Children's Home run by Mon Ami Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2685568 1 Registered provider: Mon Ami Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties. The home is managed and run by a private company. At the time of this inspection, there was one child living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 14 February 2023.

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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 requires improvement to be 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 for children’s home: 2685568 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living in the home has been supported to settle in quickly and has developed warm and secure relationships with staff. The child benefits from well- planned, highly individualised care that promotes their needs effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child benefits from a caring, supportive and nurturing environment that helps them to feel safe and secure. The child told the inspector, ‘It’s good. We play lots of games. My favourite room is the playroom.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote the child’s education effectively. As there are plans for the child to return to her family after a short time, they are currently home schooled, and staff support the child with their education and learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is registered with a doctor, dentist and opticians and has access to these services when they need them. Staff support the child to attend their routine health and medical appointments. Medical consent is in place, so staff are familiar with the health decisions and responsibilities that are delegated to them. The health needs of children are met effectively by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to have family time so that they sustain their close relationships with the people who are most important to them. A parent said, ‘I think she’s doing well. I haven’t got any worries.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide the child with positive activities at home and in the community, including nature walks, baking, going to the cinema, swimming, and visiting farms and theme parks. As a result, children’s interests and hobbies are well promoted by staff.

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

Staff consistently place the safety of children at the forefront of their practice. They use risk management plans effectively to address the specific needs and emerging vulnerabilities of children. Children become increasingly safer because of the actions staff take to help and protect them.

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

There has been one isolated occasion of a child going missing from the home. Staff actively looked for the child and reported them missing to the police to secure the child’s safe return. There have been no further missing-from-home episodes and none involving the child who currently lives at the home.

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

Staff are trained in child protection and take their safeguarding roles and responsibilities very seriously. Staff are familiar with the procedures for dealing with allegations and reporting suspected abuse. Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities to promote the safety and well-being of children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2685568 3 Staff consistently reinforce, praise and reward children’s positive behaviour. They ensure that the use of consequences is kept to an absolute minimum. When consequences are used to address negative behaviour, staff ensure that they are balanced, fair and proportionate. A parent said, ‘She was very angry but now she is a completely a different child. She is so much calmer.’

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

The use of restraint is always a last resort that is only ever used to protect children from harm. Staff are trained in behaviour management so that they know how to use physical intervention safely and effectively.

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good

This is the home’s first inspection since its registration with Ofsted in February 2023. A well-qualified, skilled and experienced registered manager ensures that the home is managed efficiently and effectively.

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good

However, since the home was registered, one child did not have a positive experience of moving on from the home. The manager made the decision that the team could not care for the child any longer. Although the manager felt this decision was not taken lightly, the child only lived at the home for a very short time and was moved immediately following an incident when they were arrested, without any time to plan or prepare mentally.

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good

The manager leads the staff team by example and channels staff’s efforts effectively. Staff feel supported by the manager and have a clear sense of purpose and direction. One member of staff said, ‘The manager is approachable, professional and understanding, and there is a real sense of teamwork.’

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good

Staff benefit from regular team meetings and relevant training and receive practice- related supervision. This ensures that they have the necessary skills and can reflect on their practice and review how they meet the specific needs of children.

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good

An independent person visits the home on a regular basis to monitor the quality of the children’s care. The person who conducts these visits reviews the effectiveness of the arrangements made to safeguard children and promote their safety and well- being. The external monitoring activities help the manager to understand the strengths and weaknesses in the quality of care provided so that they can tackle shortfalls, to secure continuing improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: 2685568 4

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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 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 arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)) 21 August 2023

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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: 2685568 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 149 Albion Road, London N16 9JU

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Suzanne Grocott-Waters

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Inspector

Anthony Kyem, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2685568 6 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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