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

Inspection report for children's home: 1249196 1 Registered provider: Headway Adolescent Resources ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private organisation and provides care for up to four children, aged up to 18 years, with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home can also provide emergency care.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home. One child had recently left and another child had moved in shortly before the inspection. The two other children have lived in the home for six months and 18 months.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager has been in post since 1 January 2022 and has applied to register with Ofsted.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1249196 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/07/2021 Full Good 28/05/2019 Full Good 04/02/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/10/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1249196 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are thoughtfully welcomed into this home. Leaders and managers ensure that children have the opportunity to visit before they move in. They prepare children’s rooms for their arrival, including providing a gift box with personalised essentials.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved out to another home in the same organisation. This has meant that staff have been able to move with the child to their new home. The child has been able to keep in touch with friends from this home, and other staff members have also visited.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s interests and hobbies are encouraged and supported by staff. Children routinely attend clubs in the local community, which extends their social circle. Children have had their requests met for various garden items, such as football goalposts and a large paddling pool.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have positive working relationships with family members and others who are important to the child. Parents told the inspector that they have good communication with the home and feel involved and informed about their child’s life.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has a poor sleep pattern and two of the children have unhealthy habits around food and will often skip meals. Efforts are being made to address these concerns but practices are not yet embedded to ensure that children consistently receive a balanced diet and routine.

p.3

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

The manager and staff work well with external professionals to promote children’s safety. One social worker confirmed to the inspector that the manager has a positive approach to risk, so that children can safely develop their independence and have experiences in line with their peers. For example, one child has a keen interest in horses and is due to start horse riding lessons.

p.3

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

When incidents have occurred, the manager and staff have responded quickly to ensure children’s safety. The manager acted promptly on a recent concern of exploitation, which has reduced the risk to the child. The manager is reflective in their approach and has used the resources available to them to learn lessons and apply these moving forward.

p.3

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

Following an allegation made by a child, the appropriate referrals were made and an internal investigation was completed in a timely manner. However, the investigation and the decisions reached were not well recorded. Consequently, there are some Inspection report for children's home: 1249196 4 gaps in the information around the conclusions drawn in the investigation and how these were managed.

p.3

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

The manager is a strong advocate for children’s education and has worked well alongside other professionals to challenge children’s education timetables and support their learning in the home.

p.4

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

The staff rarely use restraint techniques as a way of managing children’s behaviour. The last incident of restraint was 11 months ago. However, this did include a ground hold. The current manager is clear that any kind of restraint should be used as a last resort, and this is supported by leaders and managers.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s current manager has been in post since January 2022. Staff told the inspector that they enjoy working under the manager and value the ideas he has brought into the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is keen to embed a safeguarding culture within the home and has developed creative ways to keep relevant safeguarding matters at the forefront of the team’s practice. The manager has personalised safeguarding bulletins to the home to ensure the information is relevant. The bulletins often include links to articles and documentaries to make the information interesting and accessible for all learning styles.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has sometimes had to employ agency staff to work in the home. Where this has been unavoidable the manager has ensured that the same agency workers are used to ensure consistency for the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager does not yet record staff debriefs or professional challenge effectively following an incident. Records include a brief summary and do not always state whether members of staff have been debriefed together or separately and the response of each person.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are thorough in their safer recruitment practices. Considerable efforts have been made to obtain information around gaps in employment and overseas references. Inspection report for children's home: 1249196 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

p.5

Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

p.5

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")—

p.5

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(b)(i)(ii))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff receive a thorough debrief following an incident and that this is recorded effectively, showing professional challenge and curiosity where appropriate. 30 September

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

p.5

Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

p.5

Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 30 September Inspection report for children's home: 1249196 6 In particular, ensure that incidents are recorded clearly and in detail, to understand how events unfolded and the rationale for the decisions made.

p.5

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that, in line with their individual health plans and the ethos of the home, children are offered advice, support and guidance on health and well-being. Staff should have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to help children understand, and where necessary work to change, negative behaviours in key areas of health and well-being such as a healthy diet and sleep cycle. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18)

p.6

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: 1249196 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Headway Adolescent Resources Ltd

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Headway Adolescent Resources Limited, Malvern View, Saxon Business Park, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove B60 4AD

p.7

Inspector

Katie Ratcliffe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1249196 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8