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

Inspection report for children's home: SC460973 1 SC460973 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

This home provides care and accommodation for up to three children with a variety of complex needs, including learning disabilities. The home is privately owned and forms part of a large social care organisation, which offers an education service and therapeutic support.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager was registered with Ofsted in December 2019. He is suitably experienced and has a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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: 21 October 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 for children's home: SC460973 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/10/2019 Full Good 13/08/2019 Full Inadequate 04/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC460973 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are supporting children well through the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff talk to children with warmth and humour. They play games with them such as football and video games, and they actively encourage children to take part in varied and interesting activities to keep them occupied and to enhance their experiences. This has helped to keep children engaged and in good spirits during periods of national lockdown. As restrictions eased, children engaged in various leisure and sporting activities in the community. One child is an aspiring ballet dancer and attends lessons locally. Children enjoy their leisure time and say they never get bored.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a clean and welcoming home. Children’s bedrooms are bright and modern and they are encouraged to personalise them with posters and family photos. The shared living areas are clean and comfortable, and children enjoy spending time with staff in the large games room. Staff prepare good-quality food, which the children choose and enjoy. Children who are living in residential care for the first time say the experience is better than they expected, and it has really helped them with their behaviours and emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Time with family is encouraged, both in and out of the home. Through appropriate assessment and planning, relationships between one child and their family have been repaired and supported. Staff also enable children to develop and maintain friendships with peers, and children benefit from these positive relationships. For example, one child has now joined the local football team. This is going well and gives this child the opportunity to meet friends and integrate into the local community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work particularly well with teachers and in-house colleagues who provide therapy to ensure that children’s needs are understood. This well-coordinated support means that children’s achievements, school attendance and behaviour all significantly improve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children express their views and explore their behaviours by having regular planned meetings and day-to-day discussions. Staff support children to contribute to their care plans and make decisions about their day-to-day care. These opportunities enable children to express their views and preferences and to contribute to decisions about their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive nurturing care and support, and this helps them to have positive day-to-day experiences of living at the home. Staff make sure that children’s care plans reflect the aims and objectives of the placing authority and they provide care in line with these plans. For the most part, children receive coordinated and effective support. However, one child’s plans do not explore their cultural background and Inspection report for children's home: SC460973 4 identity. This is a missed opportunity to help this child identify, understand and be curious about their culture.

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

Two children live in the home and both are safe and feel safe. There is no bullying and the children have a positive relationship with one another.

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

Staff have access to good-quality behaviour management plans. As a result, they know children’s triggers and they act swiftly to calm children when they are agitated or anxious. Staff regularly update these plans to ensure that they always have the most up-to-date information to guide them.

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

Staff respond appropriately when children go missing from the home. They are proactive in searching for children and, when necessary, contact the police to report them missing. Missing-from-home protocols contain clear guidance for staff. One child was going missing from the home and returning to her family. The registered manager and the staff team worked tirelessly to support the child, remaining in contact with them and encouraging them to return. This child is now being supported to return in a planned way to her family’s care, in line with the local authority transition plan.

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

Staff receive training to raise their knowledge and awareness of how best to safeguard children. Staff use this learning in their day-to-day practice, which promotes children’s safety. Staff have received specialised training to help them to know how to respond to incidents of children going missing from home and self- harm, including ligatures. Staff were able to explain to the inspector how to use this training should the need arise.

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

When children have displayed behaviours which place themselves and others at risk, staff have intervened appropriately. Incident records are informative, reflective and overseen by the manager. When physical intervention has been used, this has been well managed. For the most part, children have the opportunity to discuss such incidents and reflect on how they feel and what coping strategies they can use to reduce any further occurrences. Although records provide good detail about what has happened, there was one occasion when the record of the child being spoken to was not updated.

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

Overall, children experience good levels of safety planning and stability, due to informed and child-centred risk assessments. The manager and staff use their own knowledge, stakeholder input and children’s experiences to identify, assess and plan to reduce risk. However, although children use the internet and play online games, these activities have not been risk assessed. This leaves children at potential risk of being exposed to inappropriate material and exploitation. The manager took immediate action to address this during the inspection. Inspection report for children's home: SC460973 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. He has made improvements to the quality of care since the last inspection and leads by example. He talks passionately about the children in his care and he is proud of the positive difference the care of his staff is making to the lives of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager uses systems to monitor the quality of care given to children. He has a development plan in place that includes children’s views. This means that children develop a sense of ownership that helps them to invest in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the home and the support they receive from the registered manager. They talk confidently about the home’s ethos and the positive journey and outcomes they support children to achieve. Supervisions are to a good standard and give staff the opportunity to reflect, learn and progress. Staff are encouraged to promote ideas for improving the home and care for children. New staff receive high-quality induction and mentoring from experienced staff. This ensures that children are receiving good-quality and consistent care from a highly motivated and supported staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff access a range of training opportunities, including essential courses such as safeguarding and first aid. In addition, they receive training that is specific to individual children. This helps staff to understand the complex needs of the children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works effectively in partnership with a range of professionals. Professionals are positive about the care and support that children receive and the communication they have with the manager and staff. They see that children’s confidence and self-esteem are growing and they are making progress from their starting points.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Potential employees are subject to an assessment of their suitability to work with children. This includes references and criminal records checks. However, managers have not ensured that all staff have had their employment history explored and gaps explained. This increases the risk of unsuitable people being employed to care for children. Inspection report for children's home: SC460973 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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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 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring a full employment history and references from roles working with children are obtained. 31 January 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure plans help children explore their ethnicity and culture. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)  The registered person should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that a record is kept when children are spoken to following a restraint. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60) Inspection report for children's home: SC460973 7

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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: SC460973 8

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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

James Tallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC460973 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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