Children's Home run by VCare24 Limited in East Riding of Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2561726 1 Registered provider: Vcare – 24 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 provider. It provides care for one child with emotional and/or social difficulties. The manager of the home registered with Ofsted on 11 February 2020 and is suitably qualified for the role.

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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 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: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2561726 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2561726 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child currently living in the home is making progress from their starting point as a result of this service. Their engagement in activities is giving them positive experiences and is developing their self-esteem. This is because they are trying new things, such as go-karting and visiting local attractions. The staff provide the child with a homely and nurturing environment. This helps the child to form trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is generally fit and well and eats a balanced diet, which supports a healthy lifestyle. The child has shown an interest in boxing. Staff have supported this and have provided the child with boxing equipment. This promotes the child’s fitness and shows the child that staff do care and support the child’s interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child’s emotional and mental well-being through direct chats about their thoughts and feelings. Necessary referrals are made to mental health services. This means that the child’s mental health is supported by specialist services. The social worker’s manager said: ‘The staff are supporting [child’s name]’s emotional well-being, and they are making progress at the home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education has been a barrier for the child. Through the positive relationships the child has with the staff, and the direct work carried out with the child, they are now attending full time. The child said: ‘I like it where I am. I’ve not been since Year 7 and I want to stay at the home and go to college to study to be a mechanic.’ Nevertheless, the child’s statutory plans are out of date and the registered person has not chased follow-up meetings to review the plans. This means that education staff are working with out-of-date information, which does not promote learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child wants to spend Christmas with their parents at the family house. The deputy manager has advocated for this on the child’s behalf to their social worker. A meeting between the child’s social work manager and leaders and managers from the home has been held. Following this, plans are now in place for the child with the aim of them spending Christmas with their family.

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

The child has built strong relationships with staff and has said that they feel safe in the home. Staff have quickly built positive relationships with the child. This has enabled the child to form attachments with the adults around them. The social work manager said that the child is kept safe and is doing incredibly well and added that the fact that the child has not self-harmed indicates how settled they are.

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

Risk assessments are well documented and provide staff with clear actions to take to reduce the risk of harm to the child. Staff are trained in specific topics to help them to understand behaviours, such as self-harm. Consequently, risk is well managed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2561726 4 When there have been safeguarding concerns, leaders and managers have acted quickly and communicated well with the child’s social worker. Staff carried out direct work with the child to gather their thoughts and feelings. This nurturing approach helps the child to feel safe living in the home. Nevertheless, Ofsted was not notified as required. This does not provide Ofsted with the information needed to maintain an overview of how leaders and managers deal with safeguarding concerns.

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

There have been no reported missing-from-home incidents for the child living in the home. There are protocols and risk assessments in place in the eventuality that the child goes missing. These documents are clear and provide staff with actions to take should the child go missing. This helps the staff to find the child as quickly and safely as possible.

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

Physical interventions are not well documented. They include a stand-alone section for debriefs with children. However, on some occasions, the child has not had a debrief with staff. This is a missed opportunity for staff to help the child to reflect on the incident, and to unpick the behaviours that led to the intervention. This practice leads to the child receiving inconsistent care following a physical intervention.

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good

There are shortfalls in recruitment. Gaps in employment for some new starters have not been verified. This means that the registered person is unable to ensure the suitability of staff working in the home. This places children at risk from unsuitable people.

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good

Monitoring procedures are not effective. Management oversight of the home is minimal. The registered manager is not based at the home. This hinders management oversight. This is an area that requires improvement to move the home forward.

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good

Supervisions sampled are reflective and offer staff an opportunity to reflect on their practice. For some staff, these are not held frequently. They are also not held in line with company policy and procedure. This is not good practice and hinders staff development.

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good

The registered manager works with other professionals, such as teachers and social work managers, who have provided positive feedback about the home and have no concerns with communication.

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good

Leaders, managers and staff regularly refresh their knowledge by completing training. This means that they remain current in their practice. Leaders and managers keep updated on topical issues and arrange additional training to develop staff awareness where needed. Staff spoken to said that training is readily available for them. This ensures that staff knowledge is evolving in line with the current risks for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2561726 5

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(vi)) 15 January 2022

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

Lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to management oversight of the home and ensuring that staff receive supervision in line with the home’s policy. 15 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2561726 6 The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (3)(d)) 15 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(c)) 15 January 2022

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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

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 15 January 2022

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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: 2561726 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 18, Becklands Park, York Road, Market Weighton, York YO43 3GA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Victoria Simpson

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Inspector

Gemma McDonnell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2561726 8 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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