Children's Home run by The Place Young People’s Company in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2565421 1 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

The home is run by a private provider. It provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

One child has moved into the home since the last inspection. There are currently four children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

An experienced registered manager is in post.

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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: 22 February 2023

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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: 2565421 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2023 Full Good 01/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2565421 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy living in this home. Staff proudly display photos of the children around the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in regular activities, such as playing football and going to the gym. Staff and children also enjoy baking together and doing art and craft activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. The manager and staff work well with families and ensure that visits are well planned.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to build positive relationships with each other. Preconceived prejudices and assumptions are sensitively challenged by staff. Through regular discussions, children are helped to understand, respect and tolerate difference. As a result, children enjoy spending time together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do well in education and have good school attendance. Staff support and encourage children to complete their homework. Staff advocate well for children who find school difficult. This ensures that children receive the right support. Staff are proactive when children are unable to attend school. For example, the manager has secured tutoring for one child while a school placement is being found.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met. They are encouraged to live a healthy lifestyle through a balanced diet and regular activities. Snacks with high sugar content are appropriately monitored and managed by staff. Children have a choice of meals and often like to cook their own food. One child has become very proactive in making healthier choices, and another child is eating a wider variety of foods.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the risks that children can be exposed to. Staff know how to respond, ensuring that risks are managed well. Risk assessments and behaviour plans are updated and reviewed regularly. They contain information to help staff recognise children’s triggers and changes in behaviour.

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

All staff are trained in a trauma-informed model of care. This approach helps to guide staff in their responses to behaviours that are difficult to manage. Children are helped to understand and regulate their own emotions. For some children, this has meant a reduction in the need for physical restraint. One family member said, ‘[Name of child] has come on leaps and bounds, [name of child] is far more aware of their emotions.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2565421 4 There has been one occasion when a child has gone missing from the home. Staff made every effort to find the child and ensure that they informed all the appropriate agencies, including the police and the child’s social worker.

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

Allegations against staff are taken seriously and are well managed. Thorough investigations take place and appropriate action is taken by the manager and the responsible individual. This helps to create a culture where staff and children feel able to raise concerns.

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

There are times when staff need to use physical restraint. This is only used as a last resort to keep children and others safe. Restraints used are the least restrictive to the child and are carried out using the minimum force. Restraints are appropriately recorded and reviewed by the manager. While children are spoken to following a restraint, there are occasions when these discussions have not taken place in an appropriate time frame. This has potentially left children feeling upset for a prolonged period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership and management of the home have been supported by the responsible individual. The manager has been helped to strengthen and develop his practice. The manager is aware of the strengths of the home and areas for development. He has started to focus on some of these areas and has made improvements to the service. For example, there is now an assigned coordinator who oversees all the one-to-one focused discussions with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working at the home. While there have been several staff changes, a core team of staff have remained. Staff have covered additional shifts, preventing the need for agency use. This has helped to provide children with consistency. Staff relationships have been supported by team-building days. This has helped to maintain good team morale.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. New processes have helped to ensure that supervision consistently takes place. For example, the manager has introduced a new supervision matrix, and some supervision sessions are now carried out by senior staff. Supervision sessions include important topics, such as safeguarding, and provide a space for reflective discussions. Staff feel supported and are confident to raise any concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home. Effective monitoring and quality assurance processes are in place. The manager knows what is happening in the home daily. Weekly and monthly manager audits are carried out. This helps him to identify any shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are not consistent in their recording of information. This is an area for development. The manager has started to implement new recording systems and formats. For example, he has introduced children’s memory books for staff to record Inspection report for children’s home: 2565421 5 positive experiences and events. A new way of recording independence work has also been developed and is in the process of being implemented. Inspection report for children’s home: 2565421 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained is given the opportunity express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. In some cases, children may need longer to work through their feelings, so a record that the child has talked about their feelings should be made no longer than five days after the incident of restraint. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)  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. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations,

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Recommendations

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: 2565421 7

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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: 2565421 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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