Children's home run by Highlands (Fareham) Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 1 Registered provider: Highlands (Fareham) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care and accommodation for up to four children with learning disabilities. It is run by a private organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager position has been vacant since February 2023.

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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: 2623544 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have a welcoming home that is child-centred and provides space for them to live comfortably with each other. One social worker said, ‘They [the child] are so much more confident and get on really well with the other children. It is like family.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can decorate their bedrooms and are encouraged to personalise their own space with things that are important to them. Children proudly showed the inspector their toys, pictures on their walls, and personal items that they treasure There is a real sense of ‘family’ and photos are displayed all around the home. This gives children a real sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can safely explore their emotions openly. As a result, children and staff have sincere and trusting relationships that continue to blossom. Children were seen going to staff for affection, advice and guidance. Staff responded empathically, giving reassurance, ensuring that children were given time to respond.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to engage with the wider community. The staff and children have been involved in charity events. For example, children collected and bought items to donate to Ukraine, and the ‘Elf on the shelf’ hid dog food, which the children enjoyed finding and donating to charity. As a result, children have greater opportunities to develop their social interactions and staff support them to integrate into the wider community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to enjoy a range of physically and emotionally stimulating activities, such as dancing, playing games, baking and being creative with arts and crafts. Children also visit parks, farms, trampoline parks and soft play, as well as the local bakery, where children can order items using a picture choice board. This makes children feel part of their local community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with all health professionals to ensure that children’s health needs are assessed and managed effectively and that they can access specialist support. One external professional said, ‘I was impressed with the staff at the home, especially the registered manager.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s time with family and friends is a clear focus and promoted well. Staff show sensitivity when managing and supporting family relationships and work together with families to support what matters most to children. One social worker said, ‘Because of the staff supporting [the child], family time has been increased to monthly visits, which is so positive.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children make progress in their education placements and told the inspector that they love school. Children are encouraged to learn skills to support their independence and complete accredited qualifications. One social worker said, ‘They Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 4 have developed ways to do things independently in a safe way, for example, peeling potatoes.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Achievements are celebrated in the home and trophies that children have received are proudly displayed at the centre of the home. Children’s memories are beautifully captured in photo books. This helps children to feel positive about themselves and enhances their self-esteem.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the individual vulnerabilities of each child. They have effective strategies in place to help keep children safe and these are clearly set out in individual behaviour management plans, which are reviewed frequently.

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

Staff encourage positive behaviour using rewards and praise. The use of physical intervention and consequences is very rare. After any incident, staff are given opportunities to reflect and learn from it. However, debriefs with children are not recorded.

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

Leaders and managers make sure that staff are safely recruited. The registered manager and staff are aware of their responsibilities to ensure that effective health and safety processes are in place. Consequently, children, staff and visitors are protected.

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

Leaders and managers demonstrate good knowledge of their safeguarding responsibilities when allegations are made about staff. Four serious incidents have been notified to Ofsted since the last inspection and these have been managed well. All necessary actions were taken to ensure that children were safeguarded effectively. Leaders and managers work with outside agencies to ensure children’s safety. However, on one occasion, one member of staff did not act swiftly enough to report a concern. There was also an isolated failure to notify Ofsted of an allegation. While these incidents were ultimately well managed, this means that the regulator was unable to fully assess the actions taken at the time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a detailed knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. The senior managers are visible and supportive. They model good practice and help to ensure that there is a shared ethos and that children are cared for consistently in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers demonstrate a passionate commitment to ensuring high standards of care for children and provide good management support to staff through effective supervision. In return, staff respect and value their leadership.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from external professionals is very positive regarding communication and partnership working. This demonstrates a culture of openness, which keeps Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 5 children’s needs at the heart of decision-making. One professional said the staff are ‘always very welcoming and know the needs of the child really well’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff acknowledge how children are feeling and help them to understand their emotions. There is a real sense of care and warmth between staff and children. Staff take time to invest in children and understand their day-to-day experiences and have a well-rounded view of the progress that the children are making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Visual aids that support children’s communication are available around the home, for example, choice boards and ‘now, next and then’ boards. However, staff’s knowledge of symbols and the Picture Exchange Communication System is not always in-depth enough. For example, children were not seen using these aids, menus were not in symbols and schedules for personal routines were not always clear. Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 6

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to one incident when an allegation was not reported in a timely manner, and that children’s debriefs are not recorded. 5 May 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e)) 5 May 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. This is in relation to communication training. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 2623544 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Highlands (Fareham) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Highlands (Fareham) Limited, 5 Deansway, Worcester WR1 2JG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jacqueline Smeeth

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Inspector

Hannah Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2623544 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 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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