Children's Home run by Headway Adolescent Resources Limited in Bristol

Inspection report for children’s home: SC066250 1 SC066250 Registered provider: Headway Adolescent Resources Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately operated home provides care for up to three children, aged up to 18 years, with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2020.

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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: SC066250 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/04/2021 Full Good 03/03/2020 Full Good 02/10/2018 Full Outstanding 19/02/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC066250 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in this home. Children’s ambitions are at the forefront of the care for the children and staff help them to achieve their goals. Children are effectively supported to develop their independence skills at a pace that is individual to them. One child is approaching adulthood and has been successful in securing employment. Another child has shown an interest in cooking and staff have followed their lead in helping them plan, shop for and cook some of their meals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents provided positive feedback to the inspector and said that they were pleased that their child was living in this home. Parents are confident that their children are happy and well cared for by the staff. One child’s parents credited the staff team for their input into their child’s life, and all the positive things that their child now enjoys because of the team’s dedication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy living in the home and told the inspector that they like each other as well as the staff team. Compatibility of the children’s needs is important in this home and means a positive and relaxed atmosphere is created.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is supported well. All children are attending school or college. Outside of school, they have the opportunity to take part in activities to support their interests as well as have new experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms are not always maintained to a good enough standard. The inspector found the rooms to be cluttered and needing to be cleaned. Children do not always have the appropriate level of support, or staff modelling what is expected, to maintain a high standard.

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

Children are kept safe in this home. There has only been one occasion where a child was missing. Staff were quick to act and work with each other and the child’s parents, as well as the police, to locate the child and bring them home.

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

The staff have not used any physical restraint since 2017. The manager leads with an ethos of remaining calm, de-escalating situations and problem solving.

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

Feedback from wider professionals is very positive. External professionals told the inspector that the staff are very child focused and have a comprehensive understanding of the children’s needs. This means that staff are effective advocates for the children and their knowledge and experience is respected by the professional network.

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

The home is staffed by a stable and consistent team. Some of the staff have worked in the home for eight or more years. Staff told the inspector that they enjoy working Inspection report for children’s home: SC066250 4 here. They feel proud of the children’s achievements and enjoy watching them progress. Staff said that they feel confident that everyone in the team would ‘go the extra mile’ for the children.

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

Leaders and managers have developed some of the paperwork used in the home to improve clarity and make them more child focused. There are plans to develop other aspects of the children’s case records. Some of these were found to be too generic or ambiguous in the language used.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This home is led by a dedicated manager. Staff told the inspector that the manager is well respected by the team, describing them as ‘approachable, professional and fun’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are up to date with mandatory training and receive further training relevant to the children’s needs. However, this could be further developed based on the children who currently live in the home. Monitoring of online gaming is not robust enough to identify early signs of unwanted contact. Leaders and managers are keen to rectify this and develop staff knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some management review mechanisms are weak and do not offer leaders and managers robust scrutiny and challenge to drive development. The independent person often announces their visits and makes few suggestions to improve the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home would benefit from some improvements and redecoration. This includes repurposing the dedicated office space. Leaders and managers have plans in place to address this and some improvements have already been made to the kitchen and bathroom.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment practices are in place for the recruitment of permanent members of staff. However, references for agency staff are missing. Leaders and managers acknowledge this shortfall and are working to address the issue. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066250 5

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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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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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

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(vii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children are supported to effectively tidy their bedrooms and that their rooms are maintained to a high standard of cleanliness. 1 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which 30 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC066250 6 the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that references for agency staff are obtained prior to them working in the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are provided with opportunities to develop their safeguarding knowledge. Staff need the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate a child is in any way at risk of harm.(‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12)  The registered person should review the dedicated office spaces and ensure that a homely environment is maintained. This will provide a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person are able to visit unannounced to make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to

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Recommendations

the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5) Inspection report for children’s home: SC066250 7

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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: SC066250 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Headway Adolescent Resources Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove B60 4AD

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Inspector

Katie Ratcliffe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC066250 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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