Children's home run by I.M.P.A.C.T Children's Residential Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 1 Registered provider: I.M.P.A.C.T Children’s Residential Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home. The inspector spoke with both of the children.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in August 2021. The registered manager left in February 2022. A new manager has been appointed and has submitted an application to register with Ofsted.

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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: 15 February 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/11/2022 Full Inadequate 15/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The c hildren are flourishing, which positively enhances their self-esteem. Their social skills have improved, and they are more confident and resilient. They are happy and are aspirational about their futures. Social workers describe the children ’s progress as ‘amazing’ and ‘great’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are attending school, which is a significant achievement for those who have not attended school for a long time. They are currently completing their GCSE’s, and they receive support with revision. Children are supported to plan for their further education by visiting colleges, and they have the opportunity for informal learning, which includes visiting museums. They also have their own online training hub, which enables them to complete a wide range of training courses.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have a fulfilling life and spoke about their positive experiences. They enjoy a range of activities, which take into account their hobbies and interests. These include go-karting, going to the cinema, music production and army cadets. Children’s birthdays are celebrated, which contributes towards their positive self- identity. They also entertain family and friends at the home. The children are looking forward to the imminent basketball and barbecue event.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to lead a healthy lifestyle. They attend their health appointments and enjoy regular exercise, which includes going to the gym and playing basketball. Staff discourage children from smoking and vaping. However, children continue to use these habits to relax.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from focused key-work sessions that cover a wide range of relevant topics. Staff support children with achieving their goals and working through any challenges. One child said: ‘My key worker has done more than my social worker. He gets things done.’ Children also learn to appreciate equality, diversity and difference, which includes increasing their knowledge about various faiths.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a voice within the home, influencing their care plans, the children’s guide, individual incentives, activity and menu planning and staff recruitment. All children are developing their independent living skills. They enjoy cooking and learning to make a range of culturally diverse dishes. Children particularly enjoy the cooking challenges, where they compete with their peers and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning for one child who moved into the home for a very short time was not strong. Leaders and managers highlight that due to the lack of information from the placing authority, a care plan was not completed. This child also left in an emergency. However, staff were able to complete some commendable direct work with this child that focused on the child’s personal development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 4

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

All children spoken with said that they feel safe. A child described the home as ‘calm’. Children enjoy amiable and mutually respectful relationships with staff and each other. Children enjoy spending time in their home. Staff help to provide a nurturing and stable base for them. A gangs specialist highlighted that the home ‘provides a level of care and safeguarding that is rarely seen’.

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

There are no current issues with children going missing from the home or being exploited. Children are more trusting of staff, and they are learning to resist peer pressure. Children have increased their own safeguarding knowledge about personal safety, which includes the dangers of gang involvement and online safety. A social worker stated that staff are ‘very proactive in keeping the children safe’.

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

There is a significant improvement in the children’s emotional well-being since they moved into the home. Children have a better understanding of their own past trauma. They enhance their knowledge by participating in specific training about the impact of adverse childhood experiences. Children access therapy, and they appreciate the emotional support staff give them.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children and how their personal experiences affect them. Staff use de-escalation strategies, creatively engage children and understand what upsets them. This has reduced the number of incidents, and there has been a reduction in self-harming behaviours. Staff rarely use physical intervention. Staff prefer not to give consequences for negative behaviour. They discuss issues with children and help them to reflect on their actions. Staff also prioritise rewarding children’s achievements; children respond well to this approach.

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

A community approach is taken to safeguard children. A visit from the local police has helped children to understand the police role and the law. Staff take a proactive approach to ensure that local stores do not sell prohibited items to children, such as knives, and they have referred this matter to the relevant authorities.

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

Individual safety plans are in place to help to protect children. One child’s risk assessment was not updated following an incident, but this had minimal impact as other documents had been updated to reflect the current risks. Leaders and managers acknowledge if they are unable to keep children safe. They work effectively with local authorities to ensure children are moved to a care provision more suited to their needs.

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

Practices in the home are designed to safeguard children. Staff have completed a wide range of safeguarding training, and managers regularly assess their safeguarding knowledge. High staffing ratios enable children to receive one-to-one or two-to-one support. When children have not been appropriately supported, senior managers have taken the necessary action. Leaders and managers are using the disciplinary process effectively to address this area of poor practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from the home’s positive journey since the last inspection. The new dynamic management team has helped to transform the service. They are aspirational for children and have high expectations of staff. Leaders and managers have worked exceptionally hard to change the culture and mindset of staff, to ensure that children receive a good quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers readily work in partnership with involved professionals and advocate for children, focusing on children’s best interests. They challenge local authorities to provide the necessary documentation and resources to help them to fully address children’s identified needs. A mental health professional praised their ‘commitment, dedication and nurturing care’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is high, and they are proud of children’s achievements. A social worker described staff as ‘child-focused’. Staff training is prioritised, and they receive an extensive amount of training. Support staff also complete specific vocational training of a higher level than is required for their role. New staff receive a structured induction. Staff also benefit from regular supervision and team meetings, and annual appraisals are scheduled to take place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have addressed the requirements and recommendation raised at the last inspection effectively. Children benefit from the improvement in the safeguarding policies, record-keeping, increased staff training and management auditing and oversight. Staff are developing a good understanding of residential care; leaders and managers feel this is needed before more children move into the home. An effective quality assurance system is in place to monitor the quality of care provided to children. Leaders and managers are dedicated to developing and empowering staff. Leaders and managers have good plans to further improve the service. However, these ideas have not been formally recorded in an action plan with specific time frames. Improvement is required in the quality of recording. Records do not always demonstrate the good practice from staff and all of the good work they undertake with children when they leave the home. Some of the language used in records is

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

judgemental and does not take into account children’s trauma.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a number of communal areas where children can socialise and relax. Staff spend minimal time in the office. The majority of their time is spent in the kitchen, where children tend to congregate. The home has a large garden, with outdoor furniture and a basketball net. However, children are unable to fully enjoy the garden as it is not maintained to a suitable standard. The lawn is partly overgrown, and there is an unsecured tile on the patio. Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that children receive the appropriate level of support and that risk assessments are updated following incidents. 1 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 1 July 2023

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 1 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 7 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must produce an action plan dedicated to the development of the quality of care provided in the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day-to-day health and well-being. In particular, ensure that children receive required support in regard to smoking and vaping. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.10)  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. In particular, this refers to using appropriate trauma-informed language. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. In most cases, it will be a homely and domestic environment. In particular, the home’s garden

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Recommendations

should be maintained, and the wobbly patio tile secured. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2624855 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: I.M.P.A.C.T Children’s Residential Care Ltd

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Inspector

Sharon Payne, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 9 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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