’s bedroom before they moved in. These thoughtful actions help the children to settle in. Staff talk to the children to check on their welfare, ensuring that the children adapt to the routines and boundaries at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good knowledge of the children’s characters and personalities. The staff follow the children’s individual plans, which helps them to instil parental boundaries. Children have good, trusting relationships with the managers and staff, who are positive adult role models.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff engage the children successfully in regular discussions about different topics that are relevant to the children’s lived experiences. This provides opportunities for the children to reflect on their history, emotions and behaviours that challenge. However, the records of the individual discussions are not consistently signed to confirm that the manager has oversight of the discussions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children engage in their education plans. The staff persist in encouraging children to attend classes and they work with the virtual school, education providers and social workers to promote children’s return to education. Informal learning includes children taking online courses and education-based quizzes, and preparing meals, which helps children to learn about different cultures and promotes their independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and guidance are helping the children to lead healthy lifestyles, such as having improved diets, not misusing substances and exercising more. Consequently, the improvements to a child’s appearance is striking. Children are encouraged and supported by the staff to attend their health appointments. Staff have spoken to children who smoke about the risks to their health, and consequently they are smoking less tobacco. The emotional support that staff give to children helps them through some difficult times.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in a wide range of activities, which provide them with new experiences. Children are going to the gym, swimming, taking trips out, and going Inspection report children’s home: 2577171 4 ice-skating and go-karting. The successful in-house movie night that the staff arranged recently mimicked the experience of going to the cinema and was very enjoyable for all involved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff work with families with respect and sensitivity. The staff ensure that children remain connected with their families by facilitating phone and face-to-face contact. One child’s contact with family members has progressed to overnight stays. This is a positive step, which shows how staff and professionals have acted on a child’s wishes and feelings.

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

Children feel safe at the home. A parent said that they sleep better at night knowing that their child is safe and well looked after at the home.

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

The staff understand the children’s risks and they follow the children’s individual risk management plans to safeguard the children. The manager acknowledges that for some children, the existing and/or emerging risky behaviours have outweighed the team’s capacity to keep them safe, despite their best efforts. This has led to some children moving from the home to keep them and other children safe.

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

The positive relationships that children share with staff contribute to the honest discussions with children about risk. Children have completed online learning about health and safety topics and the different forms of abuse, including child sexual exploitation. This helps children to develop a good awareness of the various threats to their vulnerabilities, both inside and outside of the home.

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

Missing-from-care protocols are followed by the staff. The managers’ and staff’s determined efforts show that they are intent on finding children and returning them home safe. One child said that staff have prevented them from leaving the home because the staff care about them.

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

A significant incident that involved children when they were missing from home has been dealt with sensitively and proactively by managers and staff with police and multi-agency cooperation and support. One social worker said that they cannot fault how the home dealt with the incident and they would not have expected the home to have done anything differently. Missing-from-home incidents have significantly reduced following changes to the group dynamics in the home.

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

Staff have used their positive relationships with children to help them to understand the impact of their behaviours on others. Children show remorse for their actions and they respond in restorative ways, such as writing letters by way of an apology.

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

Children are helped to self-regulate by talking to the staff and recording their thoughts and feelings, and some children have their own kits that consist of a wellbeing book, cuddly toy and other items to help to self-soothe. Children are debriefed thoroughly when they have been restrained to ensure that their views are Inspection report children’s home: 2577171 5 captured. Staff recognise children’s positive behaviours through praise and rewards. This helps children to develop socially acceptable behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers promote a child-focused, nurturing and reflective culture in the home. The qualified and experienced registered manager held the deputy manager role previously and has a consistent presence in the home. The responsible individual is also frequently present at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The consistent and diverse core staff have shown competence and resilience during a difficult period. One staff member said: ‘I love this job.’ Staff are motivated and they have the children’s best interests at the centre of their practice. The staff speak highly about the support from the manager. They benefit from regular handovers, supportive debriefs and team meetings. Staff supervision is reflective and provides challenge and support. Most of the staff hold a relevant childcare qualification. The training that staff undertake improves their capacity to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recruitment practices are appropriate. The manager understands the strengths and most of the weaknesses of the home. They use the support mechanisms in place to help them to address shortfalls and improve service delivery. The requirements from the last inspection have been addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the monitoring visit, six children have lived at the home and four have left. Some children have moved out of the home quickly due to decisions made by local authorities. Other children have been moved due to escalating safeguarding risks. The rationale behind each child’s untimely departure indicates that it may not have been possible for the provider to predict the outcome. However, the written impact risk assessment does not thoroughly assess the needs and risks of the existing children within the home on the child moving in. The statement of purpose has been reviewed to reflect the learning and promote appropriate matching.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The damage caused to the premises during behavioural incidents is attended to, which ensures that a homely and welcoming environment is maintained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has notified Ofsted about significant incidents, but they have not updated Ofsted promptly about one of these incidents. This prevents Ofsted from having effective oversight of the outcome.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children, professionals and parents provide positive feedback about the management and staff and the quality of communication in the home. A social worker said: ‘The manager has been brilliant; they communicate really well.’ A parent described the staff team as ‘nice, attentive and very observant’. Inspection report children’s home: 2577171 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

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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)) 29 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry).

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40 (4)(d)(ii)) 29 October 2021

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Recommendation

 Regulations 35–39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored Inspection report children’s home: 2577171 7 securely while they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. In particular, the registered manager must demonstrate that they have reviewed and signed off the direct work that staff complete with the children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 2577171 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Haven Care Group Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 6 Barberry Court, Parkway, Centrum One Hundred, Burton-on-Trent DE14 2UE

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Inspector

Jacqueline Malcolm, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2577171 9 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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