Children's home run by Semi-independent House Limited in Peterborough

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 1 SC452107

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Registered provider: Semi-Independent House Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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.’ Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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The care of children

At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home. Children are settled and happy. Children say that they ‘love their home’ and ‘really like the staff.’

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The care of children

The provider has made some improvements to the internal decor at the home. The communal spaces are tastefully decorated and provide a comfortable and tidy living area for children. However, there is still some evidence of tired paintwork. A large notice board in the hallway and a lack of pictures on the walls makes the home feel institutional.

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The care of children

Staff encourage children to keep their bedrooms tidy. Bedrooms are personalised and generally tidy. However, one child’s bedroom was very untidy, with clothes scattered over the floor and dirty plates piled up.

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The care of children

Two of the three children are attending education. Children who have been out of education for a while are now thriving, not only educationally, but socially and emotionally. Children are making friends and beginning to form positive attachments with their peers.

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The care of children

One child is keen to attend school. However, a school has not been identified at present. The manager is a good advocate on the child’s behalf and has liaised with the placing authority to help to find a suitable school. This child has three hours of home tutoring per day. Currently, there is a lack of structure to the rest of the day, which does not help to broaden the child’s education and motivate his interest. There is no designated study space for children who are home tutored.

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The care of children

Each child is encouraged to work towards an independence plan that is tailored to their strengths and abilities, in order to prepare them for adulthood. Children are encouraged to do activities; one child enjoys the gym and a local boxing club. One child has made significant progress and is now able to go to the shops independently. Staff encourage children to be independent and gain confidence in areas such as paying for their shopping or ordering from menus.

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The care of children

Door locks were observed on internal doors to the living room and kitchen. The manager said that the doors are locked at night. This is a restriction of children’s liberty, with no rationale for doing so. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 3

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The safety of children

Since the last inspection, matching risk assessments have improved. The manager has responded to the requirement from the last inspection and amended the paperwork to reflect the changes. In addition, the manager provides an evaluation of concerns in the document. However, the summary does not fully evaluate all the highlighted risk areas and how the risks may affect each child.

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The safety of children

Children who were previously known to go missing from the home are now enjoying time at the home. Family time is strengthened and children enjoy quality time with their families. One child said that since living at the home he is spending more time with his family, and this has contributed to him feeling happier and settled.

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The safety of children

There have been no recent serious safeguarding incidents. No children have been away from the home without authorisation and there have been no incidents requiring physical restraint. Any challenges are managed effectively by staff. Staff are aware of each individual child’s vulnerabilities.

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The safety of children

For one child, moving to the home has had a significant positive impact. The risks to this child have significantly reduced. There is a multi-agency safety plan around the child’s free time in the community. This is reviewed regularly. The child is happy with the plan and chooses to stay in the local area and adheres to the curfew.

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The safety of children

Staff talk to children about online safety. Mobile phones are handed in to staff for regular checks. Children are closely monitored on gaming consoles to ensure that they are safe, but can still enjoy playing with their peers.

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The safety of children

Conversations are recorded. However, there are no structured key-work sessions to help children to gain a wider understanding of risks and concerns, such as county lines and criminal exploitation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered manager is new to his role. He has worked for the organisation for several years. The manager is calm and measured in his approach. Mutual respect between the manager and children is evident. The manager has a good understanding of the children and is keen to continue to learn and improve his practice to help children achieve positive outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff morale is high, and staff enjoy coming to work. A staff member spoke highly of the management support and quality of supervision. The manager is keen to recognise talent within the team. Some staff have now progressed to senior roles at the home. Although staff promotion has left two staff vacancies, staff and the manager take on extra shifts to ensure continuity of care to children. The manager is focused on reducing the use of bank or agency staff to care for children. There is no direct negative impact on children. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 4 External monitoring of the home is provided by an independent person. The reports are not submitted to Ofsted promptly. The internal monitoring of the home does not include evaluation of lessons learned from previous placement breakdowns during the reporting period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Overall, the provider has taken the necessary steps to address the shortfalls from the last inspection. Children are settled and like their home. The internal space has been redesigned and decorated.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/07/2021 Full Good 22/01/2020 Full Good 04/06/2018 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. In particular, ensure that children have clean and tidy bedrooms and the notice board is removed to reduce the institutional look of the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person must ensure that the necessary support is given to children to enable them to complete their education or training. Support may include, for example, putting in place practical arrangements such as a quiet study area, or learning opportunities to help children widen their education and learning opportunities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.13)  The registered person should ensure that internal door locks are removed so that children can move freely within the home. Restrictions such as these, and all

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Recommendations

other restrictions of liberty of movement, should be recorded as restraint. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the standards,’ page 47, paragraph 9.42)  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. Regulation 44 reports should be submitted to Ofsted in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the standards,’ page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, ensure that the impact risk assessment assesses all risk factors. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Semi-Independent House Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 51 Ploverly, Peterborough PE4 6HZ

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Hakeem Cummings-Quarry

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Inspector

Kamal Bhamra, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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