Children's Home run by Higher Hopes Limited in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2531620 1 Registered provider: Higher Hopes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to five girls who have social, emotional and mental health difficulties and may have experienced childhood trauma that has left them vulnerable.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 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: 2531620 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/10/2022 Full Good 29/07/2021 Full Good 08/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2531620 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are five children living at the home. Five children have moved into the home, and four children have moved on since the last inspection. Three of the children had planned moves to services that could best meet their needs. One child experienced an unplanned ending. In this instance, managers liaised with the local authority, and staff supported the child with their move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Currently, all of the children are settled, have positive experiences and receive good- quality, individualised support. Staff provide a nurturing approach that enables children to make progress from their starting points. Children are positive about the staff and said that they enjoy spending time with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to reduce barriers to education so that children can begin to make progress. One child is expected to sit her GCSEs this year. Two other children have improved their attendance at school from their starting points. Currently, staff are working with external professionals to support other children’s reintroduction to school. The staff have maintained positive routines, supported alternative education or home tutoring and encouraged learning opportunities in day-to-day activities to assist reintroduction plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a wide range of enriching activities and lead very active and healthy lifestyles. Some children have enjoyed a recent holiday to Wales and taken part in cave trampolining. Other children have had short breaks away at local beach resorts. Trips to theme parks, ice skating rinks and boat tours support children’s interests. Some children attend local clubs and meet new friends. Staff link with the local and wider communities to ensure that children have meaningful experiences. These experiences significantly improve children’s self-determination, sense of community and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children are provided with one-to-one support from a psychologist. Children who have not engaged with therapeutic approaches previously have started to seek and gain from this area of support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in daily activities that build their independence and improve their life skills and take part in daily activities that build their independence. One child has secured volunteering work at a local football stadium, which has been very successful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have personalised bedrooms that are decorated in line with their preferences. Recent investment by the responsible individual has resulted in a refurbished kitchen and repainting of the outside of the home. This is appreciated by children. However, there are some decorative issues, including an area of damp in a child’s ensuite, that detract from the overall homeliness of the setting. These issues have not been monitored in maintenance plans as well as they could be. Inspection report for children’s home: 2531620 4

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

Children who were previously at risk of exploitation are now safer. Staff understand the risks that children face at the home and in the community. High-quality risk assessments are effective in providing guidance to staff to ensure that children are safer. Risk-reduction measures are responsive and enable children to have increasing levels of freedom and independence when it is safe to do so. Staff are not risk- averse. This means that children can safely navigate new experiences and challenges.

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

Managers have thorough monitoring systems that ensure in-depth review and analysis of children’s emotions and behaviour. This has enabled robust identification of the triggers for children’s anxieties. Managers have used the learning from this analysis to inform future behavioural support strategies successfully for children. The use of physical restraint for children is infrequent, proportionate and always as a last resort.

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

Children participate regularly in well-planned, one-to-one discussions with staff. Discussion topics include online safety, managing healthy relationships and developing coping strategies. These improve children’s knowledge of their personal safety and increase their emotional resilience.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home have reduced. When children have been missing, they have been helped to return at the earliest opportunity. Staff actively look for children and use one-to-one work well to help the children understand how to avoid difficult situations.

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

Systems to oversee health and safety arrangements are generally effective. However, at the time of inspection, two fire doors did not self-close, and two doors had segments of fire strips missing. These issues need to be addressed, as they pose a risk to children and staff in the event of a fire.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The experienced and qualified manager skilfully leads the staff in providing good- quality care and experiences for children. The manager is well supported by the responsible individual and deputy manager. Collectively, they have a strong understanding of children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are fierce ambassadors for children. They present assertive challenge if they believe that other professionals are not providing the services that children need. This has resulted in one child receiving the educational support they needed more swiftly. For another child, effective advocacy has ensured that a deprivation of liberty order was removed. The management team’s continued tenacity has ensured that decisions that affect children are in their best interests and their rights are upheld. Inspection report for children’s home: 2531620 5 Recent staff recruitment initiatives have been successful. Managers regularly review staffing trends in their workforce development plan and have revised staff’s conditions and pay. There is less reliance on agency staff, and staffing vacancies have been minimised. This has provided the children with stability and continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers make good use of external visits from an independent person, and they compile objective quality of care reviews. When a child moved on in an unplanned manner, the manager reviewed this ending and identified areas for future learning. Children’s records are organised and inclusive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular team meetings prioritise the needs of children and are well attended. Staff receive good-quality supervision, and new staff have thorough inductions to help them begin to work with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from social workers and parents is positive about the care provided at the home. They report that there are good levels of communication about children’s progress and experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager structures staff delivery of care using a therapeutic model that is set out in the home’s statement of purpose. Staff have training in delivering this model of support. However, staff spoken with during the inspection do not yet fully understand these approaches. The manager has identified this, and further training is planned.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Generally, there are suitable processes to ensure notifications are made to Ofsted when required. However, one safeguarding concern that involved a serious allegation between two children was not notified without delay. This means that Ofsted’s capacity to monitor safeguarding during this time has been reduced. Inspection report for children’s home: 2531620 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is decorated to a consistently high standard throughout the accommodation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that systems to monitor fire doors are effective. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. Specifically, they should ensure that staff fully understand the model of care outlined in the statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should consider reviewing thresholds for submitting notifications of serious incidents to Ofsted. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes

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Recommendations

Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.11)

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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: 2531620 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Higher Hopes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Old Forge Manor Farm, Bygrave, Hertfordshire SG7 5EE

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Inspectors

Mark Anderton, Social Care Inspector Majella Russell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2531620 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. 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 .

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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

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