Children's home run by Inspirations Leicestershire Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2557603 1 Registered provider: Inspirations Leicestershire LTD Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private provider. The home provides care for up to four children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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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: 2557603 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/04/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2557603 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home that is maintained to an excellent standard and which feels like a family home. Children have several spaces where they can relax, including a games room and separate sensory space. This allows children with additional needs to choose to spend time in areas where they feel most calm and happy. Families and professionals spoke of how settled the children are at the home and of their wish to remain there long term.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s needs are understood well and documented clearly in care plans. Care plans are specific, allowing staff to quickly understand how best to engage with children. They are adapted so that children can also access them. Children therefore understand and contribute towards setting their achievable targets. Children are making good progress. Two children were recently prepared for their independence and have moved confidently into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive regular and high-quality key-work sessions. These are taken at the children’s pace and honestly capture their engagement. Children are encouraged to reflect and are now better able to regulate their emotions. However, staff do not always ensure that they adequately record the direct work undertaken with children so their progress can be tracked.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and the manager have advocated effectively for the children. This has meant that several children are now accessing children’s mental health services. Children have built trusting relationships with staff who they know they can share their feelings with. The manager has appropriately challenged professionals following safeguarding concerns. Children therefore know that she is someone they can rely on and trust.

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

Children rarely go missing from care, preferring to spend time with the staff and engage in activities they enjoy. Children have historically engaged in some self- harming behaviours. When there have been incidents, children are responded to empathetically. Staff are keen to understand how children are feeling or what they may be trying to communicate. As a result, incidents of self-harm are decreasing for children.

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

Risk assessments are thorough, updated regularly and offer clear guidance to staff. Similarly, behaviour management strategies are pragmatic with a focus on de- escalation and helping children to recognise and regulate their emotions. Staff track recurring patterns or triggers for risk-taking behaviour. This informs future responses by staff. This helps to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2557603 4 Physical interventions do occur, but these are infrequent and only used as a last resort. Staff try to de-escalate situations and encourage children to make positive choices. Staff and children are given the opportunity to debrief following incidents, and children are encouraged to understand why they are physically held. Children are offered warm responses from staff, which are not shaming. This helps them to understand that the care offered to them is unconditional.

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

Staff receive appropriate training to respond effectively to the needs of children. When more specialist training is required, this is quickly organised for staff. Staff have recently received training in a unique language programme that is supporting one child to better communicate with staff. Children are therefore cared for by staff who understand their behaviours and can respond to them competently. However, the staff do not always ensure that they are inclusive in the way that they capture children’s views and feelings in documents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. She has encouraged a therapeutic approach to care within the home and models this for staff. Staff are aspirational for children and want them to reach their full potential. Consequently, children have warm relationships with the manager and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have a good understanding of children’s previous experiences and how this may influence their behaviours. Staff are offered regular opportunities to come together and reflect. They feel able to influence the way that the home operates and are listened to by managers. They have regular formal supervision meetings with their manager and feel well supported by them. As a result, there is a stable team working at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is ambitious for children. She can recognise ongoing areas of development and how these will be achieved. The manager has recognised that developing friendships between the children in the home are important and has clear plans in place to encourage them. This will lessen the social isolation of the children within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the importance of being able to track and evaluate the effectiveness of the care offered by staff. There is an auditing system in place that helps the manager to understand the progress of children individually and the operational running of the home. A good level of oversight by the manager of incidents encourages staff’s curiosity. Staff therefore learn from significant events. Inspection report for children’s home: 2557603 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they are representing the views, wishes and feelings of children in matters which affect them, and that they are enabling children to express their views, wishes and feelings themselves. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 21, paragraph 4.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2557603 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspirations Leicestershire LTD

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 131a London Road, Oadby, Leicester LE2 5DP

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Inspector

Louise Copping, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2557603 7 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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