Children's home run by Absolute Children’s Services Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2544217 1 Registered provider: Absolute Children’s Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private company and provides care for up to five children who may have social and emotional needs. Five children are currently being cared for in this home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably experienced and qualified and has been in post since 24 June 2021.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2544217 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/05/2022 Full Good 06/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/08/2021 Full Inadequate 06/01/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2544217 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, children’s experiences and progress are good. Interactions between staff and children are relaxed and supportive. The home is comfortable, and staff have put thought into creating spaces children will enjoy using. For example, a Harry Potter-themed small space has been created to help children feel safe and cosy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s records are very detailed, and all staff know children well. Staff can easily describe children’s needs, hobbies and interests. The quality of these relationships enables staff to support children during times of challenge. Staff understand how to manage children’s anxieties. Staff can help children to calm down when they are feeling agitated or upset.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who come to live at this home have often experienced disruption to their education. The manager has worked with education providers to ensure that children receive an education which meets their individual needs. Children are individually supported to make progress and their achievements are celebrated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff seek children’s views in various ways, including meetings and one-to-one discussions. Children are confident to share their views on how the home is run. Children’s wishes and feelings are listened to by the manager. For example, the children worked together to create a ‘star of the week’ jar, with rewards relating to things that are important to the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has developed systems to support children to have a positive experience when they move into and out of the home. Children are supported to move towards independence at their own pace.

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

Children’s risk management and individual support plans are detailed. However, when information changes, risk assessments are not always clearly updated to reflect this. Furthermore, documents do not yet reflect the process by which decisions have been made. For example, if children go missing from the home, staff would not be clear about what steps to take to keep the child safe.

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

Medicines are safely stored in a locked cabinet in the staff office, and individual medicine is clearly labelled. Records are completed appropriately and action is taken by the manager if medication errors occur. Medication processes are safe for children.

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

When consequences are used to help manage children’s behaviour, they are proportionate and restorative. Following behavioural incidents and any physical interventions with children, debrief meetings take place with the children and staff Inspection report for children's home: 2544217 4 involved. This helps children and staff to understand what happened and discuss the support needed to reduce the likelihood of incidents recurring.

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

When staff have concerns that items in a child’s bedroom may cause harm to the child or others, a bedroom search is carried out. Staff discuss this with children and records of searches are completed. Follow-up actions, such as key-worker sessions, are clearly documented.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to her role. Children, staff and external professionals speak highly of the manager and leadership team. One member of staff said, ‘We have a fantastic level of support from [name of manager] and [name of deputy] and they help with everything.’ Another said, ‘It doesn’t feel like a job, it feels like my second family. I love it here.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. The supervision agenda considers staff’s personal well-being as well as related care practice. Staff practice is addressed and training needs are discussed. The in-house therapist works with staff in preparation for their supervision. This supports the manager to understand and inform staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are regular and there is a clear agenda, which includes discussing individual children’s needs. The manager is creative in encouraging staff to engage in team sessions. For example, a fun learning exercise was devised based on a TV gameshow. This supported staff learning as well as enhancing teambuilding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff understand how to whistle-blow or share concerns about poor practice. The manager has investigated such concerns appropriately. This means staff are working in an environment which promotes honesty and openness. Inspection report for children's home: 2544217 5

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure staff have clear information about what action to take if children are missing from the home. 25 November

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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: 2544217 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Absolute Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 98 Grove Street, Leek ST13 8DU

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Inspector

Helen Walters, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2544217 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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