Children's Home run by HAVEN CARE GROUP LIMITED in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC474179 1 SC474179 Registered provider: Haven Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home was registered with Ofsted in April 2014. It provides care for up to four children who have been affected by adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2023 and is suitably qualified. However, she has submitted her application to deregister with Ofsted as she is leaving the company. A new manager has started working in the home and was present at the inspection with the registered manager as part of the handover process.

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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: SC474179 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/05/2022 Full Good 02/11/2021 Full Good 27/07/2021 Full Inadequate 23/10/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC474179 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There was one child living in the home at the time of the inspection. The child has lived in the home for nearly two years and is making good progress in the important areas of their life. Since the last inspection in May 2022, five children have moved into the home and six children have left the home. This inspection has considered the experiences of all children living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress because of the care they receive in this home. Staff know them well and build meaningful and positive relationships. Staff understand children’s starting points, capture their memories and celebrate their achievements. As a result, children feel valued and respected, and thrive in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s educational needs are prioritised. Staff work with education professionals to understand children’s barriers to learning. Targeted support is provided to enable children to attend and achieve in formal education. The child living in the home was taking their GCSE mock examinations at the time of the inspection. The child said that their wish is ‘to work with animals and attend college’ in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff support children to keep in touch with friends and family. They work with parents and children to ensure that family time takes place regularly and safely. In addition, staff have helped one child to reconnect and begin to develop a relationship with their father. As a result, children maintain and develop relationships with important people in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, staff and leaders manage children’s moves in and out of the home sensitively and effectively. Since the last inspection, four children have been supported to safely return to live with their parents. These positive outcomes were achieved because staff worked well with children’s parents in supporting family time and maintaining good communication. However, another child’s experiences of living in the home were not as positive and they left the home two weeks after moving in. On this occasion, the registered manager’s care planning and assessment procedures lacked some detail and require improvement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to provide a homely environment for children. Some aspects of the home environment are pleasant, with the lounge, children’s games room and bedrooms being nicely furnished. However, other areas of the home require redecoration and refurbishment. The registered manager recognises these development areas and has plans to make improvements.

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

The child currently living at the home told the inspector that they feel safe living in the home. Staff ensure that there are clear boundaries and expectations for the Inspection report for children's home: SC474179 4 child, which helps to keep them safe and make progress. For example, incidents when the child has gone missing from the home have reduced significantly since living in this home. The child’s risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated following incidents. In addition, staff discuss strategies to keep children safe with external professionals. These actions demonstrate to the child that staff care about their welfare and safety.

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

Staff and the registered manager work well with external partners to safeguard children at risk of child sexual exploitation. For example, the registered manager regularly reviews and shares the local authority risk factor matrix. In addition, she uses information and intelligence from multi-agency child exploitation panels and police provider meetings to inform children’s risk assessments. Staff complete focused work with children about child sexual exploitation and online safety. These actions help to develop children’s knowledge and promote their safety and well- being.

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

Staff and leaders respond effectively when children disclose sensitive information and make allegations against staff. The registered manager works with the local authority designated officer to share important information and seek advice and guidance. Internal investigations are completed in a timely manner and the registered manager always speaks to children to ensure that their views and wishes are obtained. When further actions are identified, the registered manager ensures that action is taken and that learning from investigations is applied to staff practice.

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

Staff respond well to managing children’s anxieties. They use their positive relationships to reassure children. Staff use ‘wow prizes’ to celebrate children’s achievements and enhance their self-esteem and confidence. Incidents requiring physical restraint with children are extremely rare. When incidents occur, the registered manager reviews them thoroughly and ensures that staff and children are routinely spoken to. This effective oversight and evaluation help staff to support children through difficult times.

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

Staff’s responses to incidents when children go missing from the home are inconsistent. For example, on many occasions staff have followed children’s protocols very well. They have worked with the police, children’s parents and local authorities to search for and safely return children to the home. On one occasion, staff took decisive action to support and safeguard a child in distress, which meant that the child did not go missing from the home.

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

However, on some recent occasions, staff have not consistently followed a child’s plans or taken effective action to safeguard when the child has been missing from the home. For example, despite knowing the child’s plans, staff have not consistently completed welfare checks, failed to search areas and locations used by the child and on one occasion, there were delays by staff in reporting the child missing to the police. In addition, there are gaps in staff recording of incidents. Failing to consistently follow the child’s plans and record information clearly has the potential to leave the child vulnerable. The registered manager has identified these shortfalls Inspection report for children's home: SC474179 5 in her review of the incidents and was completing an investigation at the time of the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced, organised and suitably qualified and leads the home effectively. She advocates well for children in the home and ensures that children are supported to make progress in all areas of their lives. As a result, children receive good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A diverse and experienced staff team is suitably equipped to meet children’s individual needs in the home. This is because they receive good-quality training, which is specific to children’s needs. The registered manager also delivers focused workshops and provides staff with learning opportunities in team meetings. These effective training systems develop staff practice and enhance their knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the registered manager. They receive regular supervision sessions and appraisals to support and improve their practice. Children’s plans are reviewed as part of supervision sessions and staff are given opportunities to contribute their views. As a result, staff feel valued, and they strive to improve the care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight and monitoring processes are good. As a result, the registered manager and the responsible individual know the home’s strengths and weaknesses. In addition, they take immediate action to address any shortfalls and concerns. For example, the requirements and recommendation raised at the last inspection have been met. As a result, management monitoring systems develop and improve the care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A real strength of the home is the registered manager’s ability to work with professionals. She also ensures that staff work closely with teachers, social workers, health workers and the police. This ensures that appropriate support is in place to encourage children’s progress and maximise their potential. One professional told the inspector that the registered manager ‘is brilliant for [the child]. They have an excellent relationship. She really understands [the child’s] needs and makes sure the staff provide care to meet these needs.’ Inspection report for children's home: SC474179 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that staff assess children’s risks effectively and take action to reduce risks to children. This specifically relates to risks of children going missing from the home and ensuring that staff follow and implement strategies from children’s plans effectively. 3 January 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. The home should offer a homely, domestic environment that is well maintained. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should only move children into the home when they are satisfied that they have carried out a full and comprehensive assessment of the child’s needs and that they feel the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans. The registered person Inspection report for children's home: SC474179 7 should then ensure that they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on all children. The home’s statement of purpose is an important document in the process of care planning as it sets out the needs of children the

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Recommendations

home is set up and equipped to provide care for. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC474179 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Haven Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 6, Barberry Court, Parkway, Centrum One Hundred, Burton-on-Trent DE14 2UE

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Inspector

Dean Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC474179 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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