Children's home run by Acheron Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2638470 1 Registered provider: Acheron Care 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 for up to three children who may experience behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager holds a Level 5 qualification and was registered with Ofsted in September 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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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2638470 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since registration in April 2021, four children have moved into the home, and one has left. This means that three children are currently living at the home. Staff offer a warm welcome to children when they first move in. As a result, children settle quickly into their unfamiliar environment. A child said, ‘Before I came here [the manager] sent me the children’s guide, and I could see there was a dog. I wanted to come to a home that had pets.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by staff who have their best interests at heart. Staff are passionate about their role and have high aspirations for children. A child told the inspector that the home felt more like a family home than a children’s home. The relationships that children have with staff are a key factor in the progress that children make.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living at the home. Strong bonds between staff and children are built on trust and respect. Staff are nurturing and friendly. As a result, children are settled and want to continue to live at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are generally in good health. They attend routine and additional health service appointments, and they choose to eat healthily and exercise. Mealtimes are planned well and give children the opportunity to share their day-to-day experiences. These good lifestyle choices promote the children’s emotional and physical health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to improve their educational outcomes. Where children struggle with their attendance, staff are relentless in encouraging children to attend by working in partnership with the child and the school or college. This means children do not miss out on learning opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a range of activities in and out of the home to broaden their social experiences. One child told the inspector that she attends The Prince’s Trust. Children told the inspector they had been to theme parks, swimming and to the farm. Staff capture these valuable memories in photographs that are displayed proudly in the home. This means children’s experiences are celebrated and treasured.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children share their views with staff in house meetings and key-work sessions. As a result, children help to shape the home they live in and the care they receive. For example, children wanted to have a menu planned for them by the cook, instead of having to choose it for themselves. As a result, children feel listened to because menus are now pre-planned with consideration given to children’s likes and dislikes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to complain. When children are unhappy, they use the ‘grumbles form’ to tell staff. The manager addresses and responds to each child’s grumble to Inspection report for children’s home: 2638470 3 ensure that children feel listened to. As a result, there has not been any formal complaints.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children visit family and friends who are important to them. Staff stay in regular contact with children when they have daily visits or overnight stays with friends and relatives. Children cherish spending time with people who are important to them. As a result, children strengthen their relationships with those who matter to them.

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

Children who go missing are helped to return safely. Staff work effectively with the police and follow practice guidance and protocols. As a result, episodes of children going missing from care are a rare occurrence. A social worker commented about how staff keep children safe and said, ‘[The child] has episodes of [going] missing [from care] and self-harm. Staff are good at managing to keep her safe.’ A child said, ‘I used to run away before I lived here, but I have never run away. I feel safe here.’

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

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and regularly review risk. A social worker said, ‘I feel that the home ensures the safety of [the child] extremely well, ensuring they complete risk assessments which are updated when new information is received or when new risks are present.’

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

Physical intervention is only used as a last resort by trained staff. There has been six incidents of physical intervention since April 2022. Staff successfully use de-escalation techniques that reduce the need to physically intervene. As a result, the use of physical intervention is reducing.

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

Staff implement sanctions that are fair and proportionate when children do not follow the rules and boundaries of the home. Children are encouraged to earn back their privileges. Often children reflect on their behaviour and turn it into a positive action. As a result, staff acknowledge the child’s efforts, and privileges are returned. This helps children to make the right choices and learn by their mistakes

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

Staff offer children verbal praise and reward daily. Children receive verbal praise, monetary gifts, and extra free time because of their positive behaviour. As a result, children follow rules and boundaries and feel proud of their achievements.

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

Staff take enough precautions to protect and educate young people when they use the internet and electronic devices, and to prevent online abuse. This enables young people to access and enjoy the benefits of social media and the internet safely. A child said, ‘I can now have my phone with me all the time. I have learned from the staff how to manage my phone safely, and how to be aware of threats on the internet and grooming. The sanctions put in place have helped me to learn better behaviour and to keep myself safe.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2638470 4 The registered manager has not ensured that staff are provided with clear guidance about how to manage the risk of traveling in the car with children and their pet dog. This does not ensure that the driver, passengers or the dog are safe while travelling.

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

The manager has safely recruited staff. This ensures that children are protected from unsuitable candidates having access to them. As a result, they are protected from harm.

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

The home is warm and welcoming. There is plenty of communal space for children to relax. However, the first-floor landing carpet is threaded along the door runner to the entrance of the first-floor bathroom. This has the potential to become a trip hazard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified registered manager. She is supported by an experienced and suitably qualified deputy manager. The managers are dedicated and ambitious. They have high expectations for children and are driven to help them achieve their best.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the service. She has a workforce development plan in place. She knows what progress children are making because monitoring and review systems she has in place are effective. She also spends quality time with children and staff. This ensures that she is up to date with how the staff are delivering quality care and what this feels like for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with good training, induction and supervision. This ensures that staff continue to improve their professional development and receive valuable feedback about their practice. Added support is provided to staff through welfare checks outside of formal supervision. This is a strength. A staff member talked about the support she gets from the manager and said, ‘Brilliant! The door is always open, and they go through lots of things with me. Managers know and pick up on how I am feeling and offer support and guidance.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnerships with other professionals and effective communication are a real strength. Professionals speak well of the care that the registered manager and the staff provide. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘This home updates me constantly.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager effectively challenges services when they are not providing a good enough service. The manager escalates her concerns to ensure that children’s needs are met. A team manager said, ‘I would say the strongest area of strength is how very strongly and effectively the home manager and the staff advocate for this young person. If any other service is not meeting the needs of the young person or acting proactively, you can be absolutely assured that the home will raise this and seek a joined-up and effective approach to meeting the outstanding need of the young person.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2638470 5 Children help to shape the service. The managers actively provide forums for children to have their say. For example, questionnaires and one-to-one time with the managers is provided to each child. This ensures that the manager considers children’s requests and acts where possible to meet them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report for children’s home: 2638470 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the registered person implements a risk assessment for children when travelling with pets in the car and removes hazards, in particular relating to the carpet. 31 March 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: 2638470 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acheron Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 117 Draycott Old Road, Forsbrook, Stoke-On-Trent ST11 9AL

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Inspector

Michelle Spruce, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2638470 8 regulates and inspects 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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