Children's home run by Sweet Hope House Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2706369 1 Registered provider: Sweet Hope House Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is run by an independent provider. It is registered to provide care for up to three children. These children may require support to manage social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home has a suitably experienced registered manager who has managed the home since it was registered with Ofsted on 20 January 2023.

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 requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2706369 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2706369 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children describe staff as ‘alright’ and ‘nice’. They like the manager and describe her as caring. The home is well presented, and children like to spend time in the garden. Children’s bedrooms are generally clean, but not always tidy. One child requires more support from staff to purchase clothing. The manager and staff team are nurturing. However, some institutionalised language is used by staff in front of children. This language is unnecessary and there is a risk of it having a negative impact on the children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress. For example, one child attends school and is aspirational for the future. Staff support this child by promoting their extra-curricular activities and ensuring that the child gets to school on time. Another child has been successful in getting a part-time job. However, two children have no education provisions, and they are not doing any form of regular learning. Although staff ask children to take part in informal learning, children are not interested and instead they are staying in bed until quite late.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are not yet supporting healthy routines for children. For example, children have no set patterns as to when they eat meals. This leads to some children wanting to make food late in the evening. Staff are not consistently motivating children to adapt to a healthy lifestyle. This is necessary, because some children have health conditions which may worsen if healthy lifestyle choices are not implemented. The manager has enrolled all children at the gym, but staff are not yet consistently motivating children to attend.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

External partner agencies are pleased overall with the care that children are receiving. Some professionals remarked that staff have supported children to build better relationships with their families and friends. Furthermore, other professionals state that staff are supporting children to improve their mental health. There are still some areas requiring further work and improvement to ensure that children remain on track to make progress.

p.3

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

When children join the home, the manager gathers necessary information about children’s vulnerabilities, behaviours and risks. The manager assures herself that the children’s needs can be met by staff. However, these plans are not revisited in a way that is focused, and therefore it is unclear what staff are doing to support children to make progress and become safer. For example, where one child was identified as being vulnerable to exploitation, these risks have reduced. This is positive. However, no evaluation has taken place as to how this was achieved; such an evaluation may help staff learn lessons for future practice. Additionally, staff are not yet trained to recognise the signs of child exploitation, which would better inform their care practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2706369 4 For one child, staff increased the number of welfare calls to a child when out with friends. These extra calls had a detrimental impact on the child’s well-being. As a

p.3

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

result, the child disengaged from staff and started to isolate themselves. The manager listened to the child’s wishes and feelings and reverted to there being less frequent calls to the child when out with friends. This was a proportionate response, because the child’s behaviour had not warranted there being a need to increase the frequency of calls.

p.4

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

There was one incident in which a child had a serious allergic reaction. This happened due to staff not being clear about the child’s health information. There have also been some recording errors that have related to medication. These concerns have been reported to Ofsted and action has since been taken to strengthen medication processes. All staff are now trained in how to use an adrenaline auto-injector. The manager will keep these processes under review to ensure that staff follow correct procedures to keep children safe.

p.4

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

Children cared for in this home are settled and are rarely involved in any form of more concerning behavioural incidents. Staff support children to come home on time and to settle for bed in the evening. Children do use mobile phones and are using them safely.

p.4

good

The manager is committed to her role. The manager and staff aim to bring about good outcomes for children and to support the staff caring for them. However, there have been some setbacks in achieving this and the manager recognises that there are aspects of her leadership style that need to be improved. For example, staff are not always clear what is expected of them, and information is not always being shared effectively throughout the team or with external professionals. When the manager asks staff to complete tasks, she does not consistently check that staff have completed these tasks. This has resulted in some children missing out on scheduled appointments. On another occasion, the manager asked staff to support a child to take part in a fire drill, but this did not happen.

p.4

good

Recording systems are in a period of transition. There are teething issues with the new electronic recording system and as a result some information is not being recorded accurately. Children’s recordings are taking place, but these are not very detailed, reflective or child-centred. There are some signs that this style of recording is being improved; however, this remains an area for development.

p.4

good

Individual staff supervision sessions are not consistently taking place, and the quality is variable. Supervision records do not provide clarity on staff objectives and there is little evidence of follow-up from the manager. Reflective practice is not well considered in these sessions, and therefore it is difficult to ascertain how staff are using their skills to support children to make progress and stay safe. Although it is recognised that staff would benefit from some specialist training to meet children’s needs, this is not yet in place. Inspection report for children’s home: 2706369 5 Children, staff and external professionals are positive about the manager and the care being provided to children. Although some shortfalls have been identified as part of this inspection, the manager and responsible individual had already identified some of these as areas for development. This is positive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2706369 6

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.6

Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

p.6

Requirement Due date

engage with them; and take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to–

p.6

Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v))

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person should improve children’s day-to-day routines to improve their overall well-being. 1 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2706369 7 The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

p.7

Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

p.7

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

p.7

Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)) 1 July 2023

p.7

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.7

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

p.7

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(f)(h)) 1 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2706369 8 The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

p.8

Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

p.8

Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child;

p.8

Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that all staff read children’s health plans. This is necessary to safeguard each child’s health.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person should regularly review processes with staff when administering and recording children’s medication. 1 July 2023

p.8

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: 2706369 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sweet Hope House Limited

p.9

Inspector

Andi Lilley-Tams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2706369 10 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.9

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.10

Inspector

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

p.10

Inspector

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

p.10