Children's home run by Holistic Care Service Nationwide Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2632889 1 Registered provider: Holistic Care Service Nationwide Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to two children. The home’s statement of purpose states that it cares for children who may have experienced previous abuse and who may have emotional and behavioural 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: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2632889 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2632889 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home was registered in June 2022, two children have moved into the home and one of these children has left.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before children move into the home, there is suitable planning with other professionals to enable staff to anticipate and meet children’s needs. This includes spending time with children in their existing placements and ensuring that they are prepared for their move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers maintained appropriate contact with a child once they had left the home. This provided invaluable emotional support to the child and was highlighted in one professional’s feedback regarding the child’s move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child currently living in the home feels that staff care about her, and this enables her to make progress in her life. Through the continuous attentive support that staff offer, she is enabled to begin to develop a sense of her future. A professional from child and adolescent mental health services said, ‘She has hope now and that is what comes across.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is good planning by staff that ensures the child attends all health appointments. She is also supported to meet and speak with the other professionals involved in her care. Managers and staff work well with other agencies to ensure that communication is strong and the child’s needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is encouraged by staff to take steps towards developing the life skills she will need later in life. However, there are missed opportunities to clearly plan, evaluate and review this work, given the future complexities of care planning.

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

Incidents of children going missing from home are infrequent. When they do occur, staff are proactive in securing the child’s safe return. Staff are clear in their understanding of actions they need to take and their role in safeguarding children.

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

The child is understood well by the staff, and this supports their insight into the child’s vulnerabilities.

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

The overall care and attention given to the child enable her to develop emotional resilience. As a result, since being admitted to the home, her incidents of going missing from home and of self-harm have significantly reduced.

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

Managers take a learning approach to better management of incidents and take steps to avoid reoccurrence. This has involved revisiting training and carrying out staff debriefs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2632889 4 There have not been any complaints or allegations made against staff by children since the home was registered. Complaints or allegations made by others have been dealt with in a timely way by managers and have included appropriate local authority oversight.

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

Although staff work hard to ensure that the child is given boundaries and routines, not all staff were clear about limitations at night regarding use of the home’s phone or when the child is allowed free time. Advice to staff is not clearly documented in the child’s plan and, on occasion, has led to inconsistency in staff responses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff place the well-being of children and working together with other agencies at the centre of the home’s activities. Staff work collaboratively with other professionals to ensure that the child’s care and plans remain relevant to her needs. One external professional said, ‘The staff go above and beyond. They have good values.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since registration, the manager has worked hard to maintain a core group of staff. However, due to staff changes, the home only has three members of staff, including the manager, who have achieved the required qualifications. This places additional responsibilities on the manager to oversee staff practice and decision-making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager takes a hands-on approach to his role and fully supports staff in their practice. This support is both formal, through team meetings and supervision, and informal, through his presence in the home. However, supervision is functional in nature and there are missed opportunities for staff to fully reflect on the care offered to the child and the progress that she makes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff ensure that the child lives in a warm and homely environment. The child is encouraged to personalise her room, make decisions about the running of the home and engage in practical tasks, such as helping staff with food shopping.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External monitoring of the home is strong, and managers act on the advice and areas for improvement identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recruitment of staff follows appropriate safe-recruitment procedures. The manager ensures that agency staff have the required checks in place and additionally insists on these staff having completed annual safeguarding training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The child and staff have access to therapeutic intervention and advice from the home’s therapy service. However, this input lacks measurable structure and outcomes. The purpose of this support is not documented, evaluated or reviewed, which limits managerial oversight of its effectiveness. Managers are aware of this shortfall and plan to address this with the provider. Inspection report for children’s home: 2632889 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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 Promotes their welfare.

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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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 31 January 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff receive supervision that allows them to reflect on their practice and the progress that children make. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that therapeutic input and consultation for children and staff are clearly recorded and evaluated. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)  The registered person should ensure that support offered to children to increase their skills relating to independence is clearly recorded and evaluated. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9)  The registered person should ensure that expectations relating to children’s routines and access to the home’s internet and phone are clearly documented and

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Recommendations

that staff understand these expectations. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20) Inspection report for children’s home: 2632889 6

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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: 2632889 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Holistic Care Service Nationwide Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4 Rose Hill, Southport PR9 0SN

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Inspector

Pauline Yates, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2632889 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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