Children's home run by The Place Young People’s Company in Rushcliffe

Inspection report for children’s home: SC480655 1 SC480655 Registered provider: The Place Young Peoples Company 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 company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home and two children have moved in. Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by an experienced registered manager.

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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

Date of last inspection: 29 November 2022

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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: SC480655 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2022 Full Good 06/10/2021 Full Good 17/02/2020 Full Good 21/11/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC480655 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a cosy and welcoming environment. Photos of children and staff are proudly displayed. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and well maintained. One child has a pet cat, which she enjoys looking after.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive relationships with staff. However, one child sometimes feels like she would like more attention from staff. Staff have regular one-to-one discussions with children to help them understand their emotions and experiences. Staff use a trauma-informed model of care which helps children to feel understood and cared for. Children trust staff and feel able to confide in them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Staff regularly take children to see their family and friends who live a considerable distance from the home. This helps to reduce children’s feelings of loss and supports their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical and emotional health needs are well met. Staff recognise when children need expert healthcare support, such as mental health services. Staff also help children to access sexual health advice. This ensures that children receive the right support to remain healthy and safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do well in education. Staff support them with homework and exam preparation. Two children have recently started college and are making good progress. Another child is about to begin an apprenticeship. Staff are also creative in their approach to home learning when children are unable to attend school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel able to talk to staff about their wishes and feelings. However, these discussions with children are not well recorded. Therefore, it is unclear how often children are being consulted and what action is taken by staff in response.

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

Staff understand the risks children are exposed to. They know what actions to take and the processes to follow. Risk assessments contain up-to-date information. They are updated after every incident and inform staff how to respond.

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

Staff respond effectively when children go missing from the home. Staff know what action to take and follow children’s safety plans. They make every effort to try and find children. Staff liaise well with the local authority and police. They work with professionals to try and reduce the risks children are exposed to. Children have learned to trust staff enough to provide their whereabouts and allow staff to carry out safe-and-well checks. This is progress. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480655 4 Staff are skilled at de-escalating incidents. They are effective in supporting children to manage their emotions. Children feel supported and understood. As a result, staff do not need to use physical restraint to manage behaviour.

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

Staff receive training and development opportunities that are specific to children’s needs. Staff also receive group supervision from a psychotherapist to strengthen their trauma-based training. This ensures that staff understand children’s needs and know how to respond.

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

The manager takes allegations against staff seriously. Appropriate agencies are promptly informed, such as Ofsted and the local authority designated officer. Safeguards are put in place while allegations are investigated, which ensures that children are protected.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there is a new registered manager in post. She is dedicated and enthusiastic. She provides strong leadership and is well respected by her team. Staff feel supported by the manager and like working at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home. There are effective monitoring systems in place, such as weekly and monthly audits. The manager is aware of what is happening in the home daily. She knows the strengths and weaknesses of the service. This enables her to focus on specific areas of improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work well in partnership with parents and professionals. For example, the local police liaison officer visits the home regularly to meet with staff and young people at risk. One parent said that the manager goes above and beyond to keep them updated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular supervision sessions and team meetings take place where staff have reflective conversations and discuss important aspects of children’s care, such as safeguarding. Team meetings are well attended and help the members of the team to bond.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although staff work well as a team and enjoy close and supportive relationships, team morale is low. This is due to the team being understaffed and feeling overwhelmed by workloads. The manager is exploring what additional support can be put in place to rectify this problem. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480655 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should ensure that there are enough suitably trained staff, including someone in a management role, on duty to meet the assessed needs of all children in the home, and that those staff are able to respond to emergency placements, where accepted. The registered person must demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not

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Recommendations

overly disrupted, including ensuring that the employment of any temporary staff will not prevent children from receiving the continuity of care that they need (regulation 31(1)). This recommendation was made at the last inspection and is restated. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1)

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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: SC480655 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Place Young Peoples Company Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Lymevale Court, Lyme Drive, Parklands, Stoke- on-Trent ST4 6NW

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Inspector

Emma Dacres, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC480655 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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