Children's Home run by Helpful Investments Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2645858 1 Registered provider: Helpful Investments Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since 28 August 2022. An acting manager is in post and has submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

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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: 21 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: 2645858 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/08/2022 Full Inadequate 23/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2645858 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have positive relationships with the child. They speak warmly of the child and offer them affection. The child has a book with notes from staff praising them for their good behaviour and achievements. This helps the child to feel proud and has increased their self-confidence as a result.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise education and are aspirational for the child’s future. Staff take the child to school every day. The child is helped with their homework and is exceeding in their education. As a result, the child is expected to sit some GCSEs earlier than peers of a similar age.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the child to attend routine and specialist health appointments. The child is supported to have a healthy, varied diet and take regular exercise. Staff promote the child’s emotional and physical well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child makes choices about what happens in their home. The child is consulted daily by staff and attends part of the monthly staff team meeting. This ensures that the child feels listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff recently took the child on holiday and gave them a positive experience. Every week, there are opportunities to plan enjoyable activities, such as coastal walks, going to the gym and singing karaoke. The child talks about the good times they have and says they have made happy memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to see their family and arrange group activities for them. Staff recognise the significance of family relationships for the child. This supports the child’s cultural identity and sense of belonging.

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

Staff understand how to keep the child safe. The child’s personal safety plan is easy to follow, and staff can identify the circumstances that would make the child feel frustrated and angry. Staff use consistent de-escalation techniques. Incidents where the staff have held the child to keep them safe have reduced. Following these incidents, the child and staff are offered debriefs with the acting manager and in- house therapist. This maintains positive relationships with the child.

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

Leaders and managers hold weekly meetings with safeguarding partners, such as police, youth offending services and social care. These agencies have regular input into the child’s plans and support the staff to follow child protection procedures. This increases the child’s safety in the community.

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

Staff know what to do if the child goes missing from care. Staff actively search local areas the child frequents. When the child returns, staff speak to them about their Inspection report for children’s home: 2645858 4 safety and well-being. The child is offered a return home interview from an independent adult. The child feels that the staff care about them.

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

Staff have a system of rewards and consequences to help the child. Consequences are proportionate and responsive to the child’s behaviour. The child said, ‘I get worked up, but later I can understand why staff say I shouldn’t have done something.’ The child is consulted about whether the response is fair. This helps the child to reflect on their actions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced acting manager who has made significant changes since the last inspection. She has efficient monitoring systems in place to ensure effective oversight. Staff are aware of tasks to be carried out on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. The manager ensures that the action plans are reviewed and are having a positive impact on the experiences of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A stable staff team provides consistent care for the child. The child has a rota in their bedroom and knows who is coming into their home and when. Staff have formed good relationships and work well as a team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision from the manager. She provides a safe space for the staff to reflect on the care provided. An in-house psychotherapist offers advice and training with respect to their assessment of the child. Staff feel well supported to meet the child’s complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers adopt a strong multi-agency approach in caring for the child and have good relationships with professionals involved in their care. Staff advocate on behalf of the child and challenge decisions when they are not in the child’s best interests. Inspection report for children’s home: 2645858 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets children’s needs and is homely and in good repair. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulation 44) to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 2645858 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Helpful Investments Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Davies Lewis Baker, 31 Bridge Street, Aberystwyth SY23 1QB

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Inspector

Sue Garner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2645858 7 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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