Children's Home run by HAVEN CARE GROUP LIMITED in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1251947 1 Registered provider: Haven Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to four children who have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2021.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1251947 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/10/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 12/09/2019 Full Good 04/09/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1251947 3

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improvement to be good

The four children who live in the home have mixed views about living there. Some of them say that they do not want to live there as they would prefer to live with their families. In contrast, another child said that they feel happy and safe living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Some children are able to identify staff whom they feel they can trust. They say that they would talk to some staff, but not others, if they had any worries or concerns. All children have access to an advocate. However, not all children know how to make a complaint. As a result, children receive limited opportunities to have their voices heard.

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improvement to be good

The home does not provide children with a warm and welcoming environment. Those children who moved into the home four months ago have not been able to personalise their bedrooms. One child’s request to make their bedroom more homely remains unanswered. During the inspection, the registered manager took action for repairs to be undertaken.

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improvement to be good

Some children are not making progress with their education. Since the last inspection, any initial progress they had made has regressed. Staff have not been consistent in providing them with boundaries, routine and structure. It is unclear what action staff take to encourage children to attend school. Communication between the registered manager and education professionals requires improvement. Professionals are not always informed of whether children are attending school or not. In addition, children do not always attend school with the correct equipment. As a result, some children are not achieving their potential.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to be healthy and active by engaging in a variety of activities. The company provides children with membership of a local sports club. Children regularly attend the gym and go swimming. This helps children to develop healthy physical and mental well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff make efforts to ensure that children are able to spend time with their family and friends. Friends visit children in their home and vice versa. This is thoroughly risk-assessed to ensure that children are safe. Children value these opportunities. They help them to develop their identity and a positive sense of self-worth.

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improvement to be good

Staff have supported one child to develop their sense of gender identity. This support has been crucial given the complexity of this child’s needs. This child can be reluctant to engage with unknown professionals. Staff have used their relationship with this child to help them engage with professionals and receive the help they need. Inspection report for children’s home: 1251947 4

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improvement to be good

Overall, staff understand their roles and responsibilities when keeping children safe. However, on one occasion, a child disclosed concerning information about their mental health. This indicated that they were at risk of harm. The registered manager and staff were not curious enough about this. They did not link the information to an incident which had occurred a few days before. During this incident, the child had potentially attempted to self-harm. The manager did not ensure that all staff and senior managers were aware of this information. Neither did they promptly share this information with external professionals. Measures were in place to ensure the child was safe. However, poor communication could have hindered the assessment of their mental health needs.

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improvement to be good

Children have access to the internet via their mobile phones and games consoles. Children have thorough internet safety contracts which staff design with children. This includes the frequency of checks staff should undertake when children are online. However, these checks are not evident in the home’s recording systems. In addition, staff do not educate children well about the risks when they are online. This could place children at risk of exploitation.

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improvement to be good

Recording practice in the home is inconsistent. Risk assessments outline the measures in place to keep children safe. However, some of this information does not correlate with children’s safety plans, such as the frequency of when staff should check on children if they are in their bedrooms. Staff do not always record these checks clearly or consistently. Inconsistencies in staff practice may compromise children’s safety, in addition to compromising the manager’s oversight of safeguarding practice in the home.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing, the registered manager and staff are proactive. Children experience a thorough and coordinated response from staff. There are clear individual plans in place which outline the steps staff should take. Staff look for children when they are missing and commit to ensuring their safety. As a result, staff locate children quickly and support them to return home.

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improvement to be good

Children have key workers who complete direct work with them. All children say that they have positive relationships with their key worker. This work focuses on subjects pertinent to children’s needs, for example children’s mental health and emotional well-being. As a result, children learn how to keep themselves safe and healthy.

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good

The home has a suitably experienced and qualified registered manager. The manager is well regarded by children and staff. All children identify the manager as someone they can talk to if they have any worries or concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: 1251947 5 The registered manager has begun to make improvements to the home’s recording systems. However, they are not yet embedded. Staff follow recording guidance, which acts as a prompt. This encourages them to reflect on the impact of their interactions with children, in particular whether their approach is in line with the home’s model of care. However, staff do not follow this guidance consistently. As a result, recording does not always reflect children’s experiences.

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good

Staff feel supported and valued. They know children well and speak with pride about their achievements. Staff receive regular supervision and training pertinent to children’s needs. This encourages them to reflect on their practice and identify areas of development. This helps to improve the quality of care children receive.

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good

The manager’s monitoring and review systems are not effective. Some staff do not complete daily health and safety checks properly. Neither do they always follow children’s routines. The manager’s monitoring tools have not identified these shortfalls. This limits the manager’s ability to evaluate the quality of care that children receive.

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good

The registered manager does not always escalate concerns with external professionals. Some children receive external support in relation to substance use. However, this has been ineffective as some children are still smoking cannabis. The registered manager implemented education plans for children due to poor attendance, yet this too has been ineffective. The registered manager has not sufficiently escalated these concerns with external professionals. As a result, some children are not making progress.

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good

The independent visitor does not always consult with children, staff and professionals. This hinders the external scrutiny of the home and does not help the provider to improve. Also, the regulator does not receive their reports on time. Inspection report for children’s home: 1251947 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

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

provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding;

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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)(b)(vii)(viii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that children are provided with a warm, welcoming and homely environment. They should also ensure that children are able to personalise their bedrooms.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 17 August 2022

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. 17 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1251947 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(x)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staff supporting children’s education to ensure that they achieve their potential and do not fall behind their peers.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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

that staff— 17 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1251947 8 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that children’s risk assessments accurately outline the steps staff should take to keep children safe, as well as ensuring that any relevant information about a child’s safety is shared effectively with the staff team, including senior management.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that children’s mobile phone and online use is monitored consistently. They should also ensure that any work undertaken with children about how to keep safe online remains effective.

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Requirement Due date

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

promotes their welfare. 17 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1251947 9 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home.

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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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should implement systems which review and evaluate the quality of care children receive and the impact this has on their progress and experiences. The registered person should take effective action to address any shortfalls in staff practice. This includes the quality of staff recording.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must use reasonable endeavours to ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions.

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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

HMCI; 17 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1251947 10 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 the responsible individual (if one is nominated). (Regulation 44 (1) (4)(a)(b) (5) (7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that the independent person appointed to carry out visits to the home does so in a way which enables them to consult with children and professionals. This includes ascertaining children’s wishes and feelings with regard to the quality of care they receive. They must also ensure that their reports are submitted in a timely manner.

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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: 1251947 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Haven Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 6, Barberry Court, Parkway, Centrum One Hundred, Burton-on-Trent DE14 2UE

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Inspector

Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1251947 12 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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