Children's home run by Aegis 24/7 Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2706377 1 Registered provider: AEGIS 24/7 Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home was registered with Ofsted in February 2023. It is owned and managed by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to one child who may have social and emotional difficulties. One child is currently living in the home. This is the only child to have lived in the home since it was registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager, who has management oversight of a sister home located nearby.

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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 children's home: 2706377 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected. Inspection report children's home: 2706377 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s needs are understood prior to them moving into the home and that the staff team have the skills to meet these needs. The child was welcomed into the home in a sensitive manner and received individualised care from the start.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff treat the child with dignity and respect. They have good knowledge of the child’s background and provide care that is sensitive to their needs. This care is supporting the child to build relationships with staff and develop a positive self-view.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the child’s preferred ways of communicating and consistently support these. Staff have tailored their communication approaches to align with the child’s needs. They encourage the child to share their views in respect of their day- to-life and their goals and aspirations, in a meaningful way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to have ownership of their progress and to celebrate their achievements. The manager and staff work in line with the child’s progression plan to set and review long-term and short-term targets in line with the child’s needs. The child contributes to this plan by telling staff what their goals are and what help they need to reach them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s physical and emotional health is promoted. Staff supported to child to attend routine health appointments and the manager has sought specialist support in respect of the child’s emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and deputy manager are good advocates for the child’s education. They work in close partnership with the local authority social worker and virtual school head so that a suitable education provider can be identified. In the absence of a school provision, the manager has arranged for a private tutor to visit the home to support the child with their education. In addition to this, staff support the child’s education through in house activities such as education worksheets, discussions about news topics and activities outside of the home. One professional stated that the manager and staff ‘cannot be faulted’ for the support they have provided in relation to the child’s education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to take part in activities that promote their interests and aim to build their self-esteem and resilience. They have arranged specific activities and trips so that the child is able to spend time outside of the home and can take part in experiences that they enjoy. Inspection report children's home: 2706377 4

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

The child has built trusting relationships with staff and feels safe. One professional said that the child ‘talks fondly about the staff’ and that the child feels ‘comfortable and safe’.

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

Staff promote positive relationships and boundaries in the home. The child is involved in planning their routines and contributes to their own behaviour support plan. This gives the child ownership and responsibility. If the child is struggling, staff spend time with them to get an understanding of what is happening and how they can best support the child. This has enabled staff to create an environment which meets the child’s needs, has helped the child to settle into the home and make positive steps in respect of their behaviours.

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

Staff understand the individual needs and risks of the child. Risk assessments are up to date, clearly detail the child’s vulnerabilities and set out what action staff should take to manage any risks. This has enabled staff to take a proactive role in reducing risk and supports them in responding quickly and effectively if safeguarding con- cerns arise. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed by the manager to ensure that they accurately reflect the child’s vulnerabilities and avoid any unnecessary labelling of the child. Key-work sessions help the child to understand how to keep themselves safe. These sessions also promote the child’s understanding of the world and, through discus- sions have helped the child to develop tolerance for others. Staff have a good understanding of contextual safeguarding and the missing-from- home protocol. This promotes the child’s safety online and, in the community. There

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

have been no missing-from-home incidents, but staff know how to respond should this happen. There have been no allegations made in respect of staff. Staff are aware of safeguarding procedures and the whistle-blowing policy should they have concerns about the conduct of a member of staff. Staff are recruited in line with safer recruitment procedures. This reduces the risk of unsuitable people working with children and promotes their safety in the home.

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

The manager provides a safe physical environment for children to live in. The locality risk assessment keeps staff aware of the possible risks in the community. The manager has sourced information from a variety of partner agencies so that the staff team can act on any known risks quickly. There is good collaborative working with other agencies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and dedicated management team that is passionate about caring for children. The home development plan is ambitious for children and holds managers and staff to account for the development of the service. Leaders and managers are visible, and staff have confidence in them. Inspection report children's home: 2706377 5 The child’s plans comprehensively identify their needs, align with local authority plans and the child’s voice is evident. There is evidence of good working relationships with partner agencies, which means that the adults involved in the child’s life work together to support them to achieve important milestones, goals and achieve permanence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Case records accurately reflect the child’s everyday life, the support and help that staff provide and the progress the child is making. However, recording is not consistently written in a manner that is sensitive, non-judgemental or helps the child to understand their time in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is good. Staff feel supported by leaders and managers, demonstrate a strong commitment to therapeutic parenting and can describe the difference that this makes to children’s lives. One professional described the staff team as ‘highly trained’ and that the child receives care from a ‘consistent staff team’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers promote a culture of learning and development in the home through monthly practice-based supervision, training, and regular team meetings. Staff value the opportunities they have to develop their practice as this has a positive impact on the children they care for. Although the supervision matrix provides evidence that practice-based supervisions take place monthly, supervision records are not always on file. This weakens accountability on the part of mangers and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home provides a warm and welcoming environment for children. It is clean and decorated to a good standard. The child can personalise the home in accordance with their personal taste and preferences. However, the home would benefit from some maintenance work being done to the garden and the interior of the home. Inspection report children's home: 2706377 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home's records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. They must be written in a way that is sensitive and non-judgemental and enables the child to understand their time at the home (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the registered manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. In particular, the registered person should ensure that copies of supervisions notes are on staff files. ('Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming. In particular, this includes maintaining the grounds around the home for children to enjoy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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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 children's home: 2706377 7

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Beverley Jackson

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Inspector

Shirin Khan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2706377 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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