Children's home run by Care Perspectives Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2656194 1 Registered provider: Care Perspectives Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in February 2022. It provides care for up to five children who have learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and complex needs. The home is privately owned and forms part of a small social care organisation which offers therapeutic support.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection since it registered.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2656194 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected. Inspection report for children’s home: 2656194 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home was registered, three children have moved into the home. These moves were carefully planned and well managed. Staff advocate for children and ensure that they are provided with important information. In addition, leaders complete home visits and take the time to build relationships with children before they move into the home. This approach provided reassurance to children and helped them to settle quickly into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team is experienced, stable and nurturing in its approach. This helps children to develop positive relationships with the staff who they trust. The inspector observed warm and good-humoured interactions between the staff and the children. These relationships provide children with the stability and security they need to make progress in important areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are skilled and have a clear understanding of children’s complex needs. They recognise children’s starting points and work with them to reach their goals and to celebrate their achievements. For example, staff have helped one child to learn to ride a bike since moving into the home. This individualised support helps children to feel valued and that they belong in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff meet children’s health needs exceptionally well. They encourage healthy diets and support children to attend both routine and specialist health appointments. For one child, this support has meant that they have lost a significant amount of weight and become healthier since living in the home. Furthermore, the child’s personal hygiene has improved, and they have become more engaged in social activities. As a result, the child’s well-being has significantly improved and they are happier.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are fully engaged in full-time education. Excellent communication between staff and education professionals contributes to the good progress that children make. For one child, the persistence of staff and leaders has meant that they have become re-engaged with their education, having not attended school for three years prior to moving into the home. Furthermore, staff celebrate children’s achievements which enhances their self-esteem and means they grow in confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and staff use creative ways to capture and celebrate children’s progress. For example, individual monthly newsletters are created for each child to celebrate their achievements. These newsletters are then transformed into memory books and presented to children when they leave the home. This approach helps to create lifelong memories for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the home is maintained to a good standard. Children’s bedrooms are individualised and furnished in line with children’s personal interests. In addition, children contribute to the development of the home’s environment, and the garden area is beautifully managed to encourage children to participate in activities in the Inspection report for children’s home: 2656194 4 home. In contrast, there were fire signs on display in the home and one door was locked which prevented children from having access to the home’s utility and laundry room. This has the potential to devalue the home’s environment and the overall ethos of the home. However, leaders took action to address these areas during the inspection.

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

Leaders respond efficiently and effectively when children make allegations against staff. They ensure that actions are taken to protect the child in line with the home’s policies and procedures. The management team ensures that follow-up actions are completed and that advice from external professionals is sought to aid further learning and development. These actions reassure children and promote their safety and well-being.

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

Since the home was registered, there have been no incidents when children have gone missing from the home. However, children’s plans are regularly updated and all the children’s missing-from-home protocols have been reviewed in partnership with the police. This approach helps to demonstrate to children that staff care about their welfare.

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

Staff use proactive strategies to reward and praise children. For example, staff have put in place individual systems to reward children and recognise their achievements. Children thrive on the high levels of praise that staff provide and record. The use of consequences is low, and these are used restoratively to help children learn from their experiences. This supportive approach also means that there have been no incidents with children requiring the use of physical restraint since the home was registered. One professional stated, ‘The staff use therapeutic parenting approaches, and it is evidently a very warm and nurturing home. [The child] benefits from the clear routines and boundaries and, as such, has demonstrated minimal negative behaviour.’

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

Children’s risk assessments are well recorded, regularly reviewed and updated. They have clear strategies for staff to follow and implement to keep children safe. Furthermore, risk assessments are reviewed in consultation with external professionals and the home’s clinical team. As a result, staff know what to do to keep children safe. However, on one occasion, the management team failed to fully consider the risks the environment could potentially pose to one child who had made threats to take their own life. The registered manager acknowledged this oversight and took immediate action during the inspection to put in place measures to improve the child’s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a suitably experienced, confident practitioner. She is ably supported and backed up by the ambitious and child-focused home’s manager. Both leaders are held in high regard by the children, staff, parents and external professionals. One parent described the home as ‘absolutely amazing’ and that the Inspection report for children’s home: 2656194 5 support that staff and leaders have provided has been their ‘lifeline’. The parent added that leaders and staff ‘are wonderful people’ and the progress that their child had made is ‘astounding’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team is organised and knowledgeable about the complex needs of the children. Managers advocate well for the children and work effectively with professionals. Furthermore, they are tenacious and are not afraid to challenge or raise concerns to ensure that children’s needs are met. This improves the quality of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about working in the home and feel supported. The supervision and appraisal systems used are reflective and give staff feedback on their performance. Staff are encouraged to develop and to have ambition to progress into more senior roles. In addition, leaders use an ‘employee of the month’ system to reward staff and keep them motivated. These supportive systems mean that staff feel valued and happy, which contributes to the good care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with a wide range of training, which is specific and relevant to the children’s needs. Furthermore, upskilling and additional workshops are delivered in team meetings. This means that children are supported by staff who are equipped with the skills and experience they need to perform well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders use monitoring systems which are detailed and effective. They understand the home’s strengths and areas for development and generate actions to develop the quality of care for children. The home’s formal ‘quality of care review’ assesses the home well and captures the views, wishes and feelings of children to inform their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

However, external monitoring systems used do not always provide effective oversight of the home. For example, some reports written by the home’s independent person do not always provide recommendations for improvement. In addition, the reports have not consistently been sent to Ofsted in a timely manner. This reduces the oversight of Ofsted and has the potential to impact on the quality of care. Leaders have recognised this and appointed a new independent visitor to carry out visits to the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2656194 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. In particular, staff and the manager must implement safeguarding strategies and take immediate action to reduce the risk to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. (‘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: 2656194 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care Perspectives Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Care Perspectives Limited, 36 Frederick Street, Loughborough LE11 3BJ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rodrigo Ferreira

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Inspector

Dean Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2656194 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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