Children's Home run by Infinity Care Home Ltd in Tameside

Inspection report for children's home: 2642401 1 Registered provider: Infinity Care Home Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is run by a small private provider. The home is registered to care for up to four children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in November 2021.

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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: 2642401 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2642401 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children currently live in the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home and one child has moved in. Children receive good-quality care and are making progress. Children have positive relationships with the staff and feel listened to and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The positive nurturing approach staff have with children has ensured that children feel safe and cared for. One child told the inspector, ‘It’s not our house. It’s our home.’ Another child told the inspector, ‘We are a family.’ This is mirrored by staff members who told the inspector they felt ‘lucky’ and ‘privileged’ to be able to support the children in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are accessing full-time education and have made significant progress since moving into the home. This is because staff have listened to children’s views and wishes and have effectively advocated for them. This means children have been able to access educational provision that is suited to their individual learning needs. Staff work collaboratively with education partners to achieve the best outcomes for children. This is reflected in the joint goals set in children’s education, health and care plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy a range of fun activities, such as going to trampoline parks and visiting fairgrounds. These positive memories are captured in photos, which have been put in books for children to take with them when they leave the home. Memory boxes have been started for children, which include trinkets such as cinema tickets, artwork and certificates of achievements. This means that, in later years, children will have reminders of happy memories made at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. When there have been delays in children’s access to health care, staff have escalated this with relevant agencies, including the designated looked after children’s nurse. This has meant that children have been able to have outstanding treatments. This has supported children to feel important and cared for by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have time with their friends and families. Staff are proactive in overcoming barriers to children seeing their families. When needed, staff support children to establish and develop relationships with important loved ones.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Planned maintenance of the home was being undertaken at the time of inspection. Children have been involved with decisions made about the decoration of the home, including their rooms. Inspection report for children's home: 2642401 4

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

Staff take effective action to safeguard the children living in the home. Risks to the children are known and understood by staff caring for them. Risk assessments are clear and include all known vulnerabilities for the children. These set out actions staff should take to manage risks, and these are regularly reviewed to reflect the current needs of the children.

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

Children have trusted relationships with staff in the home. This means that staff have been able to work with children to understand the risk of substance use. Staff have built up resources to educate children about the risks they may be exposed to. This has supported children to learn how to keep themselves safe.

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

Staff have ensured that measures have been taken to keep children safe online. Children speak to staff about their wishes and feelings around internet use and have been involved with plans in place. This means children feel listened to and valued.

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

Children are supported to take risks that are appropriate for their age and level of understanding. This has supported children to build their independence skills and feel confident in accessing the community. Children know staff will support them to return home safely and will seek support from staff when needed.

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

Staff understand children’s lived experiences. They provide a nurturing response when children display behaviours due to being upset or angry. Staff are skilled in the use of de-escalation techniques to support children to manage their emotions. This means that there has been a reduction in incidents and the use of restraints in the home.

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

Children do not go missing from home. However, there are clear plans in place to reduce the risk of harm. One reason for children not going missing from home is due to the children being involved with their plans regarding time out in the community with friends. Children and staff stay in regular contact and have open and trusted relationships.

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

Managers have ensured all incidents are recorded, reviewed and evaluated. This has meant changes can be made to ensure strategies are working for children’s individual needs.

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

Staff consistently promote positive behaviours. However, managers have missed opportunities to evaluate the effectiveness of some behaviour strategies, specifically when consequences are used. Inspection report for children's home: 2642401 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

On the week the inspection was completed, there was a change to the home’s leadership team. The registered manager has moved into a senior management role and will be resigning as registered manager. The deputy manager has been appointed as the manager of the home and intends to apply to be registered. A replacement deputy manager has been appointed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is enthusiastic and child-focused. Managers have ensured that staff are empowered to challenge partner agencies to ensure that children’s needs are met. The managers and staff are strong advocates for children. This means children’s views are at the centre of care planning arrangements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel supported and listened to. Staff receive regular supervision sessions from the manager. This helps staff to understand how best to meet children’s needs. Staff have undertaken a range of training courses. When needed, additional training is sourced to meet the specific needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent visitor report gives a detailed overview of the home. However, aspects of the reports are not always updated. This means that the content of the report does not always give an accurate overview of the home and the actions needed. Inspection report for children's home: 2642401 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 registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. 29 February 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2642401 7 (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iv)(v)(vii)(b)(c))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that independent scrutiny information provided by the independent visitor is accurate and up to date. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 2642401 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Infinity Care Home Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 The Downs, Cheadle SK8 1JL

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Inspector

Alexandra Pearson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2642401 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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