Children's Home run by The Place Young People’s Company in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children's home: 2565421 1 Registered provider: The Place Young People’s Company Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private provider. It offers care for children with social and emotional difficulties. It is registered to accommodate four children.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is an acting manager in place who has applied to Ofsted to be registered.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2565421 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2565421 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s overall experiences and progress are good. Children’s education is personalised and they attend regularly. They are making progress with their education and staff communicate effectively with school staff. This provides children with a structure to their day and routines.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop their independence skills. For example, one child was helped to build their confidence in going into the local town. This progressed from staff going with them and staying with them, to staff just being in the local area. This gives children confidence in their abilities and a sense of pride in their achievements. It also enables children to learn important life skills.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure children are supported to share their wishes and feelings. They discuss a wide range of topics together, and these are always relevant to the children. This helps children feel listened to and valued. However, children’s meetings do not always provide opportunities for children to share their thoughts with each other. This is a missed opportunity to engage the children in all matters affecting their daily lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see their families and friends. The manager and staff ensure they regularly communicate with families, including informing them of their child’s progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in a comfortable, spacious and well-maintained environment. However, their bedrooms are cluttered and do not enable children to develop a sense of pride in their environment.

p.3

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

Children’s individual support plans are thorough and detailed and are regularly reviewed by the manager. The plans help staff understand how best to manage children’s specific behaviours and risks.

p.3

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

Children are helped to understand how to alert staff if they have a complaint. For example, one child complained that they felt their bedtime was too early. The manager wrote a letter back to the child so that the child knows their views are taken seriously. The letter shows empathy and understanding, which helps children feel valued.

p.3

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

Consequences are not used when children are struggling to manage their emotions. Instead, a restorative approach is used. For example, children are supported by staff to write a letter of apology. Following an incident, debrief meetings take place with the children and staff involved. This helps to reflect on incidents and discuss the support children need to reduce the likelihood of future incidents occurring. Inspection report for children's home: 2565421 4 Children’s positive behaviour is recognised by staff through a rewards system. However, staff do not always review the rewards system, which means progress is not consistently supported. The manager has a plan to ensure children are supported by staff to make continued progress.

p.3

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

The staff rarely resort to physical intervention to manage behaviour. The manager and staff support the children to help understand what happened when physical intervention is used. This support is reflective and helps staff update risk assessments and ensure children are kept safe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the importance of having thorough quality assurance systems. These systems enable the manager to evaluate and improve the care and support provided to children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the manager. One member of staff said, ‘Supervision is effective, and I feel able to ask for advice.’ However, supervision by the manager is not consistently taking place for all staff. This does not ensure that all staff have the necessary support and guidance that they need. The manager is aware that this is an area for improvement.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are regular and have a clear agenda. Staff feel team meetings are helpful, as they enable the whole staff team to get together. This supports staff development and is a positive factor in the care provided to children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been many changes in the staff team, which has resulted in instability in the care provided to children. However, staff are developing positive relationships with the children. They have a good understanding of the dynamics between the children and how to support positive peer relationships.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the induction programme. One member of staff said, ‘I was really worried about starting the job but I found the induction training really engaging.’ Some staff have not completed mandatory training. This does not ensure that staff have all the necessary skills to support children’s individual and complex needs. Inspection report for children's home: 2565421 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.5

Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

p.5

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

p.5

Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the manager ensuring regular supervision is taking place with all staff, and that staff complete all required training in a timely manner. 27 April 2023

p.5

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure staff seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. Specifically, provide additional support to those children who find it difficult to maintain good standards of tidiness. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

p.5

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: 2565421 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Place Young People’s Company

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Lymevale Court, Lyme Drive, Parklands, Stoke- on-Trent ST4 6NW

p.6

Inspector

Kathryn Hurley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2565421 7 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.

p.6

Inspector

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 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 .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

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

p.7