Children's home run by JMR Healthcare Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2663448 1 Registered provider: JMR Healthcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to two children. The children may have complex needs, including support for their mental health, learning disabilities, adverse childhood experiences and social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2022.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2663448 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There was one child living at the home at the time of this inspection. The home can care for two children. However, it currently operates as a solo placement for this child. The child is settled and enjoys living at the home. They have made good progress in building independence and emotional resilience, and their negative behaviours have reduced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child regularly attends school after several years of not attending. Professionals previously thought this was not achievable, and they credit the child and staff in this achievement. The child has successfully achieved a qualification with a good score. Professionals praised the flexible skills of staff in working closely with the education team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager is an experienced registered nurse and ensures that the child’s complex health needs are monitored and managed. As a result, the child’s general health has improved, and their mental health has been closely monitored. This monitoring and understanding have helped health professionals to make changes to the child’s treatment. Staff encourage the child to be more active and exercise regularly by leading group-exercise sessions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the child to prepare for adult life. The child regularly plans and cooks meals, launders clothes and has opened a bank account. They are learning how to handle money and plan budgets. There are a wide range of social opportunities on offer at the home, including trips to the child’s favourite theme parks. Planning is underway for a special holiday that has been a lifelong ambition for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide positive support and clear boundaries to the child. They model positive behaviours and respect for others. However, the expectations regarding the safe use of internet devices are unclear. Although this has not had an adverse impact on the child, setting a clear expectation reduces the risk of conflict with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff treat the child with warmth, compassion and respect. They enjoy positive and individual relationships with them. The child said that this is important as they feel comfortable talking about specific things with different adults. The child finds regular key-work sessions useful and reassuring. Professionals complimented the staff team for their efforts in helping the child to maintain relationships with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is homely and well appointed. It has been furnished and decorated to the child’s particular preferences. Staff embrace and respect the child’s choices. The garden area is well used in good weather for activities and exercise. Inspection report for children’s home: 2663448 3

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

The child said that they feel safe and well supported by staff who they trust. Staff have received extensive training in supporting the child’s safety needs. They provide close monitoring and high staff ratios. The manager and staff balance the need for close supervision proportionately to allow the child freedom and privacy.

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

Risk assessments are regularly updated to reflect any changes in need, children’s growth and steps towards independence. Staff understand the impact of adverse experiences on the child and how this affects their actions when distressed. Staff anticipate when an event may cause the child to be upset and unsettled. They take timely actions to distract and de-escalate to reduce risks.

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

Staff are highly trained and experienced in positive behaviour support and the use of restrictive physical interventions. Clear plans detail the support to reduce the need for consequences or physical interventions and ensure that these are used as a last resort. The number of interventions continues to reduce in number and severity. However, records of physical interventions need improvement to ensure that staff debriefs and conversations with children are completed within reasonable time frames.

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

There has been one incident of the child going missing from the home. This was managed well by staff. Learning from this reduced the risk of further occurrences. Detailed planning takes place to enable the child to access the community safely for activities and daily living. However, the home’s location risk assessment needs more detail about local public transport, water courses and local crime statistics.

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

The administration of medicines is managed well. Medicines used for the treatment of anxiety and mood are planned and used in an agreed protocol with specialist consultants. The child is fully included in the medication assessments. The staff are responsive to the child’s requests and take care to establish whether thresholds for administrating medication have been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has led the home since it opened in 2021. He has worked hard to ensure that the staff team meets the needs of children. The manager has built a positive working relationship with local authority commissioners and social work teams who all gave positive feedback on children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager values the input of external guidance and support. He uses feedback from the independent person’s reports and local authority commissioners to make refinements and improvements. Staff benefit from regular and good-quality supervisions, annual appraisals and individual reflective-practice sessions. Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is very enthusiastic and dedicated to the child. Staff all said that the team works very well together with a positive spirit. They think highly of the Inspection report for children’s home: 2663448 4 management team and benefit from close working relationships. Staff have committed themselves to achieving national vocational qualifications at pace.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The child receives high-quality support from an experienced team of individuals carefully chosen by the manager. He knows each staff’s individual skill base well and, in most cases, has worked with them for several years. The manager understands and recognises the intensity of the work required from the staff at times and makes time to provide reflective support. This has helped the staff team to remain consistent with very low staff turnover. Inspection report for children’s home: 2663448 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, 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, help children to understand the expectations for the safe use of internet-enabled electronic devices. 3 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. 3 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2663448 6 within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. In particular, ensure that information regarding the risks from local public transport and water courses are included in this assessment and that local crime figures are regularly updated. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: 2663448 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: JMR Healthcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Gables, Old Market Street, Thetford IP24 2EN

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Inspector

Jamie Cousins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2663448 8 inspects 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit

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Inspector

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspector

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Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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