Children's Home run by Ark Consultants UK Limited in Redcar and Cleveland

Inspection report for children’s home: 2712832 1 Registered provider: Ark Consultants UK ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides residential short-breaks care for up to four children with a physical and/or learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children resident at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2712832 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to build trusted and secure relationships with staff. Before admission, leaders and managers take the time to get to know the children and their family. This means that the staff at the home start to understand the child’s individual needs before providing care to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to access activities that provide them with new opportunities. These may be in the home, such as experiencing new tastes, new feelings, and sensory experiences, or trips in the community or accessing activities that may not be available to them at home. This means that, irrespective of disability or need, children can participate and engage in a wide range of activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The arrangements for managing complex health needs, including the administration of medication, is effective. The registered manager has developed positive relationships with external professionals to promote every child’s well-being, which is supporting children to stay healthy and well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated to a good standard. However, the children’s presence is not clearly evident throughout the home. There is a lack of opportunity for children to personalise their space in the home. The bedrooms are lockable from the outside, which means that children can store personal items securely in their bedroom.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Complaints are not easily accessible to children. The children’s guide is shared with families and carers before a child stays at the home. It is written in a child-friendly format. However, it is not accessible to every child with a disability. The children’s guide states that if children ask, they can be supported to make a complaint. However, it would not be possible for all children accessing the home to do this.

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

Children feel safe in the home, and family members and carers have no worries or concerns about their children being safe. Parents and carers are reassured by the levels of communication they receive from leaders and staff. Children have positive relationships with the staff who provide their care, and trust them to ensure that they have their needs met.

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

Staff understand children’s experiences and support children to enjoy their time at the home. Staff understand that, at times, children may have feelings that overwhelm them. These can be seen in their behaviours, especially if they have communication difficulties. There is a positive behaviour model that staff use to de-escalate situations or unsafe behaviour and support children that is individual for each child and identifies strategies that staff can use to best support the child.

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

Staff support children to develop communication skills using different methods. Staff use symbols, talking tins, and pictures to help children to communicate their wishes Inspection report for children’s home: 2712832 3 and feelings about how they would like to be cared for effectively. This helps staff to develop an understanding of children’s care prefrences.

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

The registered manager has developed a stable and consistent staff team to provide care for the children. The staff have a good understanding of the procedures for responding to any concerns. Staff are knowledgeable about potential risks and proactive in helping each child to stay safe. This promotes children’s safety.

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

Staff are skilled at de-escalating situations to prevent incidents that could result in harm. The use of restraint is a last resort and used only to ensure a child’s safety. Incidents are generally recorded with management oversight. However, management oversight is not always timely, and some incident reports have not been signed. This means that it is unclear if the registered manager is reviewing and monitoring incidents to support the quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced and qualified staff team. The registered manager and deputy manager have a level 5 qualification. This provides a strong leadership team with expertise, experience, and knowledge. Staff hold a level 3 qualification, or are being supported to achieve this in line with regulation. This means that children benefit from being cared for by an experienced and knowledgeable staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and deputy manager use learning from their own experiences alongside feedback from families and professionals to further develop and improve the experiences of children. The registered manager is insightful of the strengths and weaknesses of the service. Feedback from parents and professionals is overwhelmingly positive about the registered manager and the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and deputy manager address any areas of concern, including any issues arising from the local community. They work proactively with the local community and external agencies, building effective relationships, and with families and carers, to secure positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has high expectations for the care provided to the children, ensuring that children have a safe and positive experience of their stay at the home. Parents and carers feel confident in leaving their child. They speak positively of how well their child is understood and supported. Parents feel involved. They will ring to speak to staff if staff have not already contacted them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s records are of a good quality and are written for the child. This will be helpful if the child wants to read their records in the future. The registered manager has clear monitoring systems in place. Staff receive regular supervision, which includes discussions about children and their care. However, these records lack reflection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2712832 4

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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 (2) 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)) 22 June 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are provided with appropriate furniture, such as a lockable cabinet or drawers, to securely store personal items, including any personal information. Children should have separate bedrooms and should not share a bedroom with an adult. It may be appropriate for siblings of the same sex to share. Children should be given a choice about how their personal space is decorated in accordance with regulation 7(2)(a)(i). (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 16, paragraph 3.19)  The registered person should ensure that children are aware of the complaints procedure and are able to access the forms and make a complaint without the need to ask staff, to protect their privacy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)  The registered person should ensure that there are systems in place so that all

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Recommendations

staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect Inspection report for children’s home: 2712832 5 on their practice and development. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2712832 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Ark Consultants UK ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C W R Accountants, 20 Mannin Way Lancaster Business Park, Lancaster, Lancashire LA1 3SW

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Inspector

Kate Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2712832 7 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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