Children's home run by Holistic Approach Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1244460 1 Registered provider: Holistic Approach Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties.

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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

The manager was registered on 15 March 2022.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 25 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1244460 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/02/2020 Full Outstanding 04/07/2018 Full Outstanding 12/09/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/04/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1244460 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop warm and trusting relationships with staff. These relationships enable children to reflect on their past experiences and to develop coping skills and resilience. Good interactions between the staff and the children build strong attachments. One child said, ‘I know that the staff really care about me. I can talk to them about anything and they always listen and give me advice. I love living here and I don’t ever want to leave.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are aspirational for the children and are committed to ensuring they have the best possible outcomes. Consequently, when children are struggling with the boundaries and expectations that are placed upon them in the home, staff find creative ways to help them manage their anxieties and engage positively with the home’s routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and support children to develop a positive attitude towards their education. Staff celebrate children’s educational achievements, and this means that children feel inspired to learn and develop a range of new interests. This is a significant achievement for children who have previously struggled to engage effectively with their educational provisions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s health through engaging them in activities and discussions which develops their understanding of their individual health needs. In addition, children enjoy spending time with staff preparing healthy meals for everyone. This helps them to understand the importance of nutritional foods while developing their independence skills. Specific health needs are known and met, and specialist appointments are organised when necessary.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

From a secure base, children enjoy a wide range of experiences, including some memorable first experiences, which they talk about excitedly. Carers tailor activities to individual interests and abilities. Staff ensure that they record children’s memories of their time at this home. They maintain carefully prepared memory books for children to take with them when they move on.

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

Children say they feel safe. Staff work proactively with children on the management of their risks. They adopt a balanced approach, recognising that children need to take age-appropriate risks in order to develop and equip themselves for the future.

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

Assessments undertaken at the time the children come to live in the home do not always take into consideration all of the risks which children may pose to each other. Risk-management plans fail to identify antecedents or preventive actions for children’s concerning behaviour. This means that the staff are not clearly guided in their responses, and this could reduce the effectiveness of their actions. Inspection report for children’s home: 1244460 4 Staff demonstrate good insight into the wide-ranging aspects of safeguarding. Staff know how to apply the training they have received in safeguarding and child protection. They talk knowledgably about the possible links between incidents of children going missing from home and child sexual exploitation, and are alert to the dangers and benefits of social media use. They protect and educate the children about both facets.

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

Staff know how to respond appropriately to any disclosures or allegations made by children and are trained to identify and work with children who may cause injury to themselves. They implement this knowledge in practice and, as a result, children learn different coping strategies and reduce such occurrences.

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

Careful vetting and robust selection of staff ensures that children are only looked after and cared for by those assessed and suitable. Well-managed assessment of new staff and the appraisal of existing staff is regularly undertaken. This ensures that all staff members have the necessary personal attributes, skills and qualifications to look after the children.

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

The manager has failed to notify Ofsted about a significant incident at the home. This affects Ofsted’s ability to monitor the home and to ensure that the children are effectively safeguarded.

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good

A suitably qualified and experienced manager was appointed in September 2021 and registered with Ofsted in March 2022. He has not yet been able to embed and sustain improvements in the home.

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good

The staff spoke highly of the manager and the wider organisation. The home is well staffed and resourced to meet children’s needs. Staff retention is good, and staff report that they feel listened to, and are empowered to share ideas about how best to meet the needs of the children. This has resulted in consistency within the staff group and provides security and continuity to children.

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good

One recommendation from the last full inspection has not been fully met. This related to the decoration and condition of the home. The home remains in need of decoration and repair. The exterior area is shabby with many repairs required. Some areas of the interior of the home are in need of attention. Writing can be found on the walls, some areas are not clean, broken glass can be found in one window which poses a safety risk to children and staff.

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good

The recording of staff supervision is inconsistent. These do not provide adequate details of supervision discussions and do not provide evidence that staff are provided with the opportunity to reflect upon their practice and the impact which this may have upon children’s lives. Inspection report for children’s home: 1244460 5 The children’s guide has not been updated to reflect the current staffing structure. This means that any new child coming into the home will not have accurate information about the adults who will be looking after them.

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good

Record-keeping is not well organised. This affects the ability of staff to access information in an efficient manner and the manager’s ability to effectively audit and review the service. This has resulted in the manager’s failure to identify and act upon shortfalls within the service. Inspection report for children’s home: 1244460 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due Date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due Date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due Date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due Date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due Date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due Date

In particular, this relates to ensuring that the home is decorated and maintained to a good standard inside and out. 31 May 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due Date

In particular, ensure that risk assessments consider all factors relating to risk and detail the guidance and strategies necessary to mitigate and prevent the risk of harm. 31 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1244460 7 The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due Date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due Date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due Date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due Date

In particular, ensure that records are organised so that managers are able to efficiently access information to review practice and identify improvements. 31 May 2022

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Requirement Due Date

The care planning standard is that children—

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due Date

In particular, ensure that children’s assessed needs can be met by the service without detriment to the children already living in the home. 31 May 2022

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Requirement Due Date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due Date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due Date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due Date

the matter; 31 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1244460 8 the other persons, bodies, organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due Date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due Date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide is updated and children are given an explanation of any changes. This includes changes to the list of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.23)  The registered person should ensure that staff are provided with the opportunity to reflect upon their own practice and how this affects children’s experiences and progress. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)

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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: 1244460 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Holistic Approach Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 99 Parkway Avenue, Sheffield, Sheffield S9 4WG

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Inspector

Jacqueline Georghiou, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1244460 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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