Children's home run by Applecast Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2632727 1 Registered provider: Applecast Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for two children who can no longer live at home. The home provides short-term emergency, respite and bridging placements to allow the local authority time to decide on the most appropriate future long-term needs of the children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 16 July 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: none Inspection report children’s home: 2632727 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2632727 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This unique setting provides opportunities for the children to learn about caring for animals, take part in fishing lessons and learn how to look after gardens.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made good progress in most areas of their lives. The manager and staff offer them a good quality of care to meet their individual needs. A social worker said, ‘[Name of child] is doing amazingly well.’ A grandparent said, ‘I wish my granddaughter could have stayed here. It was a joy to see her smile again.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good transitions into the home. These include children visiting the home and staff visiting them. The impact risk assessment shows how the staff team can meet a child’s needs. However, the manager has not identified risks in the immediate vicinity or within the local area in her area location report, such as bodies of water, access to animals, roads, bridges or train lines. Therefore, she was unable to use this information to fully inform the placement decision regarding the children and whether this proximity would be an issue. Currently, this has not had an adverse impact on the children’s safety. However, if not addressed, it has the potential to do so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend and engage in education regularly. They know how important education is and respond well to the educational incentives in place. Consequently, the children’s outcomes have improved. Similarly, staff help the children to adopt healthy lifestyles by encouraging them to eat a healthy diet and to engage in physical exercise. Staff’s close working with a range of health and educational professionals means that children receive additional support, such as play therapy, when needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A child said that they are happy and safe and enjoy living at this home. Good routines, boundaries, incentives and activities help children to settle and engage with the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family members are encouraged to visit the home. These visits are made enjoyable by staff who make good use of the facilities around the home. Therefore, children can sustain and build their relationships with family members.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can regularly share their views about the home and the plans for their own care. They have regular discussions with their key workers, other staff and the manager during children’s meetings, key-work sessions and reviews. Children feel able to talk to staff. They are confident that they are listened to and that their views, wishes and feelings are acted upon whenever possible. A child said, ‘The best thing about this home is that they really listen and try to help.’

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

Inspection report children’s home: 2632727 4 Safeguarding practice at the home is good and it keeps the children safe from harm. The children understand that safeguards are needed to keep them safe, such as the need for two-to-one staffing and restrictions on internet use. Children say that they feel safe and that staff do their very best to safeguard them, including teaching them about risky or unsafe choices on social media.

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

Children have not been reported missing from the home and physical restraint has not been used. Staff demonstrate that they know the procedure to follow if a concern or incident was to arise. All staff have received safeguarding training. This means that they have the knowledge to support children and can identify early signs of involvement in risk-taking behaviour.

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

Children’s risk management plans clearly outline their individual risks. Staff and the children understand the strategies required to reduce risk. However, the children’s risk assessments do not give staff clear information on the action to take if an incident occurs. This may impact on the consistency of the response given to the children. In contrast to this, children’s risks significantly reduce because of the support and guidance that staff give them. Professionals said that the consistent boundaries, routines and reward systems at the home have helped children to make good progress.

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

Safe recruitment and health and safety practices at the home ensure that only the most suitable staff work there and that it is a safe place to live. Records show that children, staff and visitors are taken through the emergency evacuation procedure. Likewise, all visitors sign in and their identification is checked. This means that everyone is kept as safe as possible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good range of experience to care for the children and staff. She has a suitable leadership and management qualification. She is supported by a deputy manager who also holds a management qualification. They work closely together to ensure that all management tasks are completed to a good standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high aspirations for the children living at the home and ensures that they are provided with a high quality of care. A child, a family member and professionals spoken to as part of this inspection were complimentary about the manager’s skills, knowledge and ability to work closely with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides the staff with regular and effective supervision that enables them to reflect on their practice. This is in addition to monthly team meetings, where staff can share their knowledge and discuss the children in depth. As a result, staff said that they felt supported, valued and motivated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most of the staff team have a relevant childcare qualification. One new member of staff has been registered on a similar childcare qualification. The staff have completed all mandatory training. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, most of the training has been completed online. However, there are face-to-face training events Inspection report children’s home: 2632727 5 scheduled for the coming year. The manager said that her focus now is to source and complete specialised training. She continued to say that this will support the staff’s continuing professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Generally, the children’s records are up to date and give enough detail to show the children’s journey throughout their stay at the home. Staff have a good understanding of the children’s needs, experiences and progress. The manager challenges local authorities and other services effectively to provide children with the support that will meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring and review systems at the home help the manager to identify the home’s strengths and weaknesses. The manager is then able to alter her practice when necessary to make improvements that are in the best interests of the children. However, the manager does not have a workforce development plan. Inspection report children’s home: 2632727 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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, identify all known risks in the local community in the safer area report. Further to this, ensure that this information is used to make an informed decision about whether the area is safe for a child to live in. 30 April 2022

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that staff have clear guidance on the actions to take if an incident was to occur. 30 April 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2632727 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should have a workforce plan. (‘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 children’s home: 2632727 8

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Inspector

Pam Nuckley, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2632727 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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