Children's Home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited in Somerset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 1 Registered provider: HOMES 2 INSPIRE 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 care for three children who have emotional and social needs. At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in this home. They are well supported by caring staff who work hard to develop positive relationships with them. Staff are respectful, and they value the child, their views and their identity. Through listening to the child, they adapt how they support them. Staff record information in an individual and thoughtful manner as per the child’s wishes. This positive care is embedded throughout the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Detailed work was completed to prepare children to move into the home. Managers and staff work hard to make sure they have relevant information about the child before they move in. The manager and staff developed positive relationships with the child, their family and professionals before they moved in. One professional commented that the time and effort put into the transition were by far the best she has worked with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Pathway plans and risk assessments have been developed since the first child moved in. For the second child, this is still a work in progress. The risk assessment included relevant information about the child’s changing needs. This information was not included in his care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is clean and well maintained. The home is personalised in a way that considers the wishes of the child. There has been damage caused to one child’s bedroom, and the manager is taking steps to resolve this. Children have personalised their bedrooms with support from staff so their rooms feel like their own space. There is a large garden for children to play in. They enjoy using the trampoline and playing football with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have routines and boundaries in place for them in this home. One child has made good progress with education since being at this home. Staff also provide children with additional educational activities that have included mechanics, cookery and gardening. Education for the second child is being considered for September 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have made good progress with their health needs. Staff support children to attend health appointments. The children are living a healthier lifestyle with the dedicated support they receive from the staff team. One child enjoyed taking part in a ‘lasagne challenge’ in this home in which staff competed to cook the best lasagne. This helped them to explore more about healthy eating.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive contact with their families. The manager and staff have worked hard to develop positive relationships with family members, who are welcomed into the home. This helps children to feel safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to in this home. Staff are attentive, and they offer children Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 4 meaningful choices about the things they like to do or how they are cared for. Staff support children to engage in activities outside of the home. A sports day is being planned, which will enable the children to mix with other children from the other homes in the local area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are working closely with one child to help him talk about his feelings when he is angry or upset. Staff show empathy to this child so that he feels heard. This has reduced incidents of aggressive behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have worked hard to develop a positive trusting relationship with one child who is new to the home. One professional commented that engagement with this child is ‘the best I have seen in the last two years’. They continued, ‘The team are finding every opportunity to develop a supportive relationship with him, working at his pace and listening to his wishes.’

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

Children are safe in this home. Staff build positive relationships with children. This means that staff know children well and understand how to keep them safe. When safeguarding concerns are identified, staff take positive action to keep children safe. They talk to children openly about worries for their safety.

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

Risk assessments are clearly documented and kept up to date. This includes information about safety risks due to one child’s escalating behaviour towards staff. These documents clearly identify risks and inform staff of what steps they need to take to keep children safe. Managers keep risk management under constant review, and they change plans and strategies to respond to the changing needs of the children.

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

One child has gone missing from this home on two occasions. Staff are developing a positive relationship with this child to try and reduce these episodes. There is a clear protocol in place for this child that identifies his links in the local community and places he is likely to visit. This plan was evident in conversations within records and also in conversation with the child, staff and the manager.

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

Physical interventions are used when needed to keep children and staff safe. When incidents do happen, there is a clear way of recording these. A debrief is held with the child and members of staff following each incident. Managers have good oversight, and they adapt and change strategies as needed. This is working well for the children.

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

When there have been concerns about the language used by one child, the manager sought appropriate advice from professionals. Work was then completed with the child around healthy relationships.

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

An additional safeguarding concern was identified during the inspection, in which one child had caused damage to the home and hurt a member of staff. This resulted in him being physically restrained by two staff. This incident was not reported to Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 5 Ofsted. A discussion took place with the manager about this. The manager felt that this incident happened as the child was distressed and anxious when moving into the home. Following this incident, his behaviour was much calmer, and he later settled. The manager therefore deemed that a report to Ofsted was not required.

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

Staff talk to children openly about their behaviour and how to improve this. When children talk to staff about situations they have found difficult, staff change their approaches to work positively with children. They use positive parenting approaches with children and implement positive boundaries. This has included a book of positive feedback that is being made for each child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post at this home since February 2023. The manager knows the children well and can describe their needs in detail. One child has only been in the home for a short period of time. The manager has a good understanding of his needs and history before he arrived at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager talks passionately about the progress that children have made, and she has aspirations for the children’s future. There is a positive culture in the home. The manager has a good understanding of potential risks to children, and they take positive steps to manage these effectively. The manager has identified gaps in support for the children and has advocated well for them when speaking to professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers identify any learning and research that are relevant to the home. They adapt their care when necessary. Managers support staff well to work through any difficult times when incidents have occurred in the home. This means that staff can continue to provide good, consistent care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals and family members is very positive. Family members describe that there is good communication between them and staff. They receive regular updates regarding their children. One parent described the staff as being ‘amazing’ and said that she feels the home is really listening to her and her child. She said that staff are really taking on board their wishes about his room. This means that her child is feeling positive about his room for the first time in a very long time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight is seen throughout documents that are held. There are risk assessments in place that consider risks associated within the home and when children are in their local community. Children’s records are detailed and written in such a way that ensures they are meaningful to the child. When the manager is unhappy about the consistency of recordings, this is addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home development plan positively identifies ways in which the home is moving forward and the future training needs of the staff. The independent person report and quality of care review are effective monitoring systems to identify the strengths of the home and areas for improvement. These are thorough and provide advice Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 6 and support to the manager. The independent visitor does not always spend sufficient time with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The record management system provides clear information about children’s care. Documents are clearly linked, which provides the reader with detailed information about the children. This recording system improves the quality of oversight that managers have.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment practice is in place to keep children safe. Health and safety records are well maintained and are up to date. The manager is aware of potential risks in the local community and takes steps to monitor these. There is positive engagement between the manager and the local neighbourhood.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision is held regularly for all staff, and these records indicate a good level of reflective supervision. Staff are provided with good levels of support and training to move forward in their practice. Staff report that they enjoy working in the home and feel well supported by their manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly. Minutes indicate a good level of reflection and discussion about issues that are impacting on the home. Staff are encouraged to engage during team meetings and think about areas of learning and research to help inform their practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 7

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14 (1) (a) the care planning standard)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that any care plans for children are up to date. 29 September

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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: 2719373 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: HOMES 2 INSPIRE LIMITED

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lumonics House, Valiant Office Suites, Valley Drive, Swift Valley Industrial Estate, Rugby CV21 1TQ

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Inspectors

Sarah Sheffield, Social Care Inspector Penelope Kutz, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 9 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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