Children's Home run by Shore Care Services Limited in East Riding of Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 1 Registered provider: Shore Care 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 managed by a private company. The home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home is suitably qualified and registered with Ofsted in May 2022. This is the home’s first inspection.

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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: 2666037 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a wide range of positive experiences in the home. The home is spacious and maintained to a good standard. Children’s bedrooms are large and decorated to reflect the children’s personal tastes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to and their views regarding any significant changes are acted on. This gives them control over their lives and shows them that they are valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff work closely with other professionals to ensure that children are in education. All children are happy in education settings and are making progress. Children are supported to learn informally in the home as well, and have books, games and DVDs that support their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are consulted about important subjects, such as family time, and said that they spend time with the people important to them. One child is supported to have family members visit them at the home and to have arranged overnight stays with family. The frequency of seeing people who are important to them is led by the children, and the registered manager supports the children’s individualised care plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can identify staff who they trust and can talk to, and said that they feel happy and safe living in the home. Children said that staff support them when they are upset and always help them when they ask for support or assistance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have recently completed training in life-story work to help them to understand children’s journeys through care. The registered manager and staff talked about the value of this training and how it has benefited the children.

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

The registered manager and staff know the children well. Individual risk assessments for the children are written sensitively and consider the rationale for why children might behave in certain ways. This helps staff to understand how they can best support each child in order to meet their needs.

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

The registered manager oversees the risk assessments relating to the home through an online system and keeps these records up to date. The registered manager has plans in place to ensure that all maintenance checks are completed in line with agreed timescales. This ensures that the building and equipment within it are maintained safely.

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

The registered manager and staff put appropriate safeguards in place for the children. Staff impose boundaries and discuss the reasons for them with children. Children understand that the boundaries are there to keep them safe. Staff listen to Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 4 what the children have to say about risks. Children and staff negotiate greater independence for the children as they develop a clearer understanding of any risks in the community.

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

The registered manager and staff understand online risks to the children. The staff have created space for children to play online downstairs in the home. Staff use systems to monitor online activity and keep the children safe. Staff have discussions with children about how they can stay safe online. Children have completed e-learning to help them understand any risks and are open with staff about their online activity. This helps children to stay safe and understand how to get help if they need it.

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

The registered manager and staff support children well if they become upset. They are trained to use physical interventions, but none have been used since the home opened. Staff are skilled and adopt other strategies to engage children to help to avoid any incidents. Children do not go missing from the home, but the registered manager ensures that staff stay up to date with missing-from-home processes so that they can respond quickly if children do go missing.

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

Staff have not always adhered to the building’s fire safety risk assessment. Records are thorough but one fire door was wedged open, preventing it from closing in an emergency. Fire doors that do not close as they should cause an unnecessary risk to both children and staff.

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

The registered manager has not followed safer recruitment practices for all staff. For one member of staff, a required check of a reference had not been made. This means that full and satisfactory information is not available for this member of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has strong oversight of the home and knows the children and staff well. The registered manager is reflective in their practice. When there are incidents, lessons are learned which are used to improve practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Assessments of children moving into the home are written with understanding and empathy of the child’s needs. The transition process for children moving into or out of the home has been improved following a significant incident. This process helps the registered manager to gain a thorough overview of children’s needs and how these can be met, and how children will live alongside others in the house.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said that they value the presence of leaders and managers in the home and feel well supported by them all. The company director attends team meetings and knows the children well. They are committed to developing the staff and making improvements in the home. There is a psychologist attached to the home who attends team meetings to advise staff. The psychologist also provides additional support for children and staff following incidents or for personal reasons they may have. Staff said that they feel motivated by the care shown by the registered manager towards the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 5 Professionals spoke highly of leaders, managers and staff. Professionals said that the registered manager challenges services and local authorities when they are not fulfilling their responsibilities towards children effectively. One professional said that the registered manager ‘is proactive, with high aspirations for children’. Another

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

spoke about how the registered manager monitors and contacts social workers to ensure that statutory visits to the children are maintained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff value the training provided to them and spoke about the difference it has made to their understanding of their roles. Staff go through a thorough induction in the first month of employment. Staff have regular supervisions and undertake ongoing training. This provides them with the knowledge and skills to work effectively to support the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has not made the best use of the independent visitor’s reports following monthly visits. There have been inaccuracies recorded in the reports that have been missed. Some reports have not been sent to the regulator on time and the registered manager has not addressed this. This has meant that the independent visitor’s reports have not always contributed to improving standards in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

provide adequate means of escape from the home in the event of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, means of escape should not be wedged open. 5 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to obtaining a full employment history for each member of staff. 5 April 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 7 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: 2666037 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Shore Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 2a Blackthorn House, Mary Ann Street, St Pauls Square, Birmingham B3 1RL

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Inspector

Carol Jagger, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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