Children's home run by Homes for Support

Inspection report for children’s home: 2592713 1 Registered provider: Homes for Support Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: 28 September 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: 2592713 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/09/2022 Full Good 10/05/2022 Full Inadequate 01/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2592713 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Planning for children’s care is good. Children’s permanency plans are in place and help to guide staff in their work with them. Children are happy and settled in the home and make progress towards their placement goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage positive relationships and support children to have planned contact with their families and friends. Staff take steps to build relationships with all families. As a result, there is a shared approach to the care planning for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with information about how to make a complaint, including external telephone numbers and support services. The manager responds swiftly to investigate and manage any concerns raised by children and consults appropriately with placing authorities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to give their views. They are consulted on matters such as the weekly menu, activities, decor and special events. Regular children’s meetings take place and children are provided with feedback forms to offer their views and opinions on the home, staff and their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff receive assistance from an external trauma-centred psychologist to understand children’s behaviour. Behaviour management strategies are built around the child and assist staff in the positive management of unwanted behaviours. Overall, consequences are minimal. This is because staff work with children to recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Educational attendance is encouraged and supported. Overall, children’s attendance is good and positive progress is achieved. One child has clear aspirations for their future and is on target to achieve in his college course.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. They are registered with health professionals and appointments are made, as necessary. However, records of prescribed medication fail to include why the medication has been prescribed and if there are potential side effects to be aware of. Likewise, records do not always include the actions staff have taken when a child has sustained an injury.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to lead healthy lifestyles and have healthy diets. Some children participate in planning, shopping and preparing meals to provide them with skills in budgeting and planning for living independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to take part in activities and leisure pursuits. Children visit places of interest, such as theme parks, and they enjoy going to the cinema with staff and friends. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592713 4 How well children and young people are helped and protected: good.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of the children’s lives and the steps to follow to keep them safe. Incidents are recorded and reviewed by the manager. Children’s views are sought, and actions are clear. Incidents are followed up through key-work sessions and debriefs which focus on keeping children safe. However, some of the written terminology in case records could be more child friendly and focus more on impact for children rather than on behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported with a clear safety plan when there are risks in their lives. Child protection procedures are followed to ensure that there is good oversight of the safety plans from all relevant agencies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are trained to safely intervene and only hold children as a last resort, to keep everyone safe. Incidents are recorded in detail. The manager and staff reflect on incidents to try to identify children’s triggers to mitigate future concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children rarely go missing. There has been one missing-from-care episode during the last 12 months. Staff follow the missing-from-home protocol and are proactive in searching for the child. The staff work well with multi-agencies and ensure that the relevant agencies are kept informed. Staff carry out key-work sessions with children which focus on the risks and dangers when they are missing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has effective links with local authorities, local authority designated officers and other important safeguarding agencies. There is effective communication about safeguarding issues, such as any injuries sustained during restraints or allegations against staff. Staff understand how to refer to the local authority designated officer and take immediate action should a concern arise.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff team have developed a caring, supportive and aspirational culture for the child to thrive and grow. The children receive informed and consistent good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Half of the staff team have successfully completed a relevant childcare qualification. They receive consistent and targeted training, including clinical input, to assist them in how they support the children. A staff member said, ‘We work closely with the clinical team to get the best for our children. We are dedicated to the children.’ Staff have received a range of online learning to help to broaden their knowledge and skills. However, there is no system in place to check if staff understand how to put the online learning into practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager sets the standards for the team and leads from the front. She provides regular formal and informal supervision and guides the staff in the development of a safe and nurturing environment for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592713 5 There is a consistent and skilled staff team. Staff say that they are happy in their role and that they receive a high level of consistent support and guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

As part of the company’s development plan, the company is working with external mental health therapists. Monthly consultation sessions with staff and children take place and provide the foundation for all the work being carried out in the home. This professional input is positively reflected in the progress children make.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is consistent in her approach to monitoring the quality of care provided and the positive effect that this is having on the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The care provided in the home is supported and organised to reflect the theoretical framework of attachment. The staff work closely together to create an environment where the children are safe, valued, respected and accepted. This is evident in children’s progress and achievements. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592713 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of prescribed medication include the reason why the medication has been prescribed and any potential side effects. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should ensure that records are written in plain English and do not include institutional references. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)  The registered person should ensure that any injuries sustained by a child are fully recorded. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.12)  The registered person should ensure that staff undertaking online training understand how to apply this in practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 2592713 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes for Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Northern House, 3 Kennerleys Lane, Wilmslow SK9 5EQ

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Inspectors

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Sarah Probert, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2592713 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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