Children's Home run by HAVEN CARE GROUP LIMITED in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2689015 1 Registered provider: Haven Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is one of eight homes in the organisation. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children who have had adverse childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in July 2022. The home is led by an experienced manager who is 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2689015 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is the home’s first full inspection since registration. Two children have moved into the home and one child has left the home. At the time of inspection, one child lived at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are positive about the care that they receive and they build trusting relationships with staff. One child informed the inspector that he is confident to talk to any member of staff about anything and he feels well cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to engage in leisure activities and hobbies that they enjoy. Staff actively research hobbies so that they can join in with activities. For example, a child likes fishing and so some staff have researched and learned fishing skills, which means that staff and the child now enjoy going fishing together. This proactive and enthusiastic approach promotes positive relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated to a good standard. A number of canvases are placed on the walls, and children have access to board games and books to use at their leisure. Children are included in the development and decoration of the home. This enables children to develop a sense of pride in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote the health and well-being of the children in their care. Healthcare plans identify the needs of each child and include actions from the most recent health reviews. Children attend health appointments routinely. Specialist support from mental health services is sought when the manager identifies this may be needed. For example, professionals from children and adolescent mental health services are consulted with, and sometimes attend team meetings, to advise and guide staff about how best to meet children’s specific needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational progress is mixed. One child faced a number of barriers, which resulted in the child not wanting to attend education, while another child is exceeding in and making great progress with their learning. Staff and education providers work together to ensure that children receive the right support for their needs, and raise challenges with relevant professionals when managers believe decisions made are not in the best interests of children. One headteacher said, ‘I work with a lot of children’s homes. I would have to say that they [the staff] are the best I have ever worked with.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children arrive at the home in a well-planned way. The manager carefully considers the impact of new children with the needs of children already resident. Despite this good practice and their best efforts, managers and staff learned that they could not safely manage the risk of harm to a child, which was deemed serious. As a result, the child left the home in an unplanned way that did not result in a positive ending for them. Although the decision made was in the child’s interests and in line with Inspection report for children’s home: 2689015 3 their wishes, the practical arrangements for the move were ill thought out and did not demonstrate good practice.

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

Children share their worries and concerns with members of staff due to the close and nurturing relationships that they have with them. Staff understand children’s trauma and identify triggers. For example, staff know when a child may be feeling low or angry through the music that he plays in his bedroom. Staff can offer additional support when hearing this. Consequently, children feel supported.

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

Overall, staff and managers understand and manage risk well. Risk management plans are clear and include up-to-date information that supports staff to understand presenting risks. Staff follow the guidance in children’s plans and assessments well. This helps to keep children as safe as possible.

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

Responses to children who go missing from home are robust. Missing from home protocols are in place and completed in consultation with the local policing team. Staff know and follow the procedures well and this promotes children’s safety. Children are given the opportunity to discuss with an independent person the reasons for going missing. The manager calls for professional meetings when concerns are highlighted. The team around the child approach means that any new concerns can be addressed immediately.

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

Staff educate children around risk taking and how to keep safe. Children take part in direct work through planned key-work sessions to address identified risks and raise their awareness about topics of concern. Examples include keeping safe, mental health and risks around running away. This positive work enhances children’s knowledge of risk and allows them to take the lead in their learning.

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

Staff only ever physically intervene to keep the child and others safe as a last resort. The manager reviews the staff’s handling of challenging incidents to continually improve practice. Reflective debriefs are completed with staff members involved. This helps staff to reflect on incidents to continually improve their practice. However, incident reports and physical intervention reports are not always clear. For example, terms such as ‘staff used PACE to de-escalate child’ does not give a clear account to the reader of these reports, who may not fully understand this therapeutic model of care.

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

Staff complete health and safety checks to provide children with a safe environment. However, a door leading to a fire exit was kept locked by a key, but the key was not quickly accessible to staff. Managers addressed this issue during the inspection to ensure that people would be able to evacuate the building quicky and easily in the event of a fire. Inspection report for children’s home: 2689015 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A suitable and registered manager leads the home. The manager shows high ambition for the quality of care that children receive in her care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good knowledge of children’s starting points and what the children have accomplished since living at the home. Management oversight and processes are largely effective. As a result, the registered manager has a good insight into the home’s strengths and areas of development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working at the home and are positive about the support they receive from the manager. The manager is ambitious for the children and is passionate about developing staff. One member of staff stated, ‘[the manager] provides us with an open, safe and transparent place to work.’ Another member of staff informed the inspector, ‘I am fully supported.’ Consequently, staff feel positive to arrive and care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions are regular and of good quality. These help staff to generate ideas and to reflect on their practice. New staff are well supported through a clear, effective induction process. This ensures that children receive high-quality care from skilled and well-informed staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The majority of the core staff hold the required level 3 diploma in residential child care (or equivalent). A small number of staff are currently working to achieve this, and plans are in place to ensure that they complete this within required timescales. Staff are also provided with a wide range of training that informs their practice and meets the needs of individual children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager, along with the deputy manager, have good relationships with children’s families and professionals to ensure that children’s needs are met effectively. This partnership working results in the children receiving good-quality and coordinated care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2689015 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that practical arrangements to support children moving on from the home are child-centred, even in difficult circumstances. 18 January 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s homes comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. This includes ensuring that routes to fire exits are not blocked. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. This relates to addressing generic terms used in incident and restraint reports which do not clearly explain staff’s actions. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62 paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2689015 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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Inspectors

Kev Brammer, Social Care Inspector Kirsty Truesdale, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2689015 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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