Children's Home run by Semi-independent House Limited in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 1 Registered provider: Semi-Independent House 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 by a private provider and is registered to provide care for children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There are two registered managers, and both are suitably qualified and experienced. One manager was present throughout this inspection. The other manager is currently working as a member of staff, although remains jointly responsible for the inspection outcomes.

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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: 21 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: 1259547 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/02/2022 Full Good 12/06/2019 Full Good 27/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a large home which has recently undergone some renovation. They have been able to influence the decoration of the home and have chosen to have a games room converted into a gym. All rooms are homely and inviting. One child has recently requested to move to a larger bedroom, which was supported by staff, and they have been able to personalise this to their taste.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress at school. One child has been supported to continue at their previous school, which provides them with consistency of education. The manager communicates well with school staff about incidents that have occurred at the home. This allows education staff to know how the child is feeling when they attend school and plan for how best to engage them in education and support them during the day. Additional tutoring is also being offered to ensure that the child reaches their potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to spend time with their families, and staff supervise contact when required. Concerns about the safety of family time have been quickly shared with the appropriate professionals and plans have been adapted. One child has been supported to make age-appropriate choices about spending time with their family. Staff have advocated for their wishes while also maintaining positive communication with their parent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have plentiful opportunities to engage in the activities that they enjoy. One child has recently been supported to learn how to play the guitar, and another has been able to access a local drama group. Staff recognise that children can become socially isolated, and they are proactive to nurture friendships that are developing at school to counter any social isolation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans are detailed and enable staff to understand the children’s needs. This informs planned and spontaneous key-work sessions with the children. Children engage well in regular key-work sessions. They are offered debriefs following incidents, which allows them to process their feelings. Records do not always capture the full conversation with children and occasionally do not evidence a warm and empathetic response from staff.

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

Children’s risk assessments are detailed and individualised. They draw effectively on knowledge from other agencies and historical information held about children. Where certain risks become more prevalent for children, additional safety plans are put in place. These dynamically assess risks and offer clear strategies for staff to keep children safe. Risk assessments are currently spread across several different documents and are sometimes repetitive. The manager must be confident that staff Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 4 understand the function of these documents and ensure that these remain accessible.

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

One child who previously lived at the home was known to harm themself. Incidents are well recorded and offer the context both preceding and following the event. Children and staff are supported to have a debrief conversation, which helps staff to reflect on how their practice can be adapted to manage risk. The manager has utilised voluntary support services effectively for children’s mental health while more-specialised services are awaited. For one child, this maintained their placement for a considerable period.

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

Children rarely engage in risk-taking behaviours. There have been no incidents of missing from care or physical intervention. Despite this, staff spoken to have a clear understanding of their responsibility to manage these behaviours should they occur. The child living at the home currently has warm and trusting relationships with staff, which enables them to feel able to talk through their worries openly. Staff are not yet always aware of following risk assessments where behaviours may not be a presenting concern.

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

The manager is encouraging a therapeutic approach to the care provided to children. Staff have received child-specific training to understand the impact of trauma, especially on the children’s mental health. Staff understand that children’s behaviour can be a way of communicating feelings and emotions. The staff are encouraged to provide a patient and empathetic approach to their care while retaining an understanding of the underlying triggers to the behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is ambitious for the children and the home. She has worked collaboratively with senior managers to ensure that improvements have been made to the function and physical appearance of the home since the last inspection. The manager leads by example. Therefore, staff understand her vision and seek her advice. The manager has developed meaningful relationships with external professionals, which is allowing for consistency of approach with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported by the manager. They are offered regular supervision sessions and team meetings. These offer appropriate space for staff to discuss concerns, while not losing the focus on learning and development. Staff say that they can rely on the manager and that they enjoy their work. Consequently, a consistent team is developing, and children are supported by staff who know them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the importance of having effective auditing systems. Good oversight of documents is encouraging reflective and adaptive practice from staff. The manager has developed a document to track the monthly progress of the children and to understand the areas that still need development. While this has the potential to be an insightful assurance system, it is yet to be fully embedded into practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 5 The safe recruitment of staff remains an issue of concern. Gaps in employment history for newly recruited staff are not fully understood or sufficiently explored by the manager. As a result, the manager cannot be assured that the staff working at the home are suitable, which increases children’s vulnerability. Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 30 June 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the behaviour management strategy is understood and applied at all times by staff and is kept under review and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)  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 about individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 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: 1259547 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Semi-Independent House Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 51 Ploverly, Peterborough PE4 6HZ

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Rebecca Bushell and Hayley Couldridge

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Inspector

Louise Copping, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 9 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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