Children's Home run by Emerge Care and Therapeutic Solutions Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2678053 1 Registered provider: Emerge Care and Therapeutic Solutions Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who have experienced social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a registered manager in post who is suitably qualified and experienced.

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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: 2678053 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2678053 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is a new children’s home, registered by Ofsted in May 2022. There are now four children living at the home. Children’s moves into the home have been well considered and planned. No children have moved out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children at the home are well matched for living together. When there are minor tensions between children, staff intervene to manage these. As a result, harmony is easily restored. Children make friendships in the home and enjoy sharing in activities with others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a spacious environment that offers shared areas for children to spend time together. There are plenty of spaces for individual activities and quieter times. Children’s bedrooms reflect their hobbies and interests. One child has pet fish, that he takes great pride in caring for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are very nurturing in their approach to caring for children. Children have good relationships with staff. Children had the opportunity to choose their key workers. As a result, children have trusted and secure relationships with key workers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have targets in line with their individual needs, for example, around improving hygiene or doing their laundry. Incentives are in place to encourage children to reach targets. Children are making progress from their starting points. They are developing skills in preparation for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are very proactive in working in partnership with children’s education providers. Children need bespoke approaches to education, due to their needs and experiences. The staff put in any measures necessary to support children to sustain education placements. For example, one child struggles to maintain his attention span for the whole day, so staff take him out of school for lunch every day. This enables him to refocus and achieve attendance for the full day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

An integral element of the care provided at the home is involvement by the clinical specialist. All children have had a 12-week clinical assessment. As a result, children’s needs are understood by the staff. The clinical specialist is very complimentary about the staff team. She notes that they are very reflective and open to learning and using new strategies to support children. Children are provided with therapy when recommended in their individual clinical assessments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use creative approaches to consult with children and listen to their views. However, staff responses to their views are not always well documented. This reduces children’s understanding of staff responses and decisions. Inspection report for children’s home: 2678053 4

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

Staff know and understand risks to children. Plans clearly set out actions staff must take to manage children’s risks. Plans are reviewed and revised to ensure that actions are keeping children safe. Staff seek out information to assess risks to children when they make new friendships and relationships outside the home.

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

Despite staff being proactive in trying to reduce the risk of children going missing, one child does go missing from the home. Staff take all reasonable steps to try to locate the child when she is missing and maintain contact with her. The manager and staff are working in partnership with other professionals to respond to these incidents of her going missing. Staff are supporting the child to increase her understanding of risks outside the home.

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

The staff are well organised, to ensure appropriate levels of supervision are in place for children across the home. Staff are always available and present for children. They talk often with children about risks, for example the risks of smoking to physical health. As a result, children are beginning to be receptive to specialist external support.

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

Staff provide children with clear boundaries and guidance. For example, children are aware of their curfew times and rules around entering other children’s bedrooms. Staff can deactivate children’s internet access when appropriate and needed. Children understand this is a consequence used when routines are not followed, for example, not attending school. As a result, children understand what is expected of them.

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

There have been some behavioural incidents when staff have needed to physically intervene for one child. At these times, the least restrictive measures are used. Records are completed in full. These are reviewed by the manager, enabling identification of learning from incidents. Staff are trained and confident in de- escalation techniques. They say humour can often defuse situations. This reduces the need for physical intervention.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable and experienced staff team at the home. The permanent team provides sufficient staffing levels to care safely for the children. There has been no need to use agency staff since the home opened. The team is led by a competent and committed manager. Staff report feeling very supported in their roles by the manager and wider organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff are subject to employment checks before they start working in the home. This ensures that staff are suitable to work with children. The manager and staff team understand the ethos and models of care outlined in the statement of purpose. Staff demonstrate this in the care of the children, through their nurturing approach. Inspection report for children’s home: 2678053 5 The manager is aspirational for children’s progress and this motivates the staff team in their care of children. Staff delight in highlighting and celebrating children’s progress and achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff receive supervision and have had probation reviews with the manager. This enables reflection on practice to ensure competency and informs development plans for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

As a new home, the manager has prioritised establishing a strong staff team and supporting children’s moves into the home to be a success. The manager has clear plans in place for development at the home. One key area of development identified by the manager is recording and reporting, with a staff workshop planned. There are some inconsistencies in how documents are recorded and stored. This reduces confidence that all staff can access plans and records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff development is a key focus for the manager. There are development opportunities for staff to progress into senior roles. This strengthens leadership and management at the home. There is a comprehensive training programme in place. Several staff are making progress with completing their qualifications. However, some staff have not completed some essential training, including in online safety. This may reduce staff’s understanding of how to keep children safe and meet their individual needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2678053 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, 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 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

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to all staff completing training in safeguarding and online safety, and training for understanding specific needs of children. 28 February 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when records are kept electronically (regulation 38), that this information can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view it and, if required, be reproduced in a legible form. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)  The registered person should ensure that children are able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. In instances when a child may express wishes that are not always in their best interests, the reasons for reaching any decision will need to be carefully explained to and understood by the child or children concerned. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraphs 4.9 and 4.11) Inspection report for children’s home: 2678053 7

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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: 2678053 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Emerge Care and Therapeutic Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Office, 5 Rockside, Mow Cop, Stoke-on-Trent ST7 4PG

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Inspector

Alison Snell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2678053 9 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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