Children's home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 1255748 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private company that is owned and operated by a national charity. The home provides care and accommodation for a maximum of five children and young people with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1255748 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/08/2021 Full Good 15/07/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/05/2019 Full Inadequate 11/12/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 1255748 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children live in a large and welcoming home. There is ample living space for all children, including areas where children can have some quiet time. One room is an education room where children can go to do educational activities. Staff have decorated children’s bedrooms according to children’s individual choices and personalities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide good-quality care to the children. They recognise the importance of valuing children as unique individuals. This makes the children feel loved and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend school and achieve educationally. When needed, staff advocate for children to ensure that they can access the right provision according to their needs. Staff encourage older children to consider their career options. Staff arranged for one child to go to, and then accompanied them to, a careers open day. This resulted in the child applying to become an apprentice with the police.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have many opportunities to participate in various activities. These include one-to-one activities with staff and group activities. Children have thoroughly enjoyed a house holiday. Staff commented how the holiday helped them to build even stronger relationships with the children. Children said that they had lots of fun. They are looking forward to their next holiday.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise how important it is for children to maintain links with family members who are important to them. Staff work in partnership with the children’s families. They coordinate family time and ensure that children and their families can make positive memories together. This helps build children’s sense of identity and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children work well with staff when undertaking individual key-work sessions. Staff plan these sessions around issues impacting on the child’s life. Staff capture children’s views and initiate any actions required in response to the sessions. The one-to-one time provides an opportunity for the child to have some quality time with staff to explore anything that is worrying them.

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

The staff know the children well. Children’s presenting needs are captured in various documents. The manager reviews these documents on a regular basis and staff read them when they are updated. This helps staff to support children to the best of their abilities and keep them safe. Inspection report for children's home: 1255748 4 Staff spend time developing trusting relationships with the children. Over time, children establish safe and meaningful relationships with the staff. As a result, children feel safer, as they have trusted adults they can speak with if they have any worries or concerns.

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

Staff only use physical intervention as a last resort. Staff thoroughly record each incident in a timely manner. An appropriate person conducts debriefs with children and staff after every incident. Managers have oversight of all incidents to ensure that practice was effective. Managers reflect on incidents and explore whether there is any learning that can improve the support staff provide to children.

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

Staff undertake room searches when appropriate as a precautionary measure to maximise the safety of the children. If it is safe to do so, children should always be involved in the search. If it is not safe to involve children, records of the search need to clearly explain the rationale for this and why the child was not notified of the search.

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

When children go missing, staff are proactive in trying to locate them. Staff follow a clear process and record their actions in detail. When children return home, staff welcome them back and ensure that they are safe. There is good management oversight of episodes of children going missing. However, independent return home interviews are not always requested or completed to inform risk management plans moving forward.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to her role and is aspirational for children in her care. She spends quality time with all the children, and this helps to reinforce her relationships with them. One child described the manager as ‘calm and considerate’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are equipped with the right knowledge and skills to meet children’s needs well. Mandatory training is up to date and staff receive regular supervision. Alongside this, recently introduced ‘learning circles’ focus on upskilling the staff around issues children are currently facing. This proactive learning is assisting the staff to deliver quality care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Over recent months, there have been some changes in the staff team. The manager has worked hard to recruit suitable staff. Safer recruitment processes have been adhered to. Inductions have been both thorough and supportive. A new member of the team commented that her induction provided her with a good understanding of children’s trauma, which has helped her to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has forged good working relationships with external agencies. A multi- agency approach means that children’s care is well coordinated. Feedback from external professionals highlighted the ‘commitment and support’ of the staff. One said that the staff ‘go above and beyond’. Inspection report for children's home: 1255748 5

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Recommendations

 A child’s bedroom should not generally be entered without their permission, though it may be necessary to establish routines to allow for rooms to be cleaned regularly. Usually, rooms should only be searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Immediate searching may be necessary where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.20)  The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in

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Recommendations

place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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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: 1255748 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lumonics House, Valiant Office Suites, Valley Drive, Swift Valley Industrial Estate, Rugby CV21 1TQ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Matthew Earnshaw

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Rachel Rodriguez Rosario Tola Benjamin

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Inspector

Lizette Watts, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1255748 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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