Children's Home run by Hopedale Children and Family Services Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC444869 1 SC444869 Registered provider: Hopedale Children and Family Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and provides care for up to nine children who have suffered adverse childhood experience that has led to associated trauma and complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 22 September 2020 and is suitably qualified.

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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 outstanding

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC444869 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC444869 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at the home have positive relationships with staff. They enjoy living at the home and feel that staff care about them. This helps children to feel a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly and make good progress with their education. There is very good communication between the school and home, and they work collaboratively to support children’s education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to explore new interests and hobbies. Children have the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of activities and trips. Some children attend sports clubs in the local community and participate in competitions. This helps children to learn new things and do what they enjoy, both inside and outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s independence is supported through activities and discussions. One child loves to cook and has aspirations to be a chef, and so he is supported to spend time with the home’s chef, learning how to cook meals. Some of the older children are being supported to have free time and have been planning their trips within the local community. This means that children are well prepared for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend routine health appointments, and medical advice is sought promptly when any health concerns arise. Children are supported to engage with regular clinical sessions to help them manage their emotions. This means that children’s physical and emotional health needs are managed well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to children and consult with them. Children attend regular children’s meetings, where they can have input into meals and activities and raise any concerns. They are also consulted about rules and boundaries. For example, children worked with staff to develop new rules for their regular football games to reduce disagreements. They wrote these in an agreement that they all signed, and behaviour during games has improved. This inclusive approach helps children to feel valued and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and well maintained. There are areas where children can all spend time together, but there are also rooms where they can go if they need a calm space. There is also a large outdoor area where children enjoy playing games, including football.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with their families. Staff build good relationships with children’s families and keep them informed of their child’s progress. One child is being supported to have regular, extended family time in preparation for returning to live with their family. This helps children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Inspection report for children’s home: SC444869 4

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

Staff understand how to keep children safe and the processes to follow if they have concerns. Comprehensive individual risk assessments assist staff in knowing how to respond to each child’s behaviours.

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

Children’s behaviours are well managed and supported with a therapeutic approach. Children have opportunities to discuss any incidents with staff and reflect on what happened and why. This helps children to share their feelings, and it helps staff to understand why a child might have behaved in a particular way.

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

Specialist support is requested when staff feel it is needed. One child is receiving support from a specialist organisation, which is working with the home’s staff and the child to assess his needs and develop a support plan. This means that children with complex needs receive the support that they require.

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

Physical interventions are used appropriately and only as a last resort. Records are clear and comprehensive and show that children and staff have debriefs after physical interventions are used. There is good management oversight of these interventions, which gives staff the opportunity to learn from practice.

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

Allegations are managed well. The manager ensures that allegations are notified to relevant agencies promptly, and safety measures are put in place to safeguard children while any investigations are completed.

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

Medication is managed safely. On one occasion, an error did occur, but this was identified quickly by the manager’s monitoring systems, and additional safeguards were put in place to prevent any further errors.

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

Staff promote positive behaviour through a system of incentives and rewards. Rewards are linked to children’s interests so that they are meaningful to them. The number of rewards far outweighs the use of consequences and is in tune with the home’s nurturing approach. This results in a decrease in challenging behaviour over time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed by an experienced, qualified manager who has been at the home for several years. The staff team is very stable and highly qualified. The care staff are complemented by a therapy team, which helps the children to have regular therapeutic input. This means that children are cared for by an experienced staff team that knows them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers understand the home’s strengths and weaknesses and have a clear vision for the home. Since the last inspection, they decided to reduce the number of children in the home from 15 to nine. They recognised that having a smaller-scale home would be easier to manage and better for the children. This has had a significant positive impact on the home and the care that children receive. Inspection report for children’s home: SC444869 5 Feedback from professionals and children’s families is overwhelmingly positive. The manager is recognised as being excellent at communicating with them and working collaboratively with them. One professional stated, ‘I wish every children’s home could be like [name of children’s home]. I would highly recommend it to colleagues.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

When children make a complaint, they are listened to. Their concerns are investigated, and they receive a clear response. This helps children feel that they can speak out if they are not happy and that their feelings will be taken seriously.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff benefit from regular supervision. Staff appreciate that supervision is focused on their well-being and development. The manager recognises staff’s potential and encourages them to develop their skills and knowledge. This helps staff to feel valued, and this, in turn, helps the home to maintain a happy, stable staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home has sufficient staff to meet the needs of children living at the home. Staffing is based on individual children’s needs. Some children have one-to-one support, and the home also has waking night staff to ensure that children are safe and supervised at all times. There are excellent handovers between staff, and they can also access information via a secure app so that they are always up to date with what is happening in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are well trained. They complete a comprehensive programme of mandatory training as well as training that is specific to the needs of the children. All staff have received training in therapeutic care. Only one staff member in the large staff team is unqualified, and they are currently working towards qualification. This demonstrates the manager’s commitment to staff training, which helps the team to deliver a high standard of care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has excellent monitoring systems in place. For example, a document tracker helps to ensure that all required care documents are in place and what action has been taken to address this if they are not received. This means that the manager has excellent oversight of what is happening in the home so that issues can be addressed quickly. Inspection report for children’s home: SC444869 6

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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: SC444869 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Children and Family Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Olubunmi Fabusuyi

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Inspectors

Vicky Smith, Social Care Inspector Kev Brammer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC444869 8 regulates 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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