Children's Home run by Libre Living Limited in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Inspection report for children's home: 2676499 1 Registered provider: Libre Living Ltd 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 provides care for up to two children. Two siblings currently live in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2023.

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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: 2676499 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2676499 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in a home where they benefit from positive and trusting relationships with staff. Children are settled in the home, and their views feed into how the home is run. Children benefit from an active lifestyle. They regularly attend a boxing gym. The children, along with their siblings, climbed Snowdon to raise money for a local hospital charity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is relaxing and comfortable, filled with humorous and witty conversations. Photos of activities and outings are displayed throughout the home. However, photo memory books are not kept updated. This means children cannot look back on their time in the home as they wish.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to prioritise their education. One child attends school full time. They respond positively to incentive systems to maintain good attendance. The other child has a bespoke education package in place. The manager identified the risk of this child being permanently excluded. They worked with the school and local authority to ensure there is a positive plan to support the child’s learning. The child now has a variety of opportunities and is positive about learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and children work collaboratively to identify areas of support. Children receive regular, structured key-work sessions which meet their needs. Staff involve children in setting and reviewing targets. These are clearly set out, so that all staff know how to support children. As well as structured sessions, staff have ad-hoc conversations with children about topical issues that arise. This helps to further the children’s knowledge and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s mother is positive about the support her children receive. She feels staff meet their needs well and keep her informed about their lives. She visits the home weekly to spend quality time with them and their older siblings, who also visit. Staff recognise the importance of this space for the family to spend time together.

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

Staff support children to be safe. The quality of relationships between staff and children results in open and honest discussions. These help to improve children’s understanding. Staff identify gaps in children’s formal and informal learning about areas such as sexual health. They then ensure children have the information they need to be safe. Because staff know children well, they understand how to best engage them in these conversations.

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

There have been no incidents or safeguarding concerns in the home. Managers support staff to keep their knowledge current through discussions in team meetings and supervision. Leaders work closely with partner agencies to ensure they Inspection report for children's home: 2676499 4 understand the wider context of safeguarding for the family. This helps them to provide appropriate support to the children.

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

One child smokes cigarettes. They have been supported to reduce this. Staff talk to the child about the dangers and risks and have helped them seek professional advice. Staff openly challenge the child if they are seen smoking. The child’s risk assessment states that they have been found smoking in their room. While the risk assessment supports staff with strategies to reduce this, it does not identify the risk of an accidental fire occurring as a result.

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

Recruitment processes are thorough and in line with safer recruitment guidelines.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, a new manager has joined the home. This manager brings prior experience to the role. Due to the management changes, there has been a period of reset and consolidation. Leaders and managers are clear about their vision for the home and what they want to achieve. There is high ambition for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home. They value the relationships built with the children. Staff feel well supported by managers, and they receive a variety of training. However, staff have not yet received training identified in the workforce development plan. Records of supervision show good-quality discussions. Staff receive clinical supervision which helps them to provide meaningful and purposeful support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Documents to help staff support children are in place and kept up to date. Staff regularly review and track children’s progress. However, leaders and managers recognise the systems to do this are not yet fully embedded. Currently, placement plans are lengthy and contain information that is not currently relevant to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers challenge the local authority when support for the children is not meeting statutory requirements. However, alongside this, they forge positive links where possible. External professionals are positive about the support provided by staff. Staff at the virtual school recognise that the home’s staff promote positive attitudes towards learning. The independent reviewing officer describes the support as child-focused. Inspection report for children's home: 2676499 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure staff receive training that is identified in the provider’s workforce development plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure the risk assessment for one child contains all the risks associated with smoking. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure documents in the home are reviewed for relevance, and that systems are developed to capture the progress children make. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that memories of time in the home are regularly captured for children, to contribute to their life story. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62,

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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: 2676499 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 14a Albany Road, Granby Industrial Estate, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 9TH

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michelle Brennan

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Inspector

Clare Nixson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2676499 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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