Children's home run by Absolute Children’s Services Ltd in Staffordshire Moorlands

Inspection report for children’s home: SC481172 1 SC481172 Registered provider: Absolute Children’s Services 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 and run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties. Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has an interim manager who oversees the day-to-day running of the home.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC481172 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/03/2022 Full Outstanding 21/08/2019 Full Outstanding 12/03/2019 Full Outstanding 22/03/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC481172 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children have made progress in their lives at this home. The carers have enabled this through creating a family-orientated environment. In doing so, several children have felt cared for, respected and loved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspectors noted a vibrant and fun-loving atmosphere in the home. Rooms around the home have framed photos showing off moments of joy involving children and their carers. Some carers bring their pet dogs to the home as children enjoy walking them. Children are central to the home’s daily routine, and mealtimes are shared experiences. All these factors have been pivotal in children forming trusting bonds with their carers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children took pride in showing the inspectors around their home. Although the home has plentiful resources for children to enjoy, this is not the case around the home’s extensive grounds. Additionally, the team has neglected areas in the grounds such as the tennis court and the greenhouses. Consequently, these areas detract from what is otherwise a homely environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made commendable progress in their respective schools. However, the manager has not been effective when overseeing children’s transition between school and college. In some instances, the manager has failed to access the necessary professionals to ensure that support is in place for children when they begin college. This has resulted in disruption to some children’s education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children experience planned moves from the home. This is testament to the manager’s diligence when considering children’s referrals. The manager is clear with her analysis around whether her carers can provide care for a child. The manager also carefully considers whether the child’s needs are compatible with the needs of the children who already live at the home. This means that children are more likely to succeed at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Daily events in the home naturally entice carer and child interaction. However, carers do not encourage children to read or contribute to the children’s placement plans. Additionally, carers do not write children’s plans using language that children will relate to. This undermines the team’s effort to keep children informed and involved in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some consequences in the home have been excessive and have made it difficult for children to understand their carer’s rationale. This has left some children feeling unjustly treated and has resulted in further challenge and frustration. Although carers listen and compromise with children, some consequences do not reflect the model of care outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. Inspection report for children’s home: SC481172 4

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

When carers do not know children’s whereabouts, they make good efforts to find them. However, once carers report a child as a missing person to the police, the manager’s direction to carers to physically search for the child recedes. At this point, there is a lack of management accountability for the child’s welfare.

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

There is a safeguarding culture that leaders have instilled in the team over a sustained period. This was demonstrated in a team meeting, which the inspector partly attended. The team highlighted to the inspector that it has a good understanding of whistle-blowing legislation. This knowledge and sense of duty better protects children from harm.

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

Carers educate children on managing the risks associated with using smart phones and accessing social media platforms. The care team does this alongside social workers and in conjunction with court orders. This enables children to be wiser and safer when using their smart phones.

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

When there are significant incidents involving children, carers are skilled at writing reports that provide context and clarity. This in part has contributed to a culture of reflective practice. Incidents that the inspectors scrutinised showed a willingness for carers to learn how to better support children when they are in a state of distress. However, the manager has not always filtered learning into revised risk assessments. This oversight undermines the overall effort to better support children in crisis situations.

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

When carers have deemed it necessary to restrain children, it has been done proportionately and in the child’s best interests. The manager ensures that children and carers can reflect and learn from such incidents. This supports children’s understanding of the situation and the likelihood that positive relationships are maintained.

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

The responsible individual attends local intelligence and networking meetings chaired by the police. Additionally, the manager encourages local police to visit the home on an informal basis. These actions foster positive working relationships with other safeguarding professionals. They also equip staff to better manage issues in the community that may pose a risk to the children in the home.

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good

The home is managed by a committed and dedicated manager. The manager has maintained the grounds for her team to flourish in their respective roles. However, this inspection revealed several managerial and leadership shortfalls that need to be addressed for children to fully benefit from their care at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC481172 5 There has been a change of management in the home during this inspection period. Although the organisation facilitated a well-planned managerial handover, this has been undermined through a lack of ownership of the incoming manager’s registration with Ofsted. This has created unnecessary delay. Consequently, the home has not had a registered manager for several months.

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good

The organisation has not sufficiently reviewed the home’s statement of purpose. There are several aspects of the statement of purpose that are misleading or contain inaccurate information. Consequently, professionals, parents and the regulator will challenge the authenticity of the services that the setting provides for children.

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good

The manager has not provided consistent challenge to other professionals involved in the children’s care. Several statutory documents were missing from the children’s files. Additionally, there has been a significant lack of challenge regarding a particular child’s circumstances. Consequently, a child is at risk of moving on from the home with an important issue remaining unresolved. These shortfalls evidence a lack of awareness around understanding the need to work in partnership and, when necessary, respectfully challenge local authorities.

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good

The manager has established good links with all the children’s families. This has enabled carers to establish effective working relationships with children’s family members. It has also enabled the manager to better understand the children’s circumstances. However, the manager has not used this knowledge to enable social workers to review family contact arrangements that would enhance the child’s experience when visiting or having contact with family members.

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good

Although consultation with children is good at the home, there is a lack of awareness from managers and leaders around the role of the befriending service that independent visitors offer children in care. This means that there has been no awareness to challenge local authorities on their obligations to the child. Consequently, it has denied children from having access to other supportive outlets in their lives.

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good

The responsible individual is often present at the home. This has enabled practical support to the manager and her team, particularly in times of challenge. Inspection report for children’s home: SC481172 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)(d)) 1 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

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; 1 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC481172 7 understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(a)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b) (5)) 1 March 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children have access to appropriate advocacy support which, where possible, is provided by a person that the child chooses. Looked after children are entitled to an independent advocate to advise them and ensure that they have the support needed to express their views, wishes and feelings about their care and lives. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.16)  The registered person should ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities inside and outside of the home, where appropriate, and are encouraged to participate in those activities. In particular, the grounds of the home should be well maintained and equipped with resources so that the children can enjoy the outdoor space. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.5)  The registered person should ensure that children’s records represent a significant

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Recommendations

contribution to their life history. Children and their parents should be supported to Inspection report for children’s home: SC481172 8 understand the nature of records kept by the home and how to access them. Staff should understand their important role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. In particular, the manager must ensure that children’s records reflect the child’s heritage and identity. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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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: SC481172 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Absolute Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 98 Grove Street, Leek ST13 8DU

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Inspectors

Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector Sharin Khan Mahmandi, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC481172 10 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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