Children's home run by Restorative Social Care Services Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 1252095 1 Registered provider: Restorative Social Care Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private organisation runs this home. It provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2022.

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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

Date of last inspection: 14 February 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following the full inspection on 14 and 15 February 2023, this home was judged to be inadequate because of significant shortfalls in the help and protection of children and the leadership and management of the home. Ofsted issued five requirements. Following a monitoring visit on 28 March 2023, it was agreed that enough progress had been made to address the five requirements and that no further enforcement action was needed from Ofsted. Inspection report for children’s home: 1252095 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2023 Full Inadequate 22/02/2022 Full Good 29/05/2019 Full Good 09/05/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 1252095 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have developed trusting relationships with the adults who care for them. The staff know the children well and have taken the time to build those bonds. This ensures the children have someone they can talk to and confide in if the need arises.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive help with their education. Generally, school arrangements are working well. Children are achieving their academic goals. Some have had difficulties settling into new schools. There are meetings planned to decide what extra support will help. In the meantime, activities offered ensure children have opportunities to learn and grow.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is specialist help available when needed. Staff advocate well on behalf of children. This has reduced the waiting time for work to begin with the child and adolescent mental health services. This ensures children have support with their behavioural and emotional needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are a wide range of activities on offer. For example, children go to the local youth club or cadets. This allows children to meet peers of their own age and socialise. These events are particularly important for children who struggle with making friendships, and children learn valuable social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Independence is encouraged. Children have opportunities to go out on their own in the local area. Staff have had oversight of this development. Increasing children’s independence prepares them for later teenage life and adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Work is being done with children to develop a more positive view of themselves. Discussions between staff and children in key-work sessions and informal conversations happen on a regular basis. This builds children’s self-worth, confidence and emotional resilience. Staff respond sensitively to children’s identities and choices. For example, there are plans to go to a local Pride event, which promotes equality and diversity. However, children’s paperwork does not reflect their identity or choices. If a child accesses their records, either now or in the future, it is important that the records are a true reflection of their time living in the home.

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

Children say they feel safe in the home. They also feel that staff are doing all they can to keep them safe. There is a good response from staff to help reduce the risk of harm, such as limiting children’s access to glass mirrors and razors if they display self-harming behaviours. This reduces risks and helps to protect the children from harm. Inspection report for children’s home: 1252095 4 Staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. There are individual risk assessments for the children, and these are updated following significant events. Colour coding helps staff to easily identify which areas of risk are high, medium and low. This ensures that staff have the most up to date advice and guidance on how to keep children safe.

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

Missing episodes have not been a regular issue since the last inspection. There is a protocol in place with clear steps for staff to take. Staff follow protocols if a child does go missing, which include looking for the child in the locality. This helps to ensure children are returned quickly to the home.

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

Staff use de-escalation techniques to manage children’s behaviour. This approach is successful most of the time. There have been a few incidents where physical intervention has been necessary. Records show that physical interventions are only used as a last resort.

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

Work done with children helps them learn about making better decisions. For example, online safety has been an important topic. This educates children about the dangers of sharing personal information. Steps taken by staff to safeguard children have been necessary and proportionate, and they have ensured children are safer when using any electronic devices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has reflected on the outcome of the last inspection. Actions taken since then have addressed the issues raised at the inspection. For example, a staff consultation helped the team agree some practice expectations. Extra training has included sessions such as ‘how to get things right for our children’. The situation has moved forward for the children and the team in a positive way. The registered manager has had close oversight of the home for the last few months. He intends to take a step back, allowing the staff team to grow in confidence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a permanent team in place. This gives continuity and stability for the children. The team is child-focused. This comes across in the discussions with staff, in handovers and team meetings. Staff continue to be knowledgeable about children’s needs and how best to care for them. Personalised support ensures children have the best care possible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from families is positive. They feel children are well looked after and are being kept safer. Communication between staff and families is good, and there is cooperation. This means families know what children are up to in between seeing them. Children can also see staff and their families working together.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are improvements in recording. Records reflect the children’s lives in more detail. There is a good sense of what is happening on a day-to-day basis. This ensures that the care and support children receive are clear. Inspection report for children’s home: 1252095 5 The views of children are important to leaders and managers. There are house meetings where children can share their thoughts. Children also have had an opportunity to say what they think about the home and their care, and this has informed the recent quality of care review. This helps children feel that they are part of the home and that they are important.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are also good working relationships with professionals involved in the children’s lives. However, the registered manager has not always offered appropriate challenge to all professionals when needed, such as when there were some issues with a child’s school. Appropriate challenge improves children’s opportunities to develop. Inspection report for children’s home: 1252095 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should challenge relevant people and services to ensure children’s needs are met while they live in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8)  The registered person should ensure that staff record important individual information about the children. The information should be written in a helpful way and reflect their life history. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4 and 14.5)

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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: 1252095 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Restorative Social Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8 Victoria street, Greetland, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX4 8DF

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Kershaw

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Inspector

Miriam Dolman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1252095 8 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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