Children's Home run by Kids Inc Residential Services Limited in Manchester

Inspection report for children’s home: 2651800 1 Registered provider: Kids Inc Residential Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private company. It provides care for up to three children. The home specialises in caring for children with social and emotional difficulties.

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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: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2651800 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2651800 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children living in the home have made clear and measurable progress from their initial starting points. Children have made progress in education, health and independence. These are areas that some children had struggled to progress in in previous placements. One social worker said, ‘They have been able to achieve things that no other placement has been able to do for [name of child]. I appreciate the creative ways that they have managed to engage him.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from living in a large, modern and well-presented home. Recent upgrades to the property have been completed in several areas. The home now boasts a new kitchen where children are keen to cook together with staff. Children’s bedrooms are well proportioned and personalised to reflect their interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Impact risk assessments carefully consider the needs, risks and circumstances of each child prior to their arrival at the home. Clear transition planning has enabled children to settle quickly when moving to the home. One child has been able to move into the home with his pets. This has helped the child to maintain significant relationships and an important level of consistency in his life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to engage in a range of activities. One child has been able to access a local football team and improve their abilities. This has led to a trial with a professional football club.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children have access to education. Where children are not accessing a formal education provision, one-to-one tutoring in the home has been arranged. This has enabled one child to re-engage with education after a significant period of time away from education. However, the child would benefit from better structure to his days. A recommendation has been made to address this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Where children have been accommodated due to being unaccompanied asylum- seeking children, staff have gone above and beyond. Staff have successfully made contact with one child’s family abroad. This has enabled the child to speak with their parents for the first time in several months. Staff sought out and commissioned a cook to make authentic food from the child’s country of origin. This has helped the child feel supported and cared for.

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

There are measurable reductions for children who have previously displayed high- risk behaviours. Children are well supported by staff to reduce their risks and engage in positive activities. Staff celebrate children’s achievements with them to reinforce the importance and benefits of positive behaviours. Inspection report for children’s home: 2651800 4 Missing-from-home episodes are minimal. When children have gone missing from home, the response from staff has been excellent. Staff follow clear missing-from- home protocols which detail locations where children may go when they are missing.

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

Staff are appropriately trained in the use of physical intervention. On the one occasion that a child has been physically restrained, this was done proportionately. However, the description of the physical intervention used does not clearly detail how the child was held by staff. A recommendation has been made to address this.

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

Children are supported to develop their independence skills in a safe way. One child has been supported by staff to travel independently on public transport, and is now able to travel independently to and from their time with family.

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

One child has displayed risks in relation to fire-setting. Staff have responded with a robust package of support to try to reduce these risks and to further educate the child. This has involved detailed key-work sessions from staff, with additional work being undertaken by the police and the local fire service.

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

Staff are passionate about building positive relationships with children. Social workers spoke positively about how positive relationships between staff help prevent incidents from escalating. One social worker said, ‘The home clearly have been able to demonstrate effectiveness in relationship-building and risk- management.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an appropriately experienced manager who is passionate about her role and achieving the best outcomes for children in her care. The manager is highly thought of by her staff team. One staff member said, ‘The manager is excellent; she is really supportive, and I cannot speak more highly of her.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. In recent months, she has been on shift due to staff vacancies. The manager and responsible individual have now addressed this with the recruitment of new staff members.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive good-quality supervision. Supervision sessions undertaken by the registered manager are detailed, of good quality and reflective. However, some supervisions undertaken by senior staff members are short and do not provide enough time for these sessions to be purposeful. A requirement is made to ensure that staff receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager knows all the children well and has well-established relationships with them. One social worker said, ‘Leadership and management within the home is very effective. The home manager is extremely child-focused Inspection report for children’s home: 2651800 5 and gets involved in the day-to-day care of the children; this is something that is appreciated by [name of child].’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is supported by the independent visitor’s monthly attendance at the home. One visit identified that Ofsted should have been notified of an incident as required by regulation. Ofsted was subsequently notified but some time had passed since the incident occurred. A requirement has been made to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has well-established relationships with the local authorities. There is clear and effective communication from the home, which ensures that local authorities are kept up to date. One social worker said, ‘Management keep me well informed and support me in my role as the allocated social worker to better understand the needs of [name of child] by the work they do.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2651800 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, the 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 registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 3 November 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 3 November 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are kept and enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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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: 2651800 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kids Inc Residential Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 72 Oakdale Drive, Heald Green, Cheadle SK8 3SW

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Inspector

Rob Neild, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2651800 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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