Children's Home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited in Nottingham

Inspection report for children’s home: 1255139 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 six children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There are currently two registered managers.

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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: 13 January 2020

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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: 1255139 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/01/2020 Full Good 05/03/2019 Full Good 10/10/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1255139 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and safe. They thrive in many areas of their lives. Some children’s lives have been turned around by their experiences of living at this home. In particular, children have received the help they need to get back into education. Many children have found reintegration back into school difficult in the past, and some children have not accessed education for some months or years. Staff give the right support, direction and encouragement to motivate the children. Some children are looking forward to going to university. Some are getting exam results that are above the government-expected range for their age. There are several examples where children have made exceptional progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy their home life. They were provided with fun and interesting activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, there was a ‘barbershop day’ when the hairdressers were closed. The children were encouraged to care about their local community. They prepared some pictures and messages to post to people who may have been alone in the local community. Participation in education was still an expectation throughout each period of lockdown. Children have participated in a wide range of activities to suit their needs and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are positive relationships between staff and children. These relationships are based on trust, warmth and humour. Children receive good support to learn about boundaries regarding acceptable behaviour. They learn about how to look after themselves, be more independent and about what they like and enjoy. Children have things to look forward to and become more optimistic about their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children remain in contact with family and friends and are supported to manage this appropriately. Staff work hard to encourage this. They know how important it is for children that they have key people they can rely on for support when they leave care.

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

Staff encourage children to behave appropriately. Their approach is one of positivity and reward. This approach works particularly well because of the good relationships between staff and children. There have been no restraints used in the home in the last 18 months. This reflects that staff use de-escalation when there are incidents of aggression. Children have confidence in the staff. One child said: ‘I am making good progress, especially with my anger.’

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

When children go missing, staff consistently follow children’s risk assessments. They contact relevant agencies within the agreed timescales. They look for children and keep trying to contact them, day or night. Children go missing less. They are safer than they were before. This is because they tell staff what they are doing and where they are going. They answer their phones and keep in touch with staff when they Inspection report for children’s home: 1255139 4 are out. Children learn the importance of this, in order to be safer. Children are open to the idea that this is a protective factor because they like and respect the staff. They know that they are cared about and feel a sense of belonging.

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

Staff know their safeguarding responsibilities. They work well with social workers, the police and other local agencies to positively influence children’s safety and welfare.

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

Staff have completed their mandatory training, for example, training on safeguarding children, behaviour management and first aid. Other specific areas of child protection relating to children are not so well covered in the staff training programme. Staff do know their responsibilities, but training on how children can be exploited, about gang affiliation and how to protect children online cannot be evidenced for some staff.

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

Staff undergo checks to make sure that they are safe to work at the home. However, one recruitment record was confusing and unclear. There was no evidence of how managers came to the decision that staff members were safe to work with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are two registered managers. One has remained in post while the other took a period of extended leave. They have been supported by a deputy manager who has offered the children stability throughout.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have a strong focus on the care provided to children. Children and staff speak very positively about them. One child talked about how the home was well led. A child talked about one of the managers and told the inspector: ‘There is no point not getting up for education as she will soon be knocking on your door to get you up.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are knowledgeable about the children, their staff team and about the operational running of the home. They lead by example. They are realistic about what works well and what needs to be improved. They have development plans in place to make sure that the home continues to improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have opportunities to discuss their work with their manager and there are formal one-to-one supervision meetings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these have been very heavily focused on staff well-being. This has really helped to support staff through a difficult period. Staff have worked extra hours to cover absences due to the pandemic. They have made some personal sacrifices to make sure that the good quality of care has never faltered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is not as much attention on monitoring staff’s performance through supervision, but this is something that managers are looking at improving. Inspection report for children’s home: 1255139 5 On the day of the inspection, managers could not evidence several areas of staff training. Managers have not got a clear picture of what staff training is outstanding. This has not impacted on the children or the quality of care but it has the potential to impact if not put right. Inspection report for children’s home: 1255139 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they maintain good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should detail the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s statement of purpose. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s

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Recommendations

manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: 1255139 7

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Matthew Earnshaw

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Children’s home details

Registered managers: Kadri Milistver and Dominique O’Connor

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Inspector

Caroline Brailsford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1255139 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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