Children's Home run by Motivations Activity Projects Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: 1257202 1 Registered provider: Motivations Activity Projects Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for four children who have experienced childhood trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 12 October 2020 and is suitably qualified.

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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: 9 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: 1257202 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/12/2019 Full Good 17/12/2018 Interim Not judged Inspection report children’s home: 1257202 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Three children have moved on from the home since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide care that is nurturing and personalised to the children. The manager and staff value children’s wishes and feelings. They use ‘All about me books’, one-to- one consultations and children’s meetings to give children the opportunity to have an opinion about how staff can support them to achieve their best outcomes. Because of the good support that they receive, all children are making significant progress physically, emotionally, socially, educationally and with their independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child, who had not been in education for 18 months prior to moving to the home, has been in full-time education for the last two years. This is testament to how well the staff have supported the child to value education and develop the confidence to break down barriers to learning. Another child has attained qualifications which have enabled them to progress on to a college course.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and the manager undertake excellent work with children to develop their independence skills in areas such as travelling independently, cooking, budgeting, looking after pets, appropriate relationships and sexual health. Children who have moved on told the inspector that, although they were sad to leave the home, they were less anxious due to the staff supporting them to gain the necessary skills and confidence to enable them to live independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend regular quality time with close family and friends. Children celebrate birthdays at the home and invite their school friends. Most children who have moved on from the home lived there for a long time and formed positive relationships with staff and peers. They keep in touch with them via telephone and visits to see how they are progressing, and they signpost them to services when needed. During the last Christmas period, staff bought Christmas presents for all children at the home and those who have moved on. Staff form part of the children’s extended support networks, which reduces social isolation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and the staff are in the process of redecorating the home and are making the environment warmer and cosier. Children have opportunities to personalise their bedrooms before they move into the home, which helps them to settle quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and the manager help children to live healthy lifestyles. They support children by encouraging them to go out for bicycle rides and walks, to take part in smoking cessation programmes and by promoting sexual health. Children’s health physically, emotionally and sexually is improving because of the good guidance they receive. Inspection report children’s home: 1257202 4

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

Staff know the children very well and can identify, understand and manage risks well. For example, there have been occasions when some children went missing from the home for extended periods. Staff, in liaison with partner agencies, managed these incidents well. Children received good support from staff on their return and to reduce the risk of this happening again.

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

Staff and partner agencies identified that the children were going missing from home to spend time with people they were in relationships with. Staff and partner agencies put in place appropriate risk management plans so that children could safely meet their significant others. Consequently, children have stopped going missing from home and are safer as a result.

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

Some children have struggled with keeping themselves safe when accessing the internet and social media accounts and in choosing appropriate relationships. Staff and the manager undertake detailed workshops to enable children to learn how to keep themselves safe. Children are now enjoying accessing the internet and the community safely without supervision, and they are managing this well.

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

Since the last inspection, there have been two incidents of bullying among children. The manager and staff dealt with these incidents well and they did some equality and diversity work with all children. Children learned the importance of being kind and respecting each other’s differences. Subsequently, there have not been any further concerns about bullying.

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

When incidents of self-harm occur, staff and the manager promptly seek appropriate physical and emotional support for children. They speak with children to understand the triggers to these incidents and put safeguards in place to try and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

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

Staff and the manager provide children with consistent routines and boundaries. This has promoted positive relationships between staff and children. Staff are able to de-escalate children’s behaviour and do not use physical restraints regularly. Staff use rewards and sanctions to help children to learn from their behaviours. However, when they praise children, this is not always reflected in children’s records.

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

The manager has reviewed the locality risk assessment. However, he has not evidenced that he has consulted with agencies to ascertain if there are any new presenting risks or that known risks have changed. This has the potential to limit the effectiveness of this risk assessment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is child focused and has high aspirations for children. Staff understand the home’s ethos and implement well-informed and consistent approaches when caring for children. Inspection report children’s home: 1257202 5 The manager works well with partner agencies, including local authorities, health services and police, as well as parents. He exercises effective challenge when required. This ensures that children are provided with the best level of care to help them to make progress. Partner agencies report that the manager keeps them updated about children’s progress and day-to-day care. The good communication and positive working relationships contribute to children receiving coordinated care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring and reviewing of the service are effective. As a result, he is fully aware of the home’s strengths and areas of development. He is proactive in addressing any shortfalls identified, which ensures that children receive the best quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a stable staff team, which provides consistency for children. Staff report that they feel well supported by the manager. They receive regular training and high-quality supervision which is focused on their well-being, development and practice. Inspection report children’s home: 1257202 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. In particular, the registered person must consult, and consider the views of, each relevant person. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  The registered person should ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: 1257202 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Motivations Activity Projects Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: St Matthews Business Centre, Duddeston Manor Road, Birmingham B7 4LZ

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Inspector

Rumbi Mangoma, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1257202 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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