Children's home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2537252 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private company that is owned and operated by a national charity. It provides care for up to two children who may have emotional and social needs.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home.

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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: 13 September 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2537252 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/09/2022 Full Outstanding 14/09/2021 Full Good 20/01/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2537252 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff show children lots of nurture and care. Children and staff congregate round the dining table to play games and talk about their day. Staff ensure that children have lots of opportunities to enjoy activities. Children like spending time with staff. They go on holiday together and enjoy day trips. Although these memories are captured in photos kept in a memory book, the photos are not dated and staff’s names are not recorded. This is an area for development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from good day-to-day care. They have good, structured routines. Both children have made educational progress. For example, one child is now engaging with a tutor and the second child has been supported by staff to start at a new school. Staff are proud of children’s achievements. They display school photos and help children with their homework.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met well by staff. On one occasion, staff had to manage a complex situation regarding a child’s medication. Staff sought professional advice and risks were managed effectively within a multi-agency framework. Staff recognise the importance of children eating a healthy diet. For example, staff were creative in supporting one child to eat fruit with their breakfast.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager carefully considers children’s plans when they join or leave the home. For example, when one child left, staff put a support plan in place, and they continue to have regular contact with this child and their family. This child’s family sent staff a thank you card to show their appreciation. The child’s social worker was complimentary of how well staff supported this child to move from the home in a planned and meaningful way. Overall, stakeholder feedback is very positive.

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

The dynamics between the children have not always been safe. There have been several incidents when one child has hurt the other. Staff have been clear with both children that this type of behaviour is unacceptable. As a result of these incidents, one child’s emotional well-being has been negatively affected. Staff have introduced measures to try and minimise the likelihood of this behaviour happening again.

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

Although staff do have regular discussions with children about their views, professional curiosity and reflection are not yet consistently well evidenced. When staff have been hurt by children, it is not clear from records how well staff’s emotional well-being is prioritised. Following significant incidents, work to repair relationships is not routinely overseen by the manager. This is necessary to ensure that children are given the opportunity to repair their relationship with staff in a timely way. Inspection report for children's home: 2537252 4 Staff have a good understanding of children’s self-harming behaviours. Due to staff having good relationships with the children, they can recognise changes in their mood and when they may be struggling. Staff support children to understand why they self-harm. Staff take preventative action to reduce this type of risk from happening.

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

Children understand complaints processes. When children are dissatisfied with any aspect of their care, they are appropriately encouraged to write it down and the manager responds to them in a timely way. Responses to children’s complaints are child-friendly and detailed, and clearly demonstrate what will be done to address their concerns. The manager is careful in her response not to make any promises that she may be unable to keep. Children trust the manager and share their feelings, and trust that she will do something about their concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is due to leave the home. This transition has been well thought through and children were told about this change in a planned way. Children have a good relationship with both the registered manager and the acting manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The house is well decorated and any damage is quickly repaired. Staff recognise the need to maintain standards in the home and when children struggle to manage chores, staff step in to support them. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their tastes and interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervisions and their performance is appraised. Staff like their roles and describe team dynamics as good. One child gives the staff different family roles, such as ‘the grandad of the house’. Staff like this and are guided by children in terms of what roles they want them to play. For example, another member of staff takes on the role of doing beauty tasks because this is what one child wants from them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, staff have a good understanding of children’s needs. Staff can easily identify what they like about the children and what their talents are. For example, one child is a talented artist, and their artwork is displayed proudly in the staff office. The other child is creative, and their work is also on display.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

On occasion, staff use institutional language in front of the children. For example, there was mention of staff ‘coming on shift’. This detracts from the model of care described in the provider’s statement of purpose. Inspection report for children's home: 2537252 5

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Recommendations

 The importance of understanding who we are and where we come from is recognised in good social work practice, for example through undertaking life- story work or other direct work. Staff in children’s homes should play a full role in work of this kind. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14)  Staff should have the skills and confidence to communicate easily and understand the importance of listening to, involving and responding to the children they care for. Staff should understand that they have a responsibility to observe, notice and respond to children who are expressing their views, acknowledging that it is not the sole responsibility of the child to ‘tell’. They should also understand how children might communicate their feelings through their behaviour or non- verbally, especially where the child has a disability which does not allow them to

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Recommendations

communicate as others might. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.10)  The registered person is responsible for leading a team which provides high- quality care for all children living in the home. They must lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. They should also play a key role in shaping the ethos of the home through developing a culture of high aspiration for children which is demonstrated through the care, resources and opportunities offered to the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)

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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: 2537252 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lumonics House, Valiant Office Suites, Valley Drive, Swift Valley Industrial Estate, Rugby CV21 1TQ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Craig Whitchurch

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Inspector

Andi Lilley-Tams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2537252 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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