Children's Home run by Active Ark Limited in Cumberland

Inspection report for children's home: 1233899 1 Registered provider: Active Ark Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider operates this home. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home. One child was spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2018.

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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

Date of last inspection: 14 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: 1233899 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/11/2022 Full Inadequate 02/03/2022 Full Good 13/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1233899 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children move into and on from the home in a sensitively planned way. Before children move in, staff spend time getting to know them and provide them with explanations about the home and the staff who work there. This helps the child settle into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home have built trusting and secure relationships with staff. Staff invest time in children. They listen to them, protect them and promote their welfare. Staff are proud of children’s progress and achievements. As a result, children can develop a sense of permanence and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making good progress due to the individualised care they are receiving from the staff. The care provided meets their needs and supports them to develop self-confidence, independence and resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s health and well-being and encourage them to attend routine health appointments. This supports the children to remain in good health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child returned to school after the summer break and another child is being actively supported to seek education, employment or training. Relevant plans are in place to support the children with their education. The manager and staff are building positive relationships with education professionals and employability services to support the children with their education and employment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see their families. Staff have good relationships with family members, which means that the children can maintain relationships with people who are important to them. One parent said, ‘Staff have been good to [name of child] and have helped support me too.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated and furnished to a good standard, except for the kitchen, which requires redecoration and new fittings. Some minor shortfalls identified in one of the bathrooms and bedroom require attention. The garden areas were overgrown and could be made more inviting for the children to use.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector observed positive and caring relationships between staff and the children. The children live in a happy, relaxed, safe, hazard-free home where staff treat them with dignity and respect.

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

The safety and welfare of the children are at the centre of staff’s practice. The manager and staff know the children well, and understand and follow their care plans and risk management plans. The children’s risk assessments address their Inspection report for children's home: 1233899 4 vulnerabilities and include clear strategies for staff to follow. This helps staff to keep the children safe.

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

One child said they feel safe and happy living at the home and are supported to stay safe by the staff. Parents and a social worker expressed the same opinion.

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

Staff undertake a range of safeguarding training, including training on exploitation, self-harm and internet safety. This means children’s risk-taking behaviours are understood and managed well by the staff. Staff would benefit from training on substance misuse and autism to further enhance their skills.

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

Staff are trained in physical intervention and de-escalation. They have not had to physically hold a child. They have been able to de-escalate any verbal outbursts effectively. This supports good relationships to to be maintained between the children and staff.

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

On occasions, one child has gone missing from home. However, these episodes have significantly reduced from when they first moved into the home. Staff use their professional curiosity to safeguard the children. They follow missing-from-care protocols and consult with relevant professionals such as police and social workers to share their knowledge, minimise risk and to return the child home safely.

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

When allegations are made, leaders and managers take appropriate action to share the concerns with the local authority designated officer and the child’s school. This ensures the child remains safe in school and at home.

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good

The manager has a relevant childcare and management qualification. There is a stable and committed staff team that has high aspirations for the children. There is a strong ethos of teamwork. Staff said that there is honest communication and there is a sense of shared ownership in their practice.

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good

Staff morale is high. Staff are motivated and speak highly of the leadership of the home. They describe good levels of support and a culture of positive challenge and reflective practice. One member of staff said, ‘I feel we are a strong team, we are quite tight, provide consistency and share good communication.’

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good

The manager makes good use of supervision, during which supportive and reflective discussion takes place. The staff have received an annual appraisal of their performance; however, this would benefit from including feedback from professionals who have worked with the member of staff over the year and from children who live in the home.

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good

The manager’s six-monthly review of the quality of care is completed within required timescales and provides some detail about children’s outcomes. The review would Inspection report for children's home: 1233899 5 benefit from more evaluation, clearer plans for development and feedback from stakeholders, which would help to support the home’s ongoing improvement.

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good

The manager does not have robust reviewing, monitoring and evaluation systems in place to support the home’s development. Although the manager takes action to address shortfalls, the system she uses does not allow her to have a clear understanding of the home’s strengths, weaknesses and progress.

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good

Shortfalls identified in the condition of the home, staff training and management of the home were not impacting negatively on the children’s care, safety, well-being or progress. Inspection report for children's home: 1233899 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, 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (2)(vii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring the redesign and decoration of the kitchen are completed and that the kitchen drawers and worktops are made good and fit for use. Also, ensure the garden areas are well kept and weeds removed and grass cut. Also, ensure the blinds in one child’s bedroom are fixed and the redecoration around the window and skirting board in the child’s bathroom is completed.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 22 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 22 October 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1233899 7 This specifically relates to the manager ensuring she has effective monitoring and reviewing systems in place to oversee the day-to-day running of the home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff receive training in substance misuse and autism. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and of children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure they have a system in place which allows them to monitor the matters set out in regulation 45 at least once every six months. They should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the

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Recommendations

care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. The registered person should obtain feedback from relevant stakeholders to inform the review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

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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: 1233899 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Active Ark, Unit E, Baron Way, Kingmoor Business Park, Carlisle CA6 4SJ

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Inspector

Julie Elder, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1233899 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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