Children's Home run by Acheron Care Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2736705 1 Registered provider: Acheron Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private company. It provides care for up to three children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager, who has been in post since the home was registered with Ofsted in May 2023. This is the home’s first inspection since registration.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since registration: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2736705 2

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are two children currently living in the home. They are both making good progress from their starting points and have enjoyed some positive experiences since moving into the home. Children say they like living in the home. One child said, ‘It’s a 10 out of 10.’

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive high-quality care from a nurturing and determined staff team. Staff are knowledgeable and understand the children’s needs. The inspector observed warm, affectionate and, at times, playful relationships between staff and children. Staff work in line with the home’s therapeutic model of care. They are continually curious about, and reflect on, how they can help children grow in all areas of their development. This helps children to build trust and to feel safer and relaxed in their surroundings.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff understand the importance of education for children. They advocate for children’s education and work closely with education professionals to ensure that the best possible outcomes are achieved academically by children. For example, the manager was successful in challenging a permanent exclusion for one of the children. As a result, the child is now able to have a managed move to another school. For another child, while there has been a reduction in their attendance, staff are working with them, education professionals and social workers to identify any barriers to their learning and are putting in place plans to support their learning and improve attendance.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and well-being are promoted. Managers and staff work well with healthcare professionals to ensure that each child’s health needs are met. Staff support children to attend routine health appointments. When children refuse to attend, staff talk to them about the consequences of not looking after their health. In addition, staff have regular consultation with the organisation’s therapy team. This supports staff’s understanding of how to better work with the children. This commitment to joint working helps to improve children’s physical, psychological and emotional health.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop hobbies and interests. They encourage children to take part in a wide range of activities and try new things. These include trips to a trampoline park, going on an alpaca trek, participating in a zip-line activity, and enjoying a summer holiday. Doing activities with others enables children to grow in confidence and improve their self-esteem and social skills.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children feeling heard and listened to. They ensure that they seek the children’s views. They use various forums to achieve this, including weekly children’s chats, key-work and direct work sessions, and general discussions. This allows the children to share and talk about their achievements, reflect on events and learn how to manage conflict. These opportunities provide Inspection report for children’s home: 2736705 3 valuable life experiences for children to learn how to communicate and listen effectively.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When safe to do so, staff actively promote time for children with their families and friends. One child now has an improved relationship with their family through this support from staff. This supports children’s identity and contributes to their understanding of life story.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from living in a spacious, homely and welcoming home. Photos of the children enjoying activities are displayed in communal areas. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their own individual tastes; this allows them to take a sense of pride in their home and promotes a sense of belonging.

p.3

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

Safeguarding practice in the home is effective. Staff understand their roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe. Staff and managers have good knowledge of the children and their risks. They use this alongside their experience, understanding of children’s behaviours and the home’s model of care to work restoratively with children. As a result, incidents in the home are reducing.

p.3

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

Staff complete child-focused and comprehensive placement plans for the children. Daily records and key-work sessions are written directly to the children. This puts children at the centre of practice and helps them to understand their experiences in the home should they access their records in the future.

p.3

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

Managers take prompt action when there are allegations or complaints. They ensure that information is shared swiftly with appropriate professionals to avoid delay and ensure that children are protected from harm. Managers carry out comprehensive internal management investigations when there are concerns. Children are kept informed of any outcomes. This ensures that they feel confident to raise concerns. It also helps them to feel safe and secure in their environment.

p.3

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

Incidents of children going missing from care have reduced. When children are absent from the home without permission, staff follow the missing-from-home protocols. They search the local area and, when required, report to the police. When children return, staff warmly welcome them back. Children are also offered the opportunity to talk to an independent person. This means they can talk about the reasons why they were missing; raise any concerns they may have and feel reassured.

p.3

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

Staff’s approach to behaviour management is to be commended. They use rewards and praise to reinforce positive behaviour from children. Consequences are rarely used, and the need for staff to use physical intervention is reducing. Staff use highly effective de-escalation and therapeutic parenting techniques to defuse situations. Managers have thorough oversight of incidents and ensure that staff and children reflect on all incidents. This creates a culture of reflection and learning for all. It Inspection report for children’s home: 2736705 4 supports children to feel safe, secure and more confident in their relationships with staff.

p.3

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

Staff have important discussions with children about online safety. They work well with external agencies to help children understand online risks. Staff also carry out checks on children’s devices to ensure they are being kept safe online. However, the home does not have a system in place to monitor the use of the internet. This has the potential to compromise the measures to keep children safe online.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is an ambitious and inspirational leader. She leads by example, providing effective leadership. Leaders and managers have high aspirations for children and staff alike. This leadership inspires staff to provide good- quality care. Leaders and managers have excellent knowledge of the children’s starting points and what they have accomplished since living in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Oversight of the home is enhanced by an experienced home’s manager, a deputy manager, senior care coordinators and shift leaders. They assist with managing the practice and development of the staff team and further enhance management oversight in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has developed effective monitoring systems to review the quality of care that children receive. Managers complete regular audits to scrutinise the performance of the home and children’s outcomes. The manager also uses independent person assessments and detailed development plans to continuously develop the service and ensure that children receive good-quality care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are committed to improving outcomes for children and strive to consistently develop the quality of care given to children. With the support of the clinical team, they are introducing innovative models of practice to help staff to better understand their role in supporting children and to create a more consistent and cohesive workforce. The full impact of this is yet to be realised.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they are well supported by managers. Managers ensure that staff receive regular supervision and annual appraisals. There are weekly consultations with the organisation’s therapists, as well as reflective team meetings. Managers also ensure that staff receive mandatory training and extensive additional, child-specific training. These practices ensure that staff are supported to develop, and children receive care from skilled and knowledgeable staff who can meet their needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is a key strength of the home. Staff and managers collaborate with other professionals to ensure that the care provided to children is well coordinated. The registered manager persistently challenges those who are not meeting children’s needs, or when she feels that decisions are not in the best interests of children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2736705 5 Professionals spoken to were positive about the progress children are making. They were particularly complimentary about the communication they receive from the staff and managers. One professional commented, ‘Communication from the home is a strength. Communication is appropriate and they share information or significant updates that have triggered a response or further discussion.’ Another professional said, ‘Communication is brilliant.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2736705 6

p.4

Recommendation

 The registered person should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. In particular, the registered person should ensure that there are well-developed strategies in place regarding internet safety. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

p.6

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: 2736705 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acheron Care Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 117 Draycott Old Road, Forsbrook, Stoke-on-Trent ST11 9AL

p.7

Inspector

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2736705 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8