Children's Home run by Ar Curam Limited in Stockton-on-Tees

Inspection report for children’s home: 2673776 1 Registered provider: Josh’s Place Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2023. He holds suitable qualifications for this role. The previous manager remains registered at the time of the inspection.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2673776 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children live in a beautifully presented home which is warm, cosy and welcoming. It is a family home, with the children’s photos, belongings, games and books in evidence throughout. This helps children feel like they belong. Children are reminded of how important and cared for they are from the many messages placed carefully around the home. Children’s bedrooms are spacious, well furnished and personalised, which is important for when they need time alone.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and comfortable. They can be heard engaging with one another and the staff when they come in from school. At teatime, they all sit at the table together and enjoy a home-cooked meal prepared by the housekeeper. Staff ensure that children have what they need before they move in, and they receive a welcome box. This helps children feel immediately cared for and quickly settle. One professional said: ‘[Name of child] just fit in; it was a hit straight away.’ As a result of this caring environment, children feel loved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have excellent relationships with the staff, whom they trust. As a result, the children feel able to share their worries and talk about their feelings, including after an incident. Staff listen to the children and empathise with them. This helps children to talk things through without feeling judged.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported by staff to attend all health appointments. This means their health needs are met, sometimes for the first time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children have excellent school attendance and are achieving. For some children, this is significant. One education professional said: ‘The happiness of [Name of child] is really clear. This has had a positive impact on school as he is more settled. His progress has been remarkable.’ Family relationships also improve when emotional progress is made. One family member said: ‘There has been a total change, and this has had a major impact on our relationship.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of friendships for the children. They enable important friendships to continue. They encourage and help the children to meet with other children. This has resulted in close friendships developing and the children having experiences which they would not have otherwise had.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children learn about the world around them. They are helped to understand and respect differences. They celebrate festivals which are important to individual children and staff. They are encouraged to be thankful and help others. This will help them become adults who are kind, accepting and respectful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with the children’s families, and they are welcomed into the home. However, one child has not been supported to make contact with his family despite Inspection report for children’s home: 2673776 3 his wishes. This does not help children feel listened to or promote all important relationships for children.

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

Care is taken to ensure that children’s needs can be met at this home prior to moving in. The manager ensures that he has all the necessary information about the child. He fully considers the competing needs and risks of all children. Plans are put in place to reduce the potential for risks to increase as children move into the home.

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

Children’s risk assessments and support plans are clear, concise and fully understood by staff. Staff have clear strategies to follow, which reduces the risk of harm to children. This means staff have been able to prevent some situations escalating. As a result, physical interventions are rare. Those incidents which have taken place have been responded to quickly and comprehensively.

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

When children go missing from the home, there are procedures in place to manage risk. This means responses are individual for each child. Staff actively look for children and make ongoing attempts to contact them. This reduces the time children are away from the home, which makes them safer.

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

When a child makes an allegation, they are listened to, and staff know what to do. Swift action is taken by managers, who carefully consider all the information, and the appropriate agencies are informed. Protective measures are put in place to safeguard children. Discussions take place with children so that they understand what is happening during the process, and they are informed of the outcome.

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

Measures are in place to help children learn that there are consequences to their behaviour. Restorative approaches are used where possible, which gives children the opportunity learn from their mistakes and make amends.

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

Electronic device checks and bedroom searches are carried out where necessary to protect children from harm. Direct work is undertaken to help children understand why and how to make themselves safer. However, records do not always fully reflect the work that is undertaken. In addition, the wording is sometimes critical of the child’s behaviour and adult terminology is used. A record written in this way is not helpful for children, who may request to see these documents.

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

A comprehensive training programme is provided to staff which is designed to protect children and meet their individual needs. However, not all waking night staff are fully trained in physical restraint. This could leave children at risk of harm in the event such an intervention is required. Inspection report for children’s home: 2673776 4 References are obtained when new staff are recruited. However, references are not verified, including where staff have previously worked with children. This practice does not follow safer recruitment guidelines.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The newly registered manager is passionate about his role and the children he cares for. He knows the children well and understands their needs. He has their best interests at heart and advocates for them to ensure that they receive appropriate services. When patterns of behaviour emerge, he seeks to understand the cause. The staff team can then provide the best possible help and care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has introduced a number of systems to ensure that important information is swiftly and successfully communicated to the whole staff team. This means that a consistent approach is taken with the children, which helps to safeguard them and meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working here and feel incredibly supported by their managers. Leaders and managers are available and approachable, and described as sharing ‘a wealth of knowledge’. Staff feel equally supported by their colleagues. One staff member said: ‘We are always there for one another, and we work well together.’ Less experienced staff learn from their more experienced colleagues. This has improved the overall knowledge, skills and confidence of the staff team, which benefits the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision, team meetings and debriefs. They give staff an opportunity to reflect on their practice and identify what they have learned. They also provide staff with emotional support, and this helps them to continue to support the children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The company invests in its staff. A succession programme has been recently introduced, which enables staff to develop their practice. This helps staff feel valued and progress in their career.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have oversight of important documents. Staff actions are scrutinised to ensure that appropriate action has been taken and any learning for staff is identified. The monthly monitoring audits provide managers with an overview of all areas in the home, and enable managers to identify and address shortfalls and maintain oversight of children’s progress. However, the manager has not noticed a missing local authority care plan for one child. As a result, a long overdue review of that plan had not been identified. Inspection report for children’s home: 2673776 5

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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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. (Regulation 7 (1)(c)) 4 July 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s relevant plans are on file. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 11.1)  The registered person should ensure that at all times sufficient numbers of staff are trained in physical restraint. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 48, paragraph 9.3)  The registered person should ensure that safer recruitment guidelines are followed. In particular, that attempts are made to verify references received. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  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. Information about the child must always be recorded in a

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Recommendations

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) Inspection report for children’s home: 2673776 6 Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2673776 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Josh’s Place Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Richard House (2nd Floor), Sorbonne Close, Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland TS17 6DA

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Sheila Maughan Andrew O’Shea

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Inspector

Emma Ridley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2673776 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 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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