Children's home run by Active Ark Limited in Cumberland

Inspection report for children's home: SC465634 1 SC465634 Registered provider: Active Ark Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been registered since May 2014. A new manager, who registered with Ofsted in January 2021, is currently completing their level 5 leadership and management qualification in residential care.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC465634 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/08/2019 Full Good 03/10/2018 Full Good 16/10/2017 Full Good 21/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC465634 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are very settled at the home and enjoy valued and trusting relationships with staff. Children feel a strong sense of belonging and feel happy to call it home. One child has lived at the home for several years and has made significant friendships in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s needs and the support they require are well understood. Children’s care planning takes good account of their individual needs and interests and reflects children’s choices and wishes. Despite staff familiarity with children’s circumstances, plans are routinely reviewed on a regular basis to ensure they are kept up to date.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to lead healthy lifestyles. They have good access to health professionals to meet their routine healthcare needs. Children are involved in meal planning and understand the benefits of good nutrition. Some are starting to develop some independence by helping with meal preparation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children are currently experiencing some challenges at their school settings. Staff are proactive in supporting children’s education and learning and are working in close partnership with children’s placing authorities and education providers to ensure academic achievements are maintained. For one child, the home is supporting planned home tuition provided by the school alongside in-class teaching.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage a good range of activities and crafts to promote children’s interests and talents. Outdoor activities such as biking, football, running and horse riding are enjoyed by the children living at this home. One child excels in sport and thrives on his sporting activities. His ambitions to become a sporting professional are shared and encouraged by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals who visit the home consistently remark on the homeliness of the setting. One social worker commented, ‘He is very settled. This is his home, and he feels like he’s with family.’

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

Children say they feel very safe and well cared for at this home. They benefit from the structure and routine provided by staff. This promotes the feelings of security and certainty in their day-to-day lives.

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

The highly positive nature of relationships between children and staff promotes harmony within the home. Children respect staff, understand what is expected of them and respond appropriately to the support provided. Inspection report for children's home: SC465634 4 Children’s behaviour is managed positively by staff, with encouragement and praise. Consequently, there has been minimal need for the use of disciplinary measures of restraint and sanctions.

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

Children’s risk assessments cover all matters relevant to the individual child. However, the recorded content does not always provide the reader with sufficient information to fully understand the risk. While staff are fully aware of the detail, this could hinder someone unfamiliar with the children.

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

Staff work well with local organisations that can also play a valuable role in helping to promote children’s safety. For instance, one child has benefited from a nine-week course sourced from a local youth centre to increase awareness of the risks associated with a range of social media platforms.

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

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have successfully reassured children of their safety and educated them on government guidance and safe practices to minimise the spread of COVID-19.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s registered manager is a strong advocate for children and is committed to ensuring children achieve good outcomes. For example, the manager successfully negotiated a reduced timetable and learning support at the home from a local mainstream school for one child, to avoid the likelihood of exclusion. This is working well and the aim is for the child to return to school full time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has achieved highly effective partnership working with placing authorities and many other professionals, ensuring children receive optimum care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, children’s records and other documents in the home are well maintained. However, the home’s admission/discharge register was found to be incomplete during this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work closely together to provide a strong sense of continuity for both children in the home. Staff feel well supported and say that this helps the smooth running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff retention in this home has been good throughout the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff rotas have been planned well in advance, ensuring that children have enjoyed consistent care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal monitoring arrangements are well established but have not been used to best effect to inform the manager’s six-monthly quality of care review. External monitoring reports are not received in a timely manner, so these are of limited value to the manager and Ofsted. This is an area that the manager has identified for improvement. Inspection report for children's home: SC465634 5 The manager is held in high regard by staff and other professionals. One professional commented, ‘I have professional confidence in [manager name]’s leadership role and the ethos of the home placement. Staff are endeavouring to do all they can to support and encourage [child’s name]. They have an in-depth understanding of her needs.’ Inspection report for children's home: SC465634 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)) 2 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)) 2 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

upon request, the local authority for the area in which the home is located;

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Requirement Due date

the registered provider and, if applicable, the registered manager; and 2 May 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC465634 7 the responsible individual (if one is nominated). (Regulation 44 (7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. Specifically, ensure that plans are reviewed regularly and contain sufficient detail to assist the reader. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that the quality of care review report focuses on the specific circumstances of the home at that time and any areas of high risk to the children that the home is designed to care for, such as missing or exploitation. There is no expectation that the registered person will review the

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Recommendations

home against every part of the quality standards every six months. The report should be evaluative, and the registered person should use their professional judgement to decide which factors to focus on. The report should identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, and clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. This review should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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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: SC465634 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Active Ark, Unit E, Baron Way, Kingmoor Business Park, Carlisle CA6 4SJ

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Inspector

Gillian Walters, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC465634 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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