Children's Home run by Arc-HD Services Ltd in Hampshire

Inspection report for children's home: 1258831 1 Registered provider: Arc-HD Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to three children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. The accommodation is set in three individual living areas, with a communal space.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since August 2021.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 2 December 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: 4 September 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: 1258831 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/09/2019 Full Good 18/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/09/2018 Full Good 23/01/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 1258831 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by staff who offer acceptance, love and kindness. The staff team goes to great lengths to support the children, who have often experienced significant trauma and frequent moves before coming to the home. As a result, children benefit from stability and having the confidence to achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a therapeutic environment that is safe, encouraging, creative and supportive. Children are given opportunities to pursue their passions, talents and interests. For example, one older child completed an accredited body piercing course in London.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive care from staff who are supported in their roles by child and adolescent mental health services and a consultant psychiatrist who is linked to the home. Staff attend monthly meetings to develop a deeper insight into the emotional needs of each child. As a result, the children’s emotional health and well-being needs are identified and responded to well by the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who are new to the home are welcomed sensitively and with thorough planning. The staff ensure that the children’s views and preferences are considered in their moves to the home and any moves from the home. Children are involved in and consulted about their care and the day-to-day issues relating to the home. This approach enhances the children’s sense of safety and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop essential life skills that help them to be better prepared for adulthood. They learn practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care. The staff recognise the equal importance of helping the children to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope with less adult support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are not effective in supporting the children with their education. Some children are regularly awake during school nights and sleep in late the following day. The staff have not taken enough action to help children with good sleep routines to ensure that they are prepared to attend education. This has contributed to the lack of the children’s engagement and attendance at their education provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning does not focus enough on how the staff meet the children’s needs arising from their identity. The lack of information on culture and heritage does not ensure that staff are able to fully consider how they support and promote the children’s life history and exploration of their emerging identities.

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

Children feel safe at this home. Detailed risk assessments consider the views of partner agencies and the children. Direct work is structured to meet the children’s needs and provides a safe and reflective space for them to discuss any issues or Inspection report for children's home: 1258831 4 worries that they may have. The staff are effective in helping the children manage and reduce the frequency of self-harm and risk-taking behaviours.

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

Well-written missing-from-home profiles for children support joint working with partner agencies such as the police. On the occasions when children have gone missing, the staff response has been proactive and effective in reducing risks.

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

The manager ensures a robust response to medication errors. Any lapses are addressed by helping those involved to reflect on their practice, improve their competence, and instigate changes to procedures to avoid similar incidents occurring again.

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

There has been one lapse regarding safeguarding practice, which is otherwise good. This was in relation to a historic child protection allegation made by a child, which was not reported to the host local authority. The child was not put at risk by this as the manager had reported this to the child’s social worker and there were no immediate risks to the child.

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

The home has its own internal wireless broadband, with an appropriate level of filtering, that is turned off overnight. However, some of the children have access to their own mobile phone data. Staff are unaware whether the mobile phone contracts set up by the children’s parents have appropriate blocks for unsuitable content. This means that the children’s internet access is not managed in a way that ensures a reasonable duty of care in providing age-appropriate online safety measures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsive individual has taken over the day-to-day running of the home since the previous registered manager left. The responsible individual has provided strong oversight and leadership during this period. He has been well supported by the hands-on directors in the organisation. This has ensured stability and continuity for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new manager has recently been appointed to the home and there is a well- planned and staged handover in place. The staff comment positively on the visibility of the senior leadership team at the home and the support and security this gives them in their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive a broad range of training and regular supervision. As a result, they are equipped well with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide high-quality care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths, as well as the areas requiring further improvement, such as the need to improve educational outcomes for the children. There are plans in place to address this. Inspection report for children's home: 1258831 5 The manager works well with the wider professional network. He advocates strongly and passionately for the children to ensure that others play their part and deliver the support that is needed. Inspection report for children's home: 1258831 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. (Regulation 8 (1)) 30 March 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they lead and manage the home in a way that delivers a culture of high aspiration for children, which is demonstrated through supporting good sleep hygiene, routines and structures in the home that support the children’s educational attendance and engagement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should ensure that the relevant officer or safeguarding team within the local authority is informed promptly of all allegations that come to the provider’s attention. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.18)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. This relates to the duty of care in providing reasonable age-appropriate online safeguarding for

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Recommendations

children who have access to their own mobile data. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that in-house care planning takes account of children’s sexual identity, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)

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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: 1258831 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Arc-HD Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Arc H D Services, Wessex House, Upper Market Street, Eastleigh SO50 9FD

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Inspector

Anne-Marie Davies, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1258831 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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