Children's home run by The Forge Nuneaton Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2674760 1 Registered provider: The Forge Nuneaton 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 provider and provides care for up to six children who have experienced trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is one of four homes on the same site. Two homes are registered with Ofsted and share the same registered manager. The other two homes have applied to register with Ofsted. The home is part of a community which embraces the sanctuary model of therapeutic care.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2022. She is registered for this home and for another home which is next door and within the same organisation and community. She has a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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 requires improvement to be 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 children’s home: 2674760 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2674760 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is the home’s first inspection since it was registered in June 2022. Five children currently live at this home. Two children have moved in and out since its registration. These decisions were child focused. One child had to move out as not all the necessary information had been shared regarding the child’s needs. Managers have challenged this with the child’s placing authority appropriately.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children thrive on the positive relationships and therapeutic care that they receive. As a result, they are making good progress. For example, one child is eating a wider selection of foods, another child is going missing less often and children’s educational attainment has improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have pets and this has brought them great enjoyment. One child has two Guinea pigs and another child has two goldfish, which the child decided to name after senior managers at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children embrace being part of this community. For example, they enjoyed the ‘Forge fest’, where they sang, listened to a DJ and played on a bouncy castle. This was also used as an opportunity for children and new staff to come together, to help to start to develop their relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from the therapeutic care, life-story work and music therapy that the home offers. One child explained to inspectors that she is writing and performing a song that she has written. This is helping her to manage her emotions and build her confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy activities such as horse riding and visiting theme parks. All the children have enjoyed a holiday. One child told the inspector that she recently celebrated her six-month anniversary of living at the home. She and a member of staff went and built a teddy each to mark the occasion. This is a cherished memory for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is bright, modern and well maintained. Children have personalised their bedrooms. For example, one child loves Pokémon. This is embraced, and her bedroom reflects this interest.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Families speak positively about the care their children receive. For example, a grandparent told the inspector that her grandchildren like living at the home and that they are cared for by caring staff.

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improvement to be good

Inspection report children’s home: 2674760 4 In the main, staff demonstrate a good understanding of how to safeguard children. Staff take part in training that supports their knowledge of how to report concerns and the actions they would take should a child be at risk. However, on occasion, staff’s practice has not been in line with the company’s expectations. This has meant that staff have not consistently followed children’s plans that are in place to help keep them safe. These concerns have been investigated and shared with other professionals, and action has been taken with the members of staff.

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improvement to be good

The inspector identified potential poor practice in a child’s record. This had not been identified by the registered manager. Therefore, there has been a missed opportunity to address this with the member of staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand each child’s needs and how to care for them. However, on occasion, staff do not fully record what actions they have taken to keep children safe when they become upset. This is a missed opportunity to fully capture the good level of care being given to the child.

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improvement to be good

Children can identify trusted adults at the home who they can talk to about any concerns. Staff implement clear boundaries that are supported through the community charter. Staff talk to children when there is a concern about their health or behaviours. These discussions are supported by the clinical team. This helps children to get the right support at the right time.

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improvement to be good

There have been times when children have gone missing from the home. Staff actively look for children, follow risk assessments and are proactive in working with professionals. Children are welcomed back home when they return. As a result, the number of times children are going missing is reducing.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to take age-appropriate risks. The home has well-developed strategies for internet safety. Furthermore, appropriate and proactive work with the police has taken place. This has included the police visiting the children and speaking to them about a variety of topics, such as safety in the community, welfare and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual, the registered manager and home’s manager work closely together to ensure that children are getting the best possible opportunities. They and their staff team have high expectations for what all children can achieve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager manages another home next door that recently went through an inspection. She has taken learning from that inspection to ensure that the same shortfalls have not been identified during this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff spoken to were complimentary about the level of support they receive. Staff explained to the inspector that they felt ‘lucky’ to work at the home. They receive regular supervision sessions and ongoing training and have a good understanding of the model of care. Inspection report children’s home: 2674760 5 Children are supported to share their views and to have their voices heard. Children’s views help shape their care, and staff are making consistent improvements to ensure this is the case. For example, the rewards were changed based on children’s feedback.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One social worker told the inspector that staff are ‘good at communicating and the services and facilities offered are amazing’. Inspection report children’s home: 2674760 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 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff understanding children’s risk assessments, and their role in keeping children safe, particularly with regards to risks of self-harm. 10 March 2023

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that documents reflect the actions staff are taking to keep children safe. Furthermore, it relates to the manager’s careful monitoring of incidents to make sure that staff’s practice is in line with the children’s risk assessments in regard to physical restraint. 10 March 2023 Inspection report children’s home: 2674760 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 children’s home: 2674760 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Forge Nuneaton Limited

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Inspectors

Louise Battersby, Social Care Inspector Carl Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2674760 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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