Children's Home run by K & G Care Ltd in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report for children's home: 1270767 1 Registered provider: K & G Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned home. It provides care for up to four children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a relatively new manager who is not yet 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1270767 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/04/2021 Full Good 05/02/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 14/05/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/08/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: 1270767 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide children with good-quality care. Children speak very positively about staff, which was seen in a video that was produced at Christmas. The children were asked about what they thought of the staff caring for them. The responses from children were overwhelmingly positive. The children said, ‘Thank you all for being there for us and helping us.’ This highlights the strong bonds between the children and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have built trusted and secure relationships with staff. Children can express their wishes and feelings and make their worries known to the manager and staff. As a result, children have learned that staff will listen to them and support them as well as they can. One child attributed his overall progress to the care and support staff have provided him with. He said that the staff ‘taught me how to be safe’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend education and are making good progress. There is good communication between the staff at the home and school. They work collaboratively to enable the children to achieve the best possible outcomes. When there have been issues relating to education, staff have advocated for children to receive additional support. For example, the manager and staff secured an increase in the number of hours of education being provided for a child so that he did not fall behind in his studies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children keeping in touch with family members and those people who are important to them. The staff send weekly reports so that family members and social workers are aware of what is happening in the child’s life. The team coordinate family time in conjunction with social workers and family members. Staff will also travel with children and stay with them if needed when they are seeing those who are important to them. One child was very thoughtful and baked and decorated a cake for his mother. Staff praised the child for these efforts.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are at the centre of everything the staff do. Staff speak fondly of children and know their personalities very well. This awareness allows staff to identify when a child’s mood changes that they need extra support. This prevents behaviours from escalating and consequently children have fewer incidents of negative or upsetting behaviour and they are becoming more settled. This stability is fundamental to the progress that children are making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children decide what activities they would like to take part in and staff try their best to enable these to happen. Staff give children lots of different experiences to enrich their lives. This proactive approach by staff means that children have good opportunities that may previously have been denied to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are safe in this home, and it is decorated to a high standard with lots of space for all living there. There is a large garden where the children can safely play. Inspection report for children's home: 1270767 4 The children have arranged their bedrooms how they want and have added personal touches. This provides a home that children can enjoy and be proud of.

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

Children feel safe with staff. The way that staff nurture and support the children has meant that the children have become settled and they enjoy their lives. The care practice of staff is guided by up-to-date and detailed risk assessments and behaviour support plans. There is a system in place that ensures that all staff are made aware of any changes to these key documents. Consequently, staff know and understand the action they should take to keep children safe.

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

The children engage in regular individual sessions with staff. The content of these sessions is varied and topics covered are pertinent to the issues in the child’s life. Children’s views are recorded as part of the session and any emerging concerns are reviewed and actions required are taken without delay.

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

Children’s interactions are closely monitored by the manager and staff. This is because, at times, there has been some minor conflict. When required, a restorative approach is used with children, so that they can learn from their behaviour and how it impacts on others.

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

When new staff are recruited, the manager ensures that safer recruitment practice is adhered to. Additionally, further checks are added for an extra layer of safety. The manager is keen to ensure that the right candidates are recruited, who will enhance the existing team and adopt child-centred practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior leaders recruited a manager who has proved to be very beneficial for the staff team and children. He has brought some new ways of working into the home. He has focused on streamlining processes and procedures to better support staff in their roles. The manager is in the process of becoming registered with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff receive regular and individual supervision and annual appraisals. These processes are complemented further by group supervisions with staff. These are helping to provide a forum for staff to reflect on each other’s care practice and review specific events, in some depth. The manager advises and offers guidance, with the aim of improving staff responses to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers praise staff and tell them when they have done a good job. The staff have been overwhelmingly positive about the leadership team, saying that the leaders are approachable and supportive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the strengths of the team and where some improvements could be made. The manager carries out regular audits and staff supervisions, reviews the monthly independent visitor reports, has oversight of daily work and informs the leadership team of the training requirements for staff. Training is tailored to meet Inspection report for children's home: 1270767 5 the needs of the team and children; it is delivered either online or face to face. Staff commented how purposeful training is and how they can relate it to their care practice. The leadership team has plans for all the staff to attend therapeutic training. This will enhance their abilities and enable them to be more effective in their support to the children. However, the regulation 45 report has not been updated and sent to Ofsted in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff work closely with external professionals to meet the needs of children. Social workers speak very highly of the manager and team. They commend them for their support and input and how they have improved outcomes for the children. Inspection report for children's home: 1270767 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the regulation 45 report is completed every six months and sent to Ofsted. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.3)

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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: 1270767 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Knightsbridge House, Rooley Lane, Bradford BD4 7SQ

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Inspector

Lizette Watts, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1270767 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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