Children's home run by T-Junction Children’s Services

Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 1 Registered provider: T-Junction Children’s Services Ltd 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 operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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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: 31 January 2023

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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: 1252023 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/01/2023 Full Good 25/10/2022 Full Inadequate 15/06/2021 Full Good 23/10/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s overall experiences and progress are good. A social worker said, ‘It’s a fantastic placement, so nurturing, and [name of child]’s development has come on leaps and bounds.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is personalised to their individual needs, and they have good educational attendance. Children are making good progress with their education, and staff communicate effectively with education staff. A schoolteacher commented, ‘[Name of child] is working above age-related expectation, and his progress is exceptional.’ This provides children with a structure to their day and routine, which supports children to make progress in all areas of their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, welcoming and decorated to a good standard. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and reflect their interests. Photos of the children and their families are displayed around the home, and this contributes to the homely feel.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff. The staff know the children very well. Children who are unable to share their wishes and feelings verbally are supported by staff with alternative communication methods. Staff understand the needs of the children, and this helps children to feel cared for and understood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the value to children of maintaining family relationships. They support children to spend time with family and other people who are important to them where this is safe and in children’s best interests. This means children maintain very important relationships with those close to them, and it also helps children maintain their sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to access a variety of activities outside of school that are in line with children’s interests. One child said, ‘It’s good living here,’ and went on to share how they enjoy all the activities they undertake. Activities provide children with opportunities for new experiences and to develop their hobbies and interests.

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

The staff rarely resort to physical intervention to manage children’s behaviour. The manager and staff support children to help them understand what happens when they use physical intervention. This support is reflective and helps staff update the children’s individual risk assessments and ensures that children are kept safe.

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

Staff support children to develop positive peer relationships, although this is not consistently recorded for all children. Staff help children to understand about bullying and the consequences. Staff show understanding about what other factors might be impacting on how children are feeling and how they display behaviours. Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 4 Reassurance and guidance are provided to children from staff after an incident has occurred. This helps children understand more about their feelings and emotions.

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

When there is a natural consequence required, staff discuss this with children, which helps them understand why. The manager has oversight of natural consequences to ensure they are proportionate. The manager does not always reflect on what staff could have done differently.

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

The locality risk assessment identifies risks within the local and wider community. The assessment includes how risks are reduced and are then linked to the needs of individual children. This enables staff to provide increased safeguarding support to children.

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

Children’s risk assessments are difficult to read at times, and they do not reflect all known risks. They do not describe how staff can support children when they are struggling with their emotions. It is more difficult for new or agency staff to understand how they can support children’s needs effectively. For example, following an incident, one child commented how it was frustrating that staff do things differently to each other. This was the result of information in a risk assessment not being clear enough for staff to follow.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands children’s individual needs. An external professional said, ‘[Name of child] is living in a kind and loving home with people who really care about him.’ Another professional commented, ‘I have found communication really good. If there have been any incidents, I am notified, and they advocate for him well.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by managers. One member of staff said, ‘From my interview and initial induction to the company I have been impressed with the management team; they have shown professionalism and integrity in all areas.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision meetings are regular and supportive. The agenda includes discussion on staff welfare, individual needs of the children and any other work-related issues. However, discussions during supervision sessions do not consistently promote reflection on what staff could do better.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy manager are verbally reflective about the positive progress made for children and in identifying areas for ongoing improvement. The most recent quality of care review completed by the manager misses opportunities for children’s views and external feedback to be included. Monitoring and oversight by managers are taking place but are inconsistent. This reduces the manager’s understanding of the strengths and development opportunities for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Newer staff speak positively about the induction programme. Some staff have not completed mandatory training and additional training specific to the individual needs of the children. The workforce development plan is basic. It does not link the Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 5 training needs of the staff to help them provide the best support and care to the children. This does not ensure that staff have all the necessary skills to support children’s individual and complex needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 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, The 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;

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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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to risk assessments that are clear, concise and support staff to understand how they can help keep children safe. 10 August 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should reflect on oversight and internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should have a workforce development plan that details agreed timescales for staff to complete core training that is tailored to meet the individual needs of the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8) Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 7

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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: 1252023 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: T-Junction Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 27 The Pastures, Narborough, Leicester LE19 3DS

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Inspectors

Kathryn Hurley, Social Care Inspector Kay Challand, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1252023 9 and 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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