Children's home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1274093 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 provides care for up to five children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is qualified and experienced.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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

Date of last inspection: 19 November 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1274093 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/11/2019 Full Outstanding 18/02/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 1274093 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are all making good progress. Clear care plans mean that staff understand how to meet children’s often complex needs. Staff are confident to support children whose behaviour presents risks. Staff are resilient during periods when the home becomes unsettled. They show a strong commitment to children because they understand the underlying reasons for challenging behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When particular safety concerns have resulted in children needing to move to other placements, this has been managed well. Social workers are complimentary about the way that managers respond when difficult issues emerge. One said, ‘They do not give up on children easily.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are very good relationships between children and staff. Children have a staff member allocated to be their ‘Buddy’. Children know that they can rely on their buddy for support and direction. Recent staff changes have had an unsettling effect on some children. However, children have been well supported to adjust to the changes. All children can identify an adult that they can talk to about their problems and worries.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are valued and cherished by staff. The home’s approach and ethos are focused on ensuring that children feel loved. Staff are very empathetic and compassionate. They listen to children and respect their wishes whenever possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are in school or education. When problems arise at school, staff are good at supporting children to deal with these positively and re-engage with their learning. Some children who did not attend school before moving to the home are now attending, engaging and making good progress. All progress is celebrated. Memory books are kept by staff so that achievements can be captured and saved. This helps children to grow in confidence and self-esteem.

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

Young people become safer because they live at this home. Staff are attentive and vigilant, carefully monitoring the way that children present and how they interact with each other. This means that they are able to intervene quickly to prevent bullying or manage conflict. Staff make sure that each child feels safe and that children feel able to speak out about any concerns they may have.

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

Children generally go missing less often after moving to the home. When children do go missing, staff engage well with local police and other safeguarding agencies. As a result, they take effective actions that improve children’s safety. Staff show children that they care for them because they do all that they can to return children to the home quickly and safely. Inspection report for children’s home: 1274093 4 Some children’s behaviour improves so much that their life chances are significantly improved. For example, children who were at risk as a result of criminal exploitation, are now considerably safer because of the actions of staff. One child said, ‘I would be in prison if it wasn’t for them.’

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

If young people are at risk of harm, staff act quickly to reduce risk. Staff and managers engage well with other agencies to ensure that risk management strategies are effective. Staff only use physical intervention when absolutely necessary to protect children. Following any restraint, children receive a lot of support so that they can reflect on the incident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported and say that staff morale is good. Because they are encouraged to advocate for the children as any good parent would, staff feel that they can make a difference. The manager and her deputy support staff to ensure that children have access to the services and resources that they need and deserve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are confident to support children with the most complex needs because they carry out very thorough pre-placement planning. The manager matches the needs of new children to the particular skills and strengths of staff. She also carefully considers the compatibility of new children to existing residents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good systems to monitor the quality of care provided to children. Good performance management processes mean that staff regularly receive helpful and constructive feedback. The manager responds positively to feedback from the home’s independent visitor, acting promptly on any recommendations. The views of children are fully considered, including when children make complaints. Complaints are taken seriously and treated as a valuable opportunity to improve the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, good-quality supervision from the manager. However, there have been times when the manager’s own supervision with her line manager has not met this standard. This has been recognised and is now improving.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are sufficient staff in number and in experience. Staff are suitably trained to provide good-quality care to the children. Staff have coped well with the impact of the pandemic. When staff have been required to self-isolate and were unable to work at the home, other staff have worked over and above their normal working hours. This demonstrates their strong commitment to the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1274093 5

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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 for children’s home: 1274093 6

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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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Inspectors

Caroline Brailsford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1274093 7 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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