Children's home run by Progressive Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2663883 1 Registered provider: Progressive Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private provider. It was registered in July 2022 to provide care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first full inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There are currently three children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There are two managers working at the home. The registered manager is currently working part time. A full-time manager has applied to register as a second manager for the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2663883 2

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improvement to be good

The process for children moving into the home is not thoroughly planned. While children visit the home before moving in, speak to staff, and receive a children’s guide, the matching process is not thorough. Managers do not consistently consider the location of the home in this process or whether staff are sufficiently skilled to care for and meet the needs of the children. The records of decisions made around the support that children need to live together safely lack detail and are not always recorded before a child moves in. This omission has had no adverse impact, but poor matching can compromise children’s safety and experience of living at the home.

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improvement to be good

Children’s engagement in the home increases over time and they start to make progressive steps. Children’s relationships with staff develop, they like their staff and feel well looked after. Regular chats with key worker’s helps children develop a sense of safety in their home. Children also talk together in regular meetings about what is going on in their home and what they would like to do. Staff listen to what children have to say, children like their home and have no complaints.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to be healthy and active. Children attend routine health appointments and take their prescribed medication. They engage in physical activities and learn about having a healthy diet. Staff ensure that children get treatment from medical professionals for minor injuries and emerging ill health.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote children’s time with family. Children regularly spend time with people who are important to them. Staff help children to understand their family reunification plans, and take the correct steps to help these to progress.

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improvement to be good

Staff take time to learn about children’s individual interests. Children enjoy doing activities out of the home. One child now regularly goes swimming, and some have new social experiences. These include a trip to a theme park with staff and participating in Children in Care Council meetings.

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improvement to be good

Children’s engagement in education and learning is improving. Staff understand the barriers that children face in going to school and listen to their views. This proactive approach has led to one child now having a school provision to attend, and another child enjoying going to college.

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improvement to be good

Training informs staff of how to complete children’s risk assessments. These are kept current and under review. Staff follow the guidance in children’s risk assessments to keep them safe. Some discussions take place with children around risky behaviour to Inspection report for children’s home: 2663883 3 educate them on how to stay safe. However, not all new risks are identified. For example, there was no agreement or work completed with a child when they purchased a mobile phone. Work around boundaries, agreements and online safety did not take place to ensure that everyone was clear about the expectations and supervision. This does not provide adequate safeguards for vulnerable children.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children and de-escalate situations without the need for physical intervention. Children receive specialist help to manage their emotions, as managers promptly identify and respond to how children are feeling. However, when incidents occur, staff say that they discuss these, and managers evaluate the incident reports. The reports do not include the contents of staff debrief discussions and, on occasions, these do not take place. The quality of post-incident support for staff is unclear. This does not inform managers of any further action that they may need to take.

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improvement to be good

The frequency of missing episodes for one child has reduced since moving in to the home. Staff applied the correct procedures on the one occasion when the child’s whereabouts were not known. Staff talked with the child about where they had been and what their social time arrangements should be. The child now spends time with friends as part of an agreed plan.

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improvement to be good

Staff are vigilant and understand when the dynamics between children living at the home change. Staff encourage children to have positive social interactions. Issues between children do not escalate as staff proactively manage their disagreements and frustrations.

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improvement to be good

Managers equip staff with the knowledge of how to safeguard children. Staff uphold their responsibility as they identify and respond to concerns that children raise. The local authority designated officer is informed of allegations that children make. Managers work with partner agencies to investigate issues and resolve matters for children swiftly.

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good

Two managers oversee the home. Monthly file audits and a comprehensive home development plan are now in use. Managers use the quality of care review as a tool for assessing the home’s compliance and delivery of care for children. Managers value the external scrutiny that the independent person’s monthly visits bring. Together, they are embedding systems to enhance their oversight and analysis of the service that they provide.

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good

Children receive care from consistent staff, who are establishing themselves as a collaborative team. The full-time manager is a visual leader and positive role model for staff. Staff learn from her nurturing and child-focused approach.

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good

A thorough induction programme prepares new staff to work in the home well. They receive training and are promptly enrolled to complete formal qualifications. The Inspection report for children’s home: 2663883 4 manager promotes a culture of learning as they conduct research-led sessions and informal training as part of regular team meetings. This helps staff to understand how to support children’s individual needs.

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good

A number of staff are progressing through their probationary period, including the full-time manager. In periodic progress meetings, staff receive feedback and actions are set. No other supervision sessions occur. The lack of reflective practice discussion is not helpful in supporting staff to develop and talk about their role.

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good

Safer recruitment processes do not alert managers or senior managers to pertinent information about applicants’ personal and employment history. Full assessments of staff’s suitability and their individual support needs are not made. Senior managers take swift action to investigate new information and are reviewing company processes.

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good

Managers are establishing positive working relationships with professionals. They contribute to joint meetings and share their views on what children need. The use of feedback questionnaires informs managers of how professionals view children’s care.

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good

Managers provide a high standard of accommodation for children, who are relaxed and comfortable living there. Children personalise their bedrooms. They benefit from their own en suite bathrooms, an education resource room, and spending time together in the large kitchen/diner, which is the hub of the home. Any damage caused is addressed as a priority. An efficient maintenance system sustains the upkeep and presentation of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2663883 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, 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that internet access for children is assessed and that children are educated on using the internet and a mobile phone safely. 13 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that impact risk assessments are completed prior to a child moving in. Specifically, these documents should consider the suitability of the home’s location and skills of staff, and provide an assessment of how all known risks for children can be effectively managed for children to live together. 13 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only— 13 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2663883 6 employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the safer recruitment procedure.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must record the full account of the information shared regarding the reasons for staff leaving previous employment when verifying references.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that managers review staff recruitment documents prior to employment and assess whether staff have any extra support needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff receive supervision that includes reflective practice-related discussions. 13 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2663883 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a debrief is recorded with staff when incidents occur. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)

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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: 2663883 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Progressive Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 51 Attercliffe Common, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S9 2AE

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Inspector

Alexandra Howitt, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2663883 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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