Children's Home run by Heart and Home Living Limited in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2733224 1 Registered provider: Heart and Home Living 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 and operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children are currently being cared for in this home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been absent from the home for several weeks. Recruitment for a new manager is underway.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2733224 2

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improvement to be good

Children’s progress and experiences are not yet good. This is due to shortfalls in the protection of children and the leadership and management of the home.

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improvement to be good

The admissions process does not ensure that staff fully understand children’s needs and experiences before they move into the home. Leaders do not raise concerns about increasing incidents in a timely way with external professional agencies. This means that children do not receive a timely response from these agencies or care that is planned effectively. This hampers children’s progress following their arrival at the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff’s response to children is not always in line with the provider’s preferred method of care. Occasionally, the actions of staff appear to be a contributory factor for escalating behaviour. For example, staff have taken a personal item away from a child who has not followed the house rules that are new to them, without exploring other options to explain and resolve the situation.

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improvement to be good

Arrangements for information-sharing with family members about children’s care are not always clear. For example, staff do not know whose responsibility it is to update family members about children’s progress. All contact is through social workers. This can hamper efforts to enable children to remain in contact with the people who are close to them.

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improvement to be good

When children are not attending school, staff are proactive in ensuring that they are given the opportunity to take part in academic and physical activities, such as swimming with a qualified coach and educational activities in the home. This provides children with stimulation, learning and social interaction.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment practices for new members of staff have not always been followed. Gaps in recruitment checks mean that full and satisfactory information has, at times, not been obtained. This means that the provider cannot be assured of staff’s suitability to work with children. This has the potential to leave children vulnerable.

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improvement to be good

Medication is stored safely. However, systems to safely record the administration of medication are not yet strong. Medication administration records contain inconsistencies which have not been followed up. Staff also use an electronic recording system which is confusing and does not clearly reflect how much medication is in stock. This means that medication processes are not yet fully secure. Inspection report for children’s home: 2733224 3 When staff have physically held children, records are not always thorough. Analysis of incidents and follow-up actions are not always completed. Several incident reports that were reviewed contain reference to staff using physical intervention. However, the manager’s review or debrief with the child are not carried out. This means that children are not always given the opportunity to understand why they have been held, and the opportunity to learn valuable lessons from these incidents is missed.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always act in accordance with children’s individual risk assessments. Additionally, staff are inconsistent in implementing behavioural boundaries. For example, staff used a vape to get a child to conform to what staff had asked of them. This area requires further improvement to be good and support children to develop good behaviours to help their development.

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good

The registered manager has been absent from the home for several weeks. The staff team is relatively new, with only three members of staff, including the deputy manager, with experience of working in children’s homes. The lack of guidance from a registered manager, and uncertainty about leadership plans, has affected staff’s ability to safely support children and help them to make progress.

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good

The provider has not always notified Ofsted when there have been serious incidents. This restricts the regulator’s ability to monitor how well children are safeguarded at the time of the concerns or to take any regulatory action.

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good

Team meetings take place regularly. Staff discuss children’s individual needs and consider what support they themselves require to carry out their roles. Staff supervision sessions cover personal and work issues and address staff dynamics and practice matters. Staff can be open during supervision about any matters affecting their work.

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good

L eaders are keen to use learning from care practice and feedback provided by external professional agencies to improve the experiences and care of children. Plans are in place to address the shortfalls identified. However, systems and processes to drive improvement are not yet embedded into day-to-day care practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2733224 4

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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, 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s records are reviewed and monitored and that clear actions are identified and acted on. In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff are led and supported effectively to help children to make progress. The registered person must ensure that systems and processes are in place to monitor and improve the service. 22 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only— 22 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2733224 5 employ an individual to work at the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff are recruited safely and all necessary information is obtained before staff work unsupervised with children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child;

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that systems and processes are in place to manage the safe administration of medication. 22 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 22 December

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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: 2733224 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Heart and Home Living Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Highbank, Greenbank Crescent, London NW4 2LA

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Inspector

Helen Walters, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2733224 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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