Children's Home run by Headway Adolescent Resources Limited in Somerset

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 1 Registered provider: Headway Adolescent Resources Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and offers care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home. One of these children has moved into the home since the last inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has left her post and has submitted her application to cancel her registration with Ofsted. A new manager has been in post since January 2024 and has not yet applied for registration with Ofsted.

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Inspection date: 16 January 2024

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

This inspection was carried out due to the frequency and severity of serious incidents in the home since the last inspection. In addition, concerns about the practices of the provider have been shared with Ofsted. These concerns were explored during this inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers carefully monitor emerging safeguarding concerns to identify key themes and patterns of risk. This allows for additional guidance to be provided to staff to help them to understand the risks that children may be exposed to in the community and online. As a result, staff are helped to better support children and keep them safe.

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Findings from the inspection

When children go missing from home, staff follow the agreed protocols, including looking for the child in the local area and contacting their friends and family. When children return to the home, they are supported to understand staff’s concerns and how they can keep themselves safe in the future. This has led to fewer episodes of children going missing from home.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff use a range of strategies to avoid the use of restraint. However, when restraint is used, it is necessary and proportionate to the risk of harm. On some occasions, the police have been called to the home to support staff, as they have been unable to help children to express themselves safely and have been concerned about their welfare and the welfare of others.

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Findings from the inspection

Following these incidents, staff have been supported to identify what they could have done differently. The staff team has been provided with behavioural management training, which places a focus on de-escalation and helping children to express themselves safely. As a result, the frequency of restraint and police call-outs has reduced.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers take swift action to ensure that children are kept safe after they have raised concerns about the actions of staff. These concerns are reported to the relevant external professionals and appropriate actions are identified. However, leaders and managers do not always provide feedback to children about the outcome of their concerns. As a result, children do not have the opportunity to say whether they are satisfied with the actions that have been taken, nor can they be assured that they have been listened to.

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Findings from the inspection

Robust safer recruitment procedures are in place. When required, leaders and managers have ensured that overseas criminal record checks and extensive employment histories have been received before staff start to work with the Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 3 children. Improvements to the safer recruitment process have been made following an internal quality assurance review.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff’s interactions with children are warm, friendly and caring. When in the company of staff, children appear relaxed and happy. There is lots of joking, laughing and good humour. One child commented that he would not change anything about the home and said, ‘It is all quite OK.’

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Findings from the inspection

Children’s progress is mixed. They are being supported to express themselves more safely and spend more time with their friends and family. One child has been supported to reconnect with old friends and join local sports groups. Other children have continued to attend youth groups and spend time in the community.

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Findings from the inspection

However, leaders and managers do not always evaluate the effectiveness of the support and guidance that children receive. As a result, when staff have not been able to successfully promote positive outcomes for children, they have not been supported to explore other strategies, services and resources that they could use to help achieve different outcomes. Consequently, staff are not consistently pursuing aspirational targets for children and progress in some areas has stagnated.

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Findings from the inspection

None of the children in the home are receiving full-time education. Although some structured learning opportunities are provided for children when they do not attend school, staff do not always encourage children’s participation effectively.

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Findings from the inspection

One child has moved to the home since the last inspection. Before moving in, he was supported to visit the home and meet the staff and children who live there. As a result, he was reported to be ‘excited’ to move in. However, leaders and managers did not seek sufficient admissions information to allow them to carefully consider the child’s needs. As a result, staff were not equipped with the skills and knowledge that were required to support the child effectively. Consequently, staff have been on a journey of development and learning to ensure that they can offer good-quality care to the child. Although staff are now better able to meet the child’s needs, the journey of learning that they have had to go on has been at the child’s detriment.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers have taken some action to address the requirements and the recommendation that were raised at the last inspection, although further areas of development have been identified. The home has experienced considerable managerial change over the past two years. At the time of this inspection, the manager had been in post for one day.

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Findings from the inspection

Despite this, most staff say that they feel supported. Several staff told the inspector that their induction to the home and the training that they have received have helped them to support the children effectively. Staff can identify children’s progress, although recognise that progress has stalled in some areas. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/05/2023 Full Good 26/07/2022 Full Good 20/07/2021 Full Good 28/05/2019 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 5

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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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)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the support and guidance that are provided to children. Specifically, when staff have not been able to support positive outcomes for children, the registered person should help staff to identify other strategies that they can use to help children make positive choices. 25 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— 25 March 2024 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 6 receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that sufficient admissions information is available about children before they move into the home. The registered person should use this information to accurately assess whether staff can meet children’s needs and help them effectively to keep safe.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when children are not in full-time education, they are supported to engage in suitable structured activities that promote their development and learning. The registered person should work alongside the child’s placing authority so that they can be supported to resume full-time education as soon as possible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that staff help children to feel safe and be safe. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm. In particular, the registered person should ensure that children are aware of, and are satisfied with, the actions that are taken to keep them safe following the concerns that they have raised. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

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Recommendations

standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Headway Adolescent Resources Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove B60 4AD

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Inspector

Martin Brown, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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