Children's home run by Solace for Children Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2503710 1 Registered provider: Solace for Children 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 company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children aged between seven and 17 who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2022 and is suitably qualified.

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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: 18 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: 2503710 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/01/2023 Full Good 14/02/2022 Full Good 08/10/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2503710 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel happy and settled in the home. They have developed good and trusting relationships with those who care for them. The manager and staff team are nurturing and reflective. They go out of their way to spend time and work closely with children to help them to share their thoughts and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in a variety of activities together. This has included a summer holiday to the seaside. Consequently, children have a good sense of belonging in the home, which helps them to develop in self-confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff continue to support children well to develop a positive relationship with their birth families. As a result, children are in regular contact with their parents and siblings. This good support helps children to develop a strong sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in all areas of their development. They are attending school and engaging in education. Even children who experience considerable challenges in a school environment are making progress. This is due to the support given to them from the manager and staff in the home. One child has recently taken his GCSEs and is due to attend college in September. Another child has had the opportunity to go on a school trip abroad.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are aware of the importance of keeping healthy. They enjoy playing football and engage in a variety of activities. Children are also supported to maintain a healthy diet. The manager is proactive in supporting children to receive the specialist therapeutic support they require. This helps children to grow in self- esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff provide good opportunities to enable children to develop independence skills. Children take pride in their environment and are learning how to cook and budget for themselves. As a result, children are being well supported and prepared for adult life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are clear transition plans for when children move into the home. The most recent child entering the home was able to visit and meet staff and existing children before moving in. This helped to him to swiftly settle into his new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a comfortable place for children to live and is furnished to a high standard. It has recently undergone redecoration in many of the communal areas.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that photos of children engaging in different activities are displayed around the home. Children’s bedrooms are of a good size and are personalised to their individual tastes. This helps children to develop a sense of self- worth. Inspection report for children’s home: 2503710 4

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

Children do not regularly go missing from home or put themselves at risk. When children have walked off site, staff are proactive. They act appropriately to ensure their safety by following them, searching for them as needed and carrying out regular welfare checks when they know where they are, but the children are absent from the home without authority.

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

Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding and their responsibilities in responding should safeguarding issues arise. However, placement plans and risk assessments are duplicated and overcomplicated. This has resulted in some records not accurately reflecting changes in children’s care needs. This could cause confusion and potentially lead to children not receiving the appropriate level of care.

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

Self-harming behaviour and incidents necessitating the use of physical intervention have significantly reduced. This is because staff provide clear and consistent boundaries to ensure that children know what expectations are in place. Staff and the manager work closely with children to help them to develop positive relationships with staff and each other. They engage well with specialist health professionals to support children with their emotions.

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

Staff recruitment procedures are thorough. This helps to ensure that staff working at the home are suitable to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff are child focused and share a clear ethos of high expectations for the children they care for. The manager has a clear vison for improvement and how this will be achieved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the running of the home. This ensures that she knows and understands the home’s strengths and weaknesses well, taking effective action when needed. She has a good level of oversight and reflection when incidents or events occur.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team of staff are well qualified and support one another well. They receive a good level of supervision that supports their development and have training opportunities that are tailored to meet children’s needs. The manager further supports this by inviting external professionals, such as therapists, to team meetings. This further develops staff practice and learning. As a result, staff feel supported and able to meet the needs of the children they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed effective working relationships with placing social workers and other external professionals. External professionals are positive about the home and the quality of care given to the children. They consider the manager and staff to be good advocates for the children in their care and instrumental to the progress they are making. Inspection report for children’s home: 2503710 5 The location risk assessment for the home is regularly reviewed by the manager. Some improvements have been made to this document. For example, it now includes information about a nearby river. However, the assessment is not yet wholly effective as it does not seek the views of the police or other relevant people following each review. A recommendation raised at the last inspection is repeated. Inspection report for children’s home: 2503710 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and the strategies for managing them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: 2503710 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solace for Children Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Tadcaster House, Kempton Road, Pershore, Worcestershire WR10 2TA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Howard Woolfenden

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Inspectors

Suzanne Young, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2503710 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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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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