Children's Home run by Harmony Childcare Residential Homes Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2495967 1 Registered provider: Harmony Childcare Residential Homes 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 and is registered to provide care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since July 2022. She holds a level 5 diploma, has applied to register and is waiting for an interview date.

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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted undertook a full inspection on 30 and 31 August 2022. Due to concerns identified at that visit, Ofsted issued a compliance notice in relation to regulation 12, the protection of children standard.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit took place on 13 October 2022 to review the progress made in meeting the steps outlined in the compliance notice issued under regulation 12. The compliance notice was met in full. Inspection report for children’s home: 2495967 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/08/2022 Full Inadequate 08/09/2021 Full Outstanding 02/10/2019 Full Good 01/07/2019 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2495967 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. They have developed positive and trusting relationships with staff. They are happy and enjoy spending time with staff and other children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is comfortable and provides a safe and warm environment for children. The children choose the decoration for their bedrooms and the living areas. As a result, the children see this as their home. However, staff do not help all children to maintain their bedrooms to a reasonable standard. The manager took immediate action during the inspection to address this and provide support to one child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are sought, listened to and acted on by staff. Effective consultation and the development of trusted relationships stem from informal talks with children, planned key-work sessions and weekly children’s chat meetings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. They have access to local health services and attend routine appointments. Some additional work is needed to support one child to manage issues around personal hygiene and puberty.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a variety of recreational activities. Within the home, children particularly enjoy the large lounge and newly renovated ‘basement den’. Children enjoy activities in the community such as ice skating and meals out with each other. These opportunities and experiences help children to develop confidence and feel integrated into the wider community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with the children’s families. They ensure that there is positive family time when children meet with family members. Staff treat the children and their families with respect and sensitivity. This helps the children maintain relationships that are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have well-planned and bespoke transitions into the home. Managers ensure that they assess the compatibility of children, to make sure they can live together safely, and they ensure that staff are well equipped to meet children’s needs, individually and collectively. Good engagement with children’s placing authorities helps this process. Children new to the home are welcomed by the existing children with a welcome letter. One child has recently arrived in the home. They have settled well and informed the inspector how welcomed they were by the children and staff and how this helped them.

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

Children said that they feel safe at the home and they know there are trusted staff who they can approach if they have any worries. The manager and staff work hard to ensure that children are protected from harm. Staff work with children to explore risks and vulnerabilities and help them to learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, children receive key-work sessions and visits from the local police Inspection report for children’s home: 2495967 4 community support officer on the dangers of going missing from home and exploitation.

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

The manager and staff show a good understanding of children’s needs and vulnerabilities. Children’s risk assessments are reviewed and staff are made aware of any changes. The assessments include all known risks and set out specific actions for how staff should respond to and manage these risks. Staff follow the guidance set out in children’s plans, which promotes children’s safety and welfare.

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

Children who go missing from the home experience a well-coordinated response and staff work closely with families and key professionals to safeguard children. Staff take action to contact children and encourage their safe return home. They undertake sensitive work to explore and understand the reasons for the child leaving the home and develop strategies and plans to reduce these episodes. This has resulted in a significant reduction in missing-from-home episodes for one child.

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

Staff recruitment and vetting practices are thorough and all required checks are in place. This confirms that all staff are suitable to work with vulnerable children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have taken action to address the serious and widespread concerns identified at the last full inspection. The leaders, managers and staff have a genuine commitment to the children in their care and strive to make a positive difference to their lives. They have worked hard to improve the quality of care and overall experience for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The feedback provided by staff about the leadership of the home is positive. Staff reported being able to approach leaders and managers with suggestions or requests, knowing that their views are taken into consideration. Staff feel valued and appreciated. Morale and enthusiasm within the staff team have improved and are evident in the positive relationships observed with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff meetings are child-focused and are used effectively to measure progress and review children’s plans. Managers use these meetings to drive the ethos of the home and improve staff’s knowledge, skills and understanding of their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers work very well with other agencies and carers to support the day-to-day care of children. Feedback from external professionals on the leadership of the home is positive. One social worker said, ‘[Name of child] has settled amazingly well and their physical and emotional needs are being met over and beyond.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been changes in the staff team. Staffing has been an issue and the manager and staff have had to work extra shifts. Recent recruitment has meant that there is now a larger staff team, albeit some staff are sessional workers. However, there are enough permanent staff to meet the children’s needs and provide them with consistent care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2495967 5 Staff benefit from a good-quality induction, regular supervision and appraisals. Staff have access to training that is relevant to the needs of the children in their care. However, the record-keeping for staff training requires improvement because managers could not clearly demonstrate that all staff had undertaken the online training assigned to them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2495967 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

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that records clearly show the training that staff have undertaken and that this aligns with the training outlined in the statement of purpose. 19 February 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that, in line with their individual health plans and the ethos of the home, children are offered advice, support and guidance on health and well-being to enhance and supplement that provided by their school through personal, social and health education (PSHE). Specifically, ensure that children with a history of neglect are supported to understand personal hygiene and puberty. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18)

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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: 2495967 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Harmony Childcare Residential Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: c/o Easyflow Ltd, 38e Vanguard Way, Battlefield Enterprise Park, Shrewsbury SY1 3TG

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Inspector

James Tallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2495967 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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