Children's Home run by Monarch Intervention Services Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2624457 1 Registered provider: Monarch Intervention Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A small, private provider owns this home, which Ofsted registered in February 2021. It provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties. There were three children living in the home when the inspection took place.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced manager who is registered with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 2624457 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/06/2022 Full Good 08/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2624457 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children moving into the home well. For example, they meet children before they move into the home. Planning for moving on is individualised to children’s needs. The manager and staff stay in touch with children who have left. Staff supported a child to visit the new home that they are moving to in the new year. The child has been involved in planning and has been offered choices about where they want to live and which bedroom they prefer. They said they had a good time during the visit, and it went well. Good planning around children moving from the home and into the home gives children confidence and supports positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is in a semi-rural location and has views over the surrounding countryside. It is furnished to a high standard. It is large, with two separate living rooms and a conservatory available for children to relax in. Another room in the home is currently being used for tuition and meetings for children. Different rooms give children space away from each other and enable them to meet privately with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have regular discussions with staff to talk about their experience of the home. The manager also meets with children to gather their feedback. Children make requests for things they would like. A spare room was converted into a second living room for children after consultation. Children have picked the colours for their walls and chosen the soft furnishings in their bedrooms. Children said that they have everything they need in their rooms. One child has a collection of models they have made on display and has put up a flag that is important to them. As a result, children feel a sense of belonging in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have opportunities to explore activities and develop interests. One child was taken for horse riding lessons, which led to them starting a job working at a stable yard. Another child joined a local football team. All children help to plan activities and enjoy trips out, such as theme parks. In summer, the children enjoyed a large paddling pool in the garden. Staff put photos around the home of children enjoying activities. Positive experiences support children to develop confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and staff benefit from regular therapeutic support and consultation. Children meet regularly with a specific therapist. The therapeutic team has direct involvement in decisions about children moving into the home and contributes to the children’s plans. The staff consult with the therapeutic team during regular meetings when they review and update children’s plans and reflect on practice. As a result, children receive good and responsive support from people who understand their needs. Inspection report for children's home: 2624457 4 Staff support children to build and maintain relationships well. Staff recognise the importance of good relationships and ensure that children can see people who are important to them. A child’s relative said, ‘Compared to over a year ago, she is like a different person, more confident and happier.’ They feel that staff do everything that they can for the child. Children benefit from the support of positive relationships

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

Staff respond well to complaints, and the manager ensures that allegations are investigated thoroughly. All children know how to raise complaints and are confident that they will be listened to and receive a response. When an allegation was received, the manager ensured that referrals to external services were made. Strong multi-agency working and good responses to complaints and allegations help to keep children safe from harm.

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

Managers and staff place a high priority on keeping children safe. Risk assessments are clear, and staff know the actions they need to take to respond to risk. Physical intervention is used as a last resort to keep children safe. One child was being held regularly to stop them putting themselves at risk on the road when experiencing a crisis. Staff worked with the child, and external services, to put in place support and safety plans. Records show that the use of physical intervention has been reduced. Children said that they feel safe at the home and have people they can speak to.

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

Staff are proactive when children’s whereabouts are unknown. Staff search for children and share information effectively with other services. For example, information shared with the police highlighted a significant safeguarding concern that resulted in a prosecution. The manager also ensures that independent return interviews take place with children when they have been missing from care.

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

The manager ensures that children’s health needs are met and advocates strongly for children to ensure they receive the services that they need. Children’s health plans are clear, and staff follow up on actions that are identified. The manager supported a child to get a diagnosis of autism. Others have been supported to get their vaccinations. As a result, all children are in good physical health and receive support that is appropriate to their needs.

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

The staff use consequences to support children to understand the impact of their actions. While reflective discussions are often used to explore behaviour, consequences are not always therapeutic. One child had multiple monetary sanctions for breaking mugs. Another child was told they would be charged a ‘taxi’ fee if they asked to be collected after leaving the home independently. Consequences are discussed with the home’s therapeutic team at meetings, and no children have been charged for transport. The manager has plans to reduce consequences when children engage. Inspection report for children's home: 2624457 5

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good

The manager is passionate about the service and achieving positive outcomes for children. She places children’s welfare at the centre of her decision-making and advocates strongly for them to ensure that they receive the services that they need. For example, the manager challenged mental health services about their response to a child and worked closely with other professionals to ensure that the planning for the child met their needs. As a result, the child successfully moved back into the home after a period of crisis and has settled.

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good

The manager works with other agencies effectively, both to ensure the quality of care in this home and to promote understanding and development more widely across services. The manager has strong links with placing authorities and is well respected. The manager gave a presentation to managers at a local authority about problems providers face and reasons referrals may be declined. Sharing experiences with other services enables learning and supports improvements in how the system works for children.

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good

The manager has a good understanding of what is happening in the home and signs off records by staff after significant events. However, the manager has not always picked up where the quality of recording is poor. Some physical intervention and consequence records were not clear. This impacts on the manager’s oversight and ability to review the effectiveness of actions taken. The manager has a plan to improve the quality of recording through additional oversight of physical intervention records by the training provider and further training for the team on recording.

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good

The manager ensures that all permanent staff receive regular, high-quality supervision. Supervision meetings include reflective discussions that promote learning and development. Supervision sessions are used to set clear and relevant targets, which are regularly reviewed. The manager monitors agency staff by ensuring that they work alongside experienced colleagues in the team. However, formal supervision of agency staff has not taken place. There have been periods when the use of agency staff has been high. This means that an opportunity to evaluate performance and reflect on learning has been missed and has the potential to impact on children’s experiences. The use of agency staff has been reduced, and the manager has a plan to formalise the induction and supervision of agency staff.

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good

Vetting procedures are generally good. For example, the manager has ensured that all staff have multiple references on file, and some effort has been made to follow up on references that are not returned. However, the manager has missed opportunities to gather information when risks have been disclosed during the recruitment process. This has the potential to put children at risk of harm from staff who may not be suitable. The manager has risk assessments covering the information disclosed and is managing concerns through good induction processes and regular, effective supervision. The manager intends to improve recruitment processes, including contacting other professionals to verify information as relevant. Inspection report for children's home: 2624457 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that physical intervention and consequence records are clearly written and consistent in quality. 14 February 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; 20 December Inspection report for children's home: 2624457 7 the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they take all appropriate actions to obtain references for staff and information relating to any potential risk identified.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that agency staff receive regular supervision. 14 February 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour, and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: 2624457 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Monarch Intervention Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Glades, Festival Way, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST1 5SQ

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Inspector

Laura Norcop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2624457 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 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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