Children's home run by Ambitious Children’s Homes Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2716392 1 Registered provider: AMBITIOUS CHILDREN’S HOMES LTD Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home is registered to care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. The home was registered with Ofsted on 9 May 2023.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a suitably experienced registered manager.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: Not previously inspected

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2716392 2

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by committed staff who are helping them to reach their potential. Staff have a good rapport with the children, and they work hard to help children feel valued. The home has only been operational for a few months, and within that time, some children’s placements have already ended. This is despite good pre-admission planning and processes. Managers have learned from these experiences and have further strengthened their pre-admission screening. This has included meeting children before they come to live at the home and speaking to previous carers. Managers are committed to making children’s placements as successful as possible.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The format of the children’s guide is not as helpful as it could be in telling children about the home before they arrive. Managers supplement this by using other methods for sharing pre-admission information with children. However, managers have more work to do to make the children’s guide more accessible and age appropriate.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s needs, risks, strengths, and vulnerabilities are very well understood, particularly by the manager. Children’s plans reflect their needs and provide staff with clear guidance. There has been variable progress in supporting children to return to school. Staff work alongside other agencies to address children’s issues with reintegration into formal education to help them overcome this. Similarly, children who are very anxious about attending health appointments are purposefully and sensitively supported.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager works effectively with other agencies to ensure that children’s care plans reflect the wishes and feelings of children, where possible. However, there have been some delays in the placing local authorities providing key documentation for children, including minutes from looked after child review meetings. As a result, staff and managers do not have ready access to the most up-to-date information.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have designed and furnished the home in a way that creates a welcoming environment. This means that children have a positive environment to live in.

p.2

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

Children become increasingly safe while living at the home. Staff are working with the children to reduce their risks, and there is a steady reduction in behaviour that can pose a risk.

p.2

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

The manager ensures that there is good-quality joint safeguarding work with children’s social workers. Children’s behaviour management plans and risk assessments are of good quality. There is a clear focus on helping children to learn Inspection report for children’s home: 2716392 3 about risks and how to keep themselves safe. The manager ensures that staff read, understand, and implement the strategies devised.

p.2

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

Staff have a good understanding of contextual safeguarding and the risks posed to children in the community. Staff manage risks appropriately, and there is good use of multi-agency networks and specialist services, where required. An example of this is when children go missing from the home. Staff are tenacious in ensuring that children are safe. Staff understand the procedures to follow if a child goes missing from the home or does not return home as planned. Some processes are better embedded than others, as the staff team is still relatively new.

p.3

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

Staff tend to reward children’s positive behaviour rather than use consequences when things have gone wrong. This is a purposeful reframing of consequences in response to understanding the children they care for and what works for them. Staff have not had to use physical restraint at all to manage children’s behaviour.

p.3

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

One issue that has arisen is a child letting people in through their bedroom window. This is being addressed with some success. Staff have taken measures to reduce risks in this situation. However, more consideration is required regarding risk assessments, specifically regarding fire evacuation procedures. There is a challenge between securing the house at night and ensuring that children and staff know how to exit the building in the event of a fire.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This newly registered home benefits from strong leadership and management. Leaders and managers recognise the home’s strengths and the areas for improvement. A new deputy manager was appointed just before the home’s inspection, further strengthening leadership in the home.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a strong focus on developing staff practice, and staff feel that managers support them well to carry out their roles. An example of this is developing report- writing skills, including how staff write their daily logs. Managers are clear about their expectations.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have good processes in place to monitor and assure the quality of care staff provide. It is evident that, at present, the manager is carefully leading the care provided in the home. The manager is actively modelling the care that she wants to see the staff deliver. Staff access a range of appropriate training to further develop their skills, and there is a sense of investment in staff.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular supervision that enables them to reflect on practice and discuss the children as well as their own development and learning. Staff participate in regular team meetings. These meetings provide an opportunity for wider learning and reflection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2716392 4 Handovers between staff are well organised. Detailed handover information identifies who is leading the shift, who the on-call manager is and identifies the fire warden and the first aider. This helps all staff to be clear about what they are doing. Leaders and managers are making sensible decisions about admissions. They understand that the staff team is still developing and do not want to overwhelm the staff by bringing in more children before they are ready. Inspection report for children’s home: 2716392 5

p.3

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

p.5

Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home;

p.5

Requirement Due date

provide adequate means of escape from the home in the event of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(a)(b))

p.5

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff and children understand the evacuation procedures in the event of a fire and when the main designated exit is blocked, and that these arrangements are recorded in the home’s fire risk assessment. 22 December

p.5

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide helps children to understand what happens in the home and the care they can expect to receive while living there. It should also detail how to make a complaint in line with the home’s complaints procedure, how they can access advocacy support or independent advocacy, if eligible, and how to contact the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, and Ofsted. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the Quality Standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)

p.5

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: 2716392 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: AMBITIOUS CHILDREN’S HOMES LTD

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 111, First Floor, Radial House, 3-5 Ripple Road, Barking IG11 7NP

p.6

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Muhammad Ishtiaq

p.6

Inspectors

Corrinne Barker, Social Care Inspector Matilda Clode, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2716392 7 regulates and inspects 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.

p.6

Inspectors

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 . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspectors

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

p.7