Children's Home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2677057 1 Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to 14 children with learning difficulties, sensory impairment, autism spectrum disorder and/or challenging behaviours. Young people may stay beyond the age of 18 to complete their education.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is split into five separate houses. Four houses can accommodate up to three children in each house. One house can accommodate up to two children.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is situated on the same site as a special school. The inspector only inspected the social care provision on this site.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2022 and holds the appropriate qualifications.

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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: 31 January 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2677057 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2677057 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, six children were living at the home. Since the last inspection, two children have moved into the home and no children have left.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are living in two of the homes on the site. Managers have carefully considered the children’s needs alongside those already living in the home to ensure the best match possible for children. This means that new children moving into the home have settled quickly and there has been the least amount of disruption to other children already living there.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At times, the home has struggled to maintain a consistent staff team. However, children have coped well with the changes in staff. Staff have shown commitment and dedication to children, which has resulted in the forming of positive relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and have focused on developing children’s communication systems. Staff can pick up on children’s subtle cues and support their communication with visual prompts, signing and objects of reference. As a result, children are more able to express their likes and dislikes and make choices about what they want to do, eat and drink. Consequently, children are less anxious and feel listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A strength of this home is having education and other professionals, such as occupational therapists and speech and language therapists, on the same site. This joined-up approach in developing plans helps children to progress. For example, children have the same communication systems in the home and in school. Children’s routines, strategies and targets are shared so that similar approaches are used in both settings. This approach successfully supports children to progress, become more independent and better able to manage their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend education at the on-site school. It is also a day school, which means that children can mix with children they do not live with. Children can have flexible timetables if needed to support regular attendance. Some children have a more tailored curriculum which meets their needs. This means that children who struggle in education have improved attendance and focus on what they are learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are kept busy. Staff make sure that children have a wide variety of experiences and opportunities to try new things. Children enjoy walks in the grounds, using the play equipment in the gardens and playing with the wide variety of toys available in the homes. Children have been on a holiday in a caravan at the coast. They go to local parks, the countryside, trampoline parks, out for meals, the zoo, cinema, bowling and swimming. This gives children the opportunity to socially engage with people they do not live with and build confidence and resilience in social settings. Inspection report for children’s home: 2677057 4 The homes that children live in have all the things they need. There is space for children to be together or separate if they wish. Children’s bedrooms are personalised. However, one home does not feel as homely as it could and another would benefit from having an unpleasant odour eliminated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to stay in touch with their families through technology, visits to the home and staff taking children to visit their families. Parents spoken to by the inspectors are positive about the home and all feel that their child is well cared for and kept safe.

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

Staff know the children well. They are knowledgeable about children’s individual needs and risks, along with the strategies needed to keep them safe. Staff follow children’s plans so that children have consistency of routines and boundaries. This consistent approach results in less anxiety for the children and fewer incidents.

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

Staff only use physical intervention when absolutely necessary to keep children safe. Records contain the required detail and managers have good oversight of these. Managers challenge staff when it is felt that de-escalation strategies could have been used more effectively. This scrutiny by managers ensures that staff practice is appropriate.

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

When incidents occur, managers take action to review what happened and put in place improvements to reduce risks to children. For example, when it was identified the openness of the site created a risk of children wandering off, a fence with a gate was erected around some of the homes. This improved the safety and security of the area.

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

Following an incident of a child gaining access to some cleaning fluids, the manager provided a locked cupboard upstairs as well as downstairs for staff to put cleaning products in. However, on one occasion, staff failed to use the cupboards. This could have posed a risk to children. This has been addressed by managers to prevent further incidents occurring.

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

Staff are proactive in reporting concerns regarding other staff members’ practice, no matter how small. Managers take prompt action in reporting and investigating. As a result, children are kept safe by staff who feel listened to and know that their concerns are taken seriously.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is much more confident in her role and has high expectations for herself and the staff. She is a good role model and will challenge staff and others where necessary so that children have the best possible care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2677057 5 The manager has made improvements to how care is provided. She has helped staff to better understand children’s plans, addressed shortfalls in staff knowledge and provided child-specific training to upskill the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have received bespoke training on topics such as supporting children’s communication, understanding children with additional needs, attachment theory and engaging children through playfulness. However, specific training to support children with a hearing impairment has yet to take place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have had an opportunity to reflect on learning from enquiries following abuse in other children’s homes. This has helped staff to understand the risks and vulnerability of children who are cared for away from their families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Due to their level of need, many of the children struggle with understanding the concept of making a complaint. Managers have considered ways to help children understand this concept. However, further work is needed to help children to express their worries or concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A strength of this home is the multi-agency working. Occupational health therapists and speech and language therapists are involved in supporting staff’s knowledge through induction and training. They also help by providing day-to-day advice and support to staff to enhance their knowledge and to develop new strategies to support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff told the inspector that they feel well supported by the managers. They said that they receive regular reflective supervision. In addition, staff have development plans to help them gain skills for their roles and to progress in their careers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have looked at staff retention and the reasons for staff leaving. They have implemented the learning from this to improve the retention of staff. For example, they have made improvements to how they interview candidates and improved the induction and training of staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2677057 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children who cannot or choose not to verbalise have the opportunity to have their views, wishes and feelings heard and respected in the same way as other children. Specifically, the registered person should find creative ways for children to express their views about their care and make complaints. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.24)  The registered person should ensure that staff are ambitious for every child in the home and gain skills and experience that enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential. Specifically, staff should understand how to support children with a hearing impairment and have all the skills they need to implement the total communication methods used at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52,

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Recommendations

paragraph 10.5)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing environment that meets children’s needs. The home must comply with relevant health and safety legislation, such as alarms and food hygiene. However, in doing so, it should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. This specifically relates to ensuring that unpleasant odours are eliminated and that cleaning fluids are stored away securely when not in use. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2677057 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited

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Inspector

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2677057 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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