Children's home run by Florinee Homes

Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 1 Registered provider: Florinee Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home offers care for up to five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2021.

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: 18 October 2022

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were four children living at the home at the time of the inspection. One child is currently staying with their family. The staff have regular phone contact with the child and they visit weekly to provide support and maintain relationships.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This inspection took place following concerns that were raised to Ofsted. These concerns were explored and a recommendation has been made relating to one of the concerns. There was no other evidence found to support the other concerns.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are positive relationships between the children and staff. Children are able to identify the staff that they feel able to talk to and trust. Children are supported to take part in activities that they request and enjoy. Activities include going to the cinema, visiting theme parks and roller-skating.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves to the home are managed well. There are clear transition plans for children moving to the home. One child’s transition took place over a number of weeks to best support them. The manager and staff spent time getting to know the child before they moved to the home. The manager undertook assessments to ensure that this would be a positive move for the child and the other children at the home. One child experienced an unplanned move from the home. The manager made the decision due to the level of risk. The manager and staff team reflected on the situation and identified some lessons learned from this situation.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s education. For one child who does not currently have a school place, staff encourage engagement with a tutoring service. Incentives are used to support children’s attendance and engagement with education.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is homely and welcoming. There are photos of children and staff in one of the lounges, which supports children’s sense of belonging. There has been some redecoration recently and there are further plans to improve the interior decor, as it is dated in places. Children have been involved with deciding what purpose an unused room will have. Children chose this to be a sensory room, which is being adapted.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s relationships with one another are not always supported. When there are difficult dynamics between the children there is a lack of staff support. Children are not always spoken to about the relationships or offered support. This could leave children feeling uncomfortable or unsafe at their home.

p.3

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

Staff understand children’s risks. Care plans and risk assessments are clear and provide strategies for staff to follow. The plans and strategies are personalised to Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 4 each child. De-escalation strategies are clearly identified in each child’s plan and staff use these strategies during behavioural incidents.

p.3

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

Staff talk to children about risks. Key-worker sessions take place regularly. The manager arranged for the local fire service to visit and talk to some children following concerns about smoking in their bedrooms. This helps children to understand risks and develop new ways to manage them.

p.4

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

Staff understand the processes to follow should a child go missing from care. Staff search the local area to try and locate them. Staff speak to children when they return, to gather information and request for return home interviews to be carried out.

p.4

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

When allegations are made by children, these are handled fairly and quickly. Staff report concerns effectively. The local authority designated officer (LADO) is informed and investigations are carried out based on the advice of the LADO.

p.4

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

Restraints are used when necessary. Following the use of restraints, children are not always spoken to about the reason for the use of the restraint. Debriefs with staff do not always happen promptly. This could leave children and staff feeling unsupported and prevent managers having full oversight of the incident involving the use of the restraint and whether it was proportionate.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and is working towards their level 5 qualification. The manager has high aspirations for the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly. This supports staff to develop their knowledge and reflect on their practice. A clinical consultant spends time with the staff and the manager separately in order to hold discussions about the children and support staff to think in a therapeutic way. Supervision sessions and appraisals take place. Feedback from others is used in appraisals to support staff to know their strengths and areas for developments.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager acts on feedback received by external monitoring. When a family member raised a concern to the independent person, the manager investigated this promptly. When children raised concerns relating to staff practice, the manager spoke to the team about these concerns in a team meeting to address them in a timely manner.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Communication with families and professionals takes place regularly. Most professionals and families feel the communication levels are appropriate. However, one social worker raised that incidents over weekends and evenings are not reported to the placing authority in a prompt manner. One family raised concerns about the lack of communication. The manager has arranged meetings to discuss these concerns and make plans regarding these. A new system for updates has recently been put in place to try and improve this communication. Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 5 Staff receive regular training. There is an induction programme to support staff to learn their roles. However, the staff are not trained in all areas that are relevant to the children. Staff would benefit from training about gender identity in order to support their understanding. Staff have supported children around their identities.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

However, formal training would ensure all staff have this awareness and the skills to support children’s emerging identities.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s quality of care review does not always include feedback from staff, families or professionals. The reports are also not sent to Ofsted in a timely manner. This limits the effectiveness of identifying and driving improvements. Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 6

p.5

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.6

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")—

p.6

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.6

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. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(c)) 15 March 2024

p.6

Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it.

p.6

Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (2)(b) (4)(a) (5)) 24 May 2024

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff work in close partnership with all those who play a role in protecting and caring for the child. In particular, having regular communication with children’s social workers and parents and ensuring that information following any incidents or safeguarding concerns are reported in Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 7 a prompt manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff support children to develop skills to have positive relationships with others both inside and outside of the house. In particular, ensure that children are supported around witnessing incidents with other children and their views about living with other children are gained and support offered about these relationships. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.6)

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. In particular, that staff complete training courses that relate to supporting children’s identity needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

p.7

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: 2655174 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Florinee Homes Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit F68, Brightfield Business Hub, Bakewell Road, Orton Southgate, Peterborough PE2 6XU

p.8

Inspector

Leanne Lyon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 9 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.8

Inspector

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9