Children's home run by Highlands (Fareham) Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 1 Registered provider: Highlands (Fareham) 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 and accommodation for up to four children with learning disabilities. It is run by a private organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since 26 March 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

This is the first inspection of this children’s home since it was registered by Ofsted on 26 March 2021.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children thrive in a home where they are loved and nurtured. They enjoy the meaningful and supportive relationships with the staff who care for them. There is genuine fondness and affection shown between the children and their carers. Children are seen to seek their company and share jokes, show off their achievements and take part in activities. Consequently, children feel safe and all make significant progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each child’s individual needs are known and met to a high standard. Staff know the different communication methods and nuances involved in the children’s behaviour, and their understanding of this means they can provide the support and guidance children need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children take part in full-time education. Members of staff support the children on site if needed and ensure that communication between school and home is constant. On one occasion, more curiosity about a child’s assessment by a speech and language therapist could have helped inform staff practice in the home, or their knowledge of the child could have informed practice at the school. This is a missed opportunity to share expertise which could help a child develop their communication skills further.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are enjoyed and encouraged. They are able to share their feelings and opinions with key workers, in meetings and on a daily basis with managers and other members of staff. They are involved in meeting new members of staff, and their views are taken into account during the recruitment process.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Their individual interests are known, and they are all able to take part in enjoyable and enriching activities which also develop their confidence and social skills. Staff approach any activities with a can-do attitude and look to overcome barriers so that the children are able to be part of their community and enjoy whatever is on offer to any other child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a careful and thoughtful approach by managers in ensuring that the mix of children is appropriate, and this helps this small community to be happy and settled. This is a significant strength of this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers have successfully helped children move into this home with little disruption and impact on the group and with no compromise to their progress. External professionals have described the group of children as akin to a sibling group. There is a huge emphasis on operating this home as a family home, with any institutional practice assiduously avoided. For example, rather than having a formal sign identifying the gathering point in the event of a fire evacuation, the children know that they have to gather around a large ornamental butterfly outside the house. This is an example of the embedded sensitivity, insight and careful planning. Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 4

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

Staff have a sound understanding of each child’s strengths and vulnerabilities. There are clear plans which are followed in practice to ensure that children are kept safe from any risks.

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

This information ensures that staff are not risk-averse. They assess and analyse activities and social situations with a view to preparing the children to cope with any stress or challenge these activities and situations may pose. For example, children are supported to attend clubs and sporting activities with close staff support if needed. This helps the children develop and learn coping strategies and to self- regulate if they find anything difficult.

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

Staff are thoughtful and considerate in their planning of activities. An exemplar of good practice was the preparation of known neighbours and the provision of sweets, which took into account individual allergies, for them to give to the children on Halloween. This ensured that the children were able to joyfully take part in a community activity while being supported and kept safe.

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

Children are kept safe and supervised while in the community. The level of supervision reflects their vulnerability. As a result, no child has been missing at any time.

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

The use of restraint is rare. There has been only one incident since the home opened in March 2021. The use of the measure was proportionate and the child kept safe. The monitoring and completion of the record, including timely debriefing of staff, were not completed within the timescale set out in regulation. A requirement is made to ensure that this is addressed.

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

Children benefit from living in a home where their improved social skills and positive behaviours are enjoyed and celebrated. Staff patiently guide them on how to cope with frustration and conflict. This results in an atmosphere of acceptance as well as the building of empathy and tolerance. Consequently, incidents in which children have become distressed and frustrated have significantly reduced during their time living in this home.

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

All members of staff know what to do and whom to inform if they have any concerns about a child’s welfare. External professionals report that concerns are reported promptly and effective actions taken to keep children safe if any specific issues have arisen.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This is a well-managed home. The registered manager and responsible individual are very aware of the staff team’s strengths and weaknesses and provide good quality support to them. There is a diverse team which has a cross section of skills, qualifications and experience. All staff receive the guidance and training they need Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 5 in order to provide a quality of care which helps the children to make significant progress and to be safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and staff are ambitious and passionate about helping the children to be happy and safe, and to feel loved and valued. All hold the children’s well-being at the heart of their practice. There is no sense of complacency, and there is an embedded drive to learn from practice, to reflect on any incidents and to then improve their service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been very well managed. Staff efforts have ensured that the children have benefited from continuity of care and sensitive explanations. These have been given to the children at a level they can understand. Consequently, children have been reassured and very well supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

While members of staff report excellent support from their managers and colleagues, the regularity of supervision has not been maintained in line with the organisation’s own policy. Some records lack detail about issues discussed. This means that the formal records can make monitoring of the quality of supervision difficult to audit.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some other records, such as debriefs after incidents, also lack detail and do not show how staff practice has been explored. This shortfall makes it difficult for managers to fully evaluate incidents. Although this has not had an impact on children’s welfare, it is an area which is in need of development. This shortfall is fully acknowledged by the managers and is an identified development need for the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External stakeholders are unanimously positive about the quality of care, children’s progress and the excellent communication they receive from staff and managers. ‘I trust them completely. I want her to live there forever,’ a parent said. ‘She is doing incredibly well and has made so much progress,’ a social worker commented. This shows that there is confidence in the service provided from significant people in these children’s lives. Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 31 May 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 7 within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that debriefing sessions with staff after an incident requiring physical intervention are completed and recorded on time.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they work in partnership with relevant people as appropriate to ensure that each child is provided with support (appropriate to their age and understanding) to communicate their views, wishes and feelings, and participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. This is with reference to using specialist input and advice if a child has had an assessment carried out for them, for example by a speech and language therapist. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulation, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)  The registered person should ensure that a note of the content and or/outcomes of supervision is kept to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. In particular, ensure records of supervision contain enough information about how the issues discussed have been resolved. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations,

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Recommendations

including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4).  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, ensure that records of debriefing sessions of incidents contain all the relevant information. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulation, including the quality standards’ page 62, paragraph 14.4). Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 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: 2623544 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Highlands (Fareham) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5 Deansway, Worcester WR1 2JG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jacqueline Smeeth

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Inspector

Paul Taylor, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 10 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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