Children's home run by HAVEN CARE GROUP LIMITED

Inspection report for children's home: 2599805 1 Registered provider: Haven Care Group Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home cares for children who are currently unable to live with their family. It is owned by a private provider. Children will have emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager. The home is led by a manager who has applied to become registered with Ofsted.

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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

Date of last inspection: 21 September 2021

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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: 2599805 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2599805 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are now provided with good care. They have experienced increased stability in the home since February 2022. A new manager was appointed and, simultaneously, some children left. The remaining children have become more settled. They are happy. They like the staff and enjoy spending time with them. Children know that they can talk to staff if they have any concerns. They have lots of positive experiences and are making significant progress from their starting points. A social worker said: ‘[Name of child] has managed to stay in a placement for over a year, which is a triumph. This is down to her forming positive relationships and to staff communication with social care. There is consistent multi-professional working from all.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s wishes and feelings are sought and acted on where possible. Children are encouraged to make choices and supported to make decisions for themselves. They are included in decisions about their future and attend important meetings about them. A child said in a children’s meeting: ‘Staff have been helping a lot with how I feel.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to maintain contact with their family and friends. For example, staff will drive children to visit family even when they are some distance away.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities such as the cinema, roller skating, bowling, walks in the local area and playing football in the garden. Children also plan to raise money for charity by hosting a range of events such as a Halloween party. They are enthusiastic and looking forward to this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their education. They ensure that they have a routine and educational activities to do each day. For example, they incorporate maths into games. This helps to support children when they return to school. One child does voluntary work. This is helping her to prepare for the world of work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend healthcare appointments. When they do not attend, staff talk to them about this and find alternative ways to support the child with their appointment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a spacious, homely and clean environment. The manager has plans to freshen up the decor soon. Children like their bedrooms and personalise them to their own tastes. Children help staff keep the garden looking nice. This means children and staff take pride in the home and enjoy living there. Inspection report for children's home: 2599805 4

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

Children are much safer now than when they first moved to this home. For example, a child who was assessed as at high risk of child sexual exploitation is now assessed as low risk. Behaviours of concern are significantly reducing because of the relationships staff have with children that help children feel safe and secure.

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

Staff are trained in physical intervention, but this is rarely used. There have been no incidents of physical intervention since February 2022. When restraint has been used, it has been carried out and recorded appropriately. Staff and children have reflected on the incident afterwards. Reflection and learning from the incidents have helped to reduce further incidents.

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

Staff rarely impose behavioural sanctions on children because of poor behaviour. Staff prefer to work with the child to help them understand the impact of their behaviour on others and, additionally, to help them develop strategies to manage their behaviour better.

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

Children rarely go missing from care. If they go missing, staff follow the rigorous missing-from-care procedures to ensure the child returns safely. Children feel safe and secure in the home, and this deters them from wanting to leave.

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

Children are supported to take well-managed risks to support their growth and development. Staff have a good understanding of the risks children face and implement good plans to mitigate against any risk. Children are developing their understanding of risk and are learning how to stay safe, including online.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is close to achieving the required qualification, the level 5 Diploma in leadership. The manager is very experienced, although not previously registered. She returned to the home in January 2022 after a period of absence. She became the manager following the previous registered manager leaving.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home did experience some instability earlier in the year, following some challenges with a child who was poorly matched with the other children. It became apparent that the needs of this child could not be met. The child subsequently moved. The two children who are currently being cared for have become increasingly settled. The children have made good progress, and behaviours of concern have reduced significantly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides strong and supportive leadership. She is child-focused and this drives her passion for providing children with the help they need. Her passion resonates throughout the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is in the early stages of introducing a therapeutic way of working with the children. Not all staff have received the relevant training in this area, and it is Inspection report for children's home: 2599805 5 still a very new way of working. Therefore, the therapeutic approach is not yet fully embedded into care practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong advocate for the children. She ensures that they receive the services they require. For example, she has been relentless when challenging a placing authority when sourcing education for a child. The child now has a school placement because of the persistence of the manager. A headteacher of the virtual school said: ‘They have championed for [name of child] and understand how significant it is to gain a school place.’ During the child’s prolonged absence from education, staff have sourced appropriate education for the child, ensuring he does not get out of the routine of learning. The manager and staff have shown a commendable commitment to the education of children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has robust monitoring systems that enable her to closely monitor the conduct of the home and children’s progress. This helps her to ensure that she has a strong development plan to ensure that the home continues to improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff and the manager work closely with external professionals and family members, where appropriate. External professionals are positive about the care children receive and the communication from staff. In particular, the persistence of staff and the manager to obtain education for a child has been highly praised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been a number of changes to the staff team, but the team is now settled. Staff are committed and enthusiastic about providing good care for children. They provide a caring and consistent approach. They have good training opportunities which ensure that they have the skills and knowledge they need to support the children. Staff know the children well and build warm and nurturing relationships with them.

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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: 2599805 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Haven Care Group Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Joanne Vyas, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2599805 7 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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