Children's Home run by Protea Care Limited in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2495371 1 Registered provider: Protea Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private provider. It provides care for up to two children who have emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager’s position has been vacant since May 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 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2495371 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/06/2021 Full Good 11/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 30/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2495371 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The relationships between children and staff are good, with some strong bonds developing. Children report that they are happy. One child said, ‘The staff are great’ and another said, ‘I really like living here.’ As a result, the children are enjoying their home and thriving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are central to the decision-making in this home. The staff undertake regular one-to-one sessions with children to gain their views about the care they receive. Additionally, there are children’s meetings which are held regularly. Children feel comfortable talking with staff at any time. This has led to positive developments at the home and children being listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The accommodation is homely, comfortable and reflects the interests of children. The children are supported by staff to care for their pets. These animal companions provide children with a great deal of pleasure. Children have chosen the decoration for their rooms and the communal areas. Children feel this is their home. There are photographs of them enjoying activities and staff show how proud they are of the children. This ensures that the children feel cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are clear and focus on the child’s individual needs. However, the child’s views are not always clear in the current format. A new ‘child-friendly plan’ has been designed. Staff are working directly with children to implement these plans and have their views set out clearly. This will improve the involvement of children in their plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress in education. One child had a difficult time and was on a reduced timetable. The home and school staff worked very closely together to address the issues. A safeguarding lead at the school said, ‘There is excellent daily communication between the home and school.’ School achievements are celebrated at home. As a result, both children are now in full-time education and their attendance is good.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy and benefit from activities including swimming, walks in parks, trampolining and gardening.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access opticians, dentists, doctors and specialist services when required. Staff plan weekly menus with the children and promote healthy eating. Therefore, children are helped to remain healthy.

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

Children’s individual safety plans are clear and detailed. They address identified and potential risks to children. One social worker commented, ‘The safety plan has been implemented well.’ While another social worker said, ‘She [the child] feels safe.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2495371 4 Children’s safety plans provide staff with the guidance they need to prevent or reduce higher-risk behaviours and situations. This keeps children safe.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. However, there are clear organisational policies and plans in place to respond should this occur. Staff provide good oversight and support to children when they are out in the community. This means staff know children’s whereabouts and ensure that children remain safe from the risks linked with going missing.

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

Incidents of concern are managed well by staff. If the need to physically intervene with a child arises, this takes place for the shortest time possible. There are clear records following an incident. Debriefs with children and staff take place following incidents of physical interventions, and management oversight is recorded in detail. However, on some occasions, the actions identified by the manager have not been followed up in key-work sessions with the child. This prevents the child being given alternative strategies to manage strong and overwhelming emotions that lead to incidents.

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

Children are kept safe by staff when they are using the internet. Children do not have internet-enabled personal devices. The manager and staff have safety plans designed around online safety because they understand the risks to children when they are online.

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

If children make allegations against staff or professionals, these allegations are taken very seriously by the manager. The manager takes the right actions and informs the relevant professional agencies immediately. Children are listened to, kept safe and supported by the manager through a very difficult time.

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good

The home has been without a registered manager since May 2020. The current acting manager has been with the organisation for several years and is currently in the process of becoming registered.

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good

The manager works closely with the responsible individual and feels well supported. The manager receives professional supervision from the responsible individual. This is supportive and has helped to get the home on an improvement trajectory. The acting manager stated, ‘I can talk with him [the responsible individual] at any time.’ This close working relationship between the manager and responsible individual has benefited the home and ensured that children continue to make progress.

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good

The manager works closely with the team leader. They are both very enthusiastic about their roles and are keen to learn and develop the team. One member of staff said, ‘I love my job and I hope to be a manager with this company in the future.’ Staff are developing well and managers are helping staff to become future leaders. Inspection report for children’s home: 2495371 5 Communication is a real strength of the staff team. This is confirmed by professionals working with the home. One social worker said, ‘Communication is very good. The manager shares information on incidents and provides a weekly report.’ This means that involved professionals can see evidence of the progress children are making. Additionally, this helps to develop future care planning for children that is ambitious and helps children to fulfil their potential.

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good

The manager has plans to develop the team. This includes further recruitment for senior staff, and introducing new ways of ensuring the voice of the child is captured and acted on. The manager is seeking to align these plans with the workforce development plan to further strengthen this area. This will enable staff to see how the changes will improve experiences for children.

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good

The leaders have not submitted an updated statement of purpose for a considerable period to Ofsted. This is a shortfall and a statutory requirement is therefore made. Inspection report for children’s home: 2495371 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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 8 July 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the behaviour management strategy should be understood and always applied by staff. This specifically relates to ensuring that key-worker sessions identified by the manager following an incident are undertaken with the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of the information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. This specifically relates to the home’s development plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 2495371 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Protea Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 317 Horn lane, London W3 OBU

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Inspector

Shaun Caplis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2495371 8 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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