Children's Home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children's home: 1275228 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private company that is owned and operated by a large national charity. It is registered to provide care for up to two children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by an experienced registered manager.

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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

Date of last inspection: 18 January 2022

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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: 1275228 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/01/2022 Full Good 08/10/2019 Full Outstanding 11/02/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1275228 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress. There are strong relationships between staff and children. Staff talk highly of the children, and with affection. Children say that they like the staff. As a result of these positive relationships, children are happy living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school full time. This is encouraged and supported by the staff. Staff use activities and play to make learning fun. This supports the good progress children are making in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s healthcare needs are met. They access dentists, opticians and doctors, as appropriate. One child has specialist appointments for a health condition. Ways of working with the child have been changed to meet their individual needs. Staff encourage healthy eating and activities involving exercise. Therefore, children are helped to remain healthy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The physical environment is homely. It is well maintained. Children have chosen how their bedrooms look. Communal spaces display pictures and photos of children enjoying activities. This adds to the children feeling cared for in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans are clear and help staff know how to support children in all areas of their lives. Children’s wishes and feelings are included. Group and individual meetings are held, with children’s views recorded in a child-friendly format. This improves the involvement of children in their plans.

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

Individual assessments of children’s risks are good. Behaviour risk-management plans are clear and child-focused. This ensures staff are guided in ways to reduce risky behaviours. A version of these plans in a child-friendly format has been designed.

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

Incidents are managed well by the staff. Creative ways of helping children have been introduced. This has included the use of an ‘I am feeling’ board and the creation of a ‘calm castle’ in one child’s bedroom. This helps children deal with problems in different ways, and physical intervention is rarely required. One social worker said, ‘It’s really positive. I am really happy for [name of the child] that she is in this placement.’

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

Children do not go missing from the home. Clear plans and policies are in place should this occur. Children are supported by staff when in the community. This ensures that children remain safe from any risks linked with going missing. Inspection report for children's home: 1275228 4 There is clear whistle-blowing guidance for staff. However, on one occasion, concerns were not responded to within an appropriate timescale. A thorough investigation has since been carried out by senior managers. The subsequent report identifies shortfalls and clearly outlines the actions to address these. However, the delay left children potentially at risk.

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good

There is currently instability in the staff team. Experienced staff have left the company. The remaining staff are working extra hours to ensure adequate staffing levels. They are supported by agency staff. The manager is also covering gaps in the rota. This takes him away from his managerial tasks. This has the potential to undermine the good progress made by children.

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good

The registered manager does not use management quality assurance and monitoring processes. A daily checklist identifies areas for oversight, but there is no evidence of this being used. As a result, the manager is unable to identify the areas that need improvement.

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good

Despite the staffing difficulties, supervisions have taken place regularly. However, the standard of these is variable. This has limited the staff’s ability to reflect on their practice with a manager and develop.

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good

The statement of purpose was recently updated. The information provided regarding staffing does not reflect the current situation. Therefore, those who use this document are not informed of the difficulties the home is experiencing in this area.

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good

The manager has not had the required support from the responsible individual. Some supervisions were not completed in person as requested by the manager. This has improved recently with other senior managers giving support. Inspection report for children's home: 1275228 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to whistle-blowing concerns not being responded to within an appropriate timescale, which left children at potential risk. 14 October 2022

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to the current staffing situation and ensuring the staffing levels are adequate at all times, including while processes are undertaken and appointed staff join the home. 14 October 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 1275228 6 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring robust quality assurance and monitoring systems are in place, used regularly and recorded. 14 October 2022

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

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))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to any revised statement of purpose being submitted to HMCI within 28 days. 14 October 2022

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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: 1275228 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lumonics House, Valiant Office Suites, Valley Drive, Swift Valley Industrial Estate, Rugby CV21 1TQ

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Aaron Charles-Chambers

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Inspector

Shaun Caplis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1275228 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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