Children's Home run by Impact For Change Ltd in Devon

Inspection report for children’s home: 2549629 1 Registered provider: Impact for Change Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is part of a small organisation and provides care for up to three children. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The acting manager has been in post for three weeks. A permanent manager has been recruited and is due to start in March 2024.

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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

Date of last inspection: 13 December 2022

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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: 2549629 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/12/2022 Full Good 06/09/2022 Full Inadequate 27/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2549629 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a home that is warm and inviting. The dining room and games room have been painted in line with children’s preferences. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and full of their possessions. Currently, the use of television streaming sites and online gaming is restricted to certain areas of the home due to poor internet coverage. An impending upgrade of internet services will extend internet reach to all areas of the home, which will allow children to make more use of the vast space in the home. This change will be beneficial for both children who live in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers build open and trusting relationships with children. The quality of relationships is evident in written recordings and in the physical interactions observed between children and carers. Carers support children to partake in their interests and encourage them to develop their independence skills. They take time to listen to children and support them to know the reasons for decisions that have been made about them. Carers adapt their presentation to meet children’s needs, showing sensitivity, warmth and nurture, providing guidance and advice but also implementing boundaries and structure. This approach helps children to feel safe and cared for in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education and attendance at school are supported by carers. One child lives between the home and a residential school. Planning to reduce the child’s time at school, where they have significant attachments, is comprehensive. Carers understand the child’s needs and are working closely with the school to provide the child with the support and care that they need. This reduces potential negative impact on the child’s emotional well-being and education. The other child living in the home has experienced some difficulties at school. This has led to them having some time off. Carers have worked well with the school to reintegrate the child, acknowledging the child’s feelings about the process.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional, physical and sexual health needs are usually met. Due to the trusting relationships that have been formed, children approach carers to talk about sensitive topics. In response, carers provide children with a wealth of guidance and advice. When necessary, carers support children to attend appointments. When children are given advice by medical professionals, carers support them to implement this into their daily schedules. Carers have been proactive in seeking bereavement counselling for a child who experienced a significant loss. Resources from the supporting agency were provided to the team, which helped to give them some insight into how to support the child through what was a very emotive period. However, work to support a child to stop using vapes and cannabis has not had the desired outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The relationships between children and their families are prioritised by carers. A parent provided positive feedback about the home and said that their child has Inspection report for children’s home: 2549629 4 ‘come on so much’ since moving there. One child lives a significant distance from some of their family. Carers maintain contact with these family members and take the child on trips to see them during the school holidays. Concerns about the safety of family time for one child were raised with their social worker. Assurances about safety planning were obtained before carers supported extensions to family time. This work has led to the child spending more time with their family, which is in line with their wishes.

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

Both children said that they feel safe living in the home and named carers who they can talk to. One child rated the home ‘six out of 10’ due to the location and poor internet service but was clear that this was nothing to do with the carers who work there. They said that even though it can be annoying, they understand why carers respond to them in certain ways, such as attempts to keep in touch with them when they are missing.

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

Conversations about risk regularly take place between carers and children, with the aim of supporting children to stay safe. Documents to inform practice when children are missing are comprehensive and useful to carers. However, documents designed to support carers to manage other risks are lengthy and repetitive. Assessment of some risks does not reflect the severity of concerns and some information included in these documents is not relevant to the child. Important safeguarding information does not stand out. This may lead to carers not being aware of vital information in relation to protecting children.

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

The responses of carers when a child has gone missing are robust and sustained. Plans providing guidance for carers are followed. Carers have built relationships with other professionals and members of the community who may assist with their response. This has helped carers to gain vital information which has led to the child being found and brought back to the home. When the child has been missing for extended periods, carers have carried out visual and phone check-ins to provide some assurances that the child is not in immediate risk of harm.

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

Carers have extensive knowledge about the children who live in the home. This has allowed them to formulate comprehensive plans of support for children in relation to their behaviours and day-to-day lives. Plans are regularly monitored to ensure that the care provided meets children’s needs. This ongoing monitoring allows carers to evaluate children’s progress. Carers involve children in conversations about their progress, which helps children to feel valued and involved.

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

Incidents in the home are rare. However, when they happen, carers are reactive, working to support children. Carers and children are spoken to following incidents, which allows them to reflect on what happened and how they acted. However, carers sometimes lack curiosity when speaking to children. Opportunities to have more detailed conversations with children are missed. Restraint has been appropriately used on one occasion since the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2549629 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The acting manager has been in post for three weeks. Due to her moving from another home in the company, she arrived with existing relationships with the children and team of carers. She has developed positive relationships with children and carers. Following the registered manager leaving the home, the responsible individual stepped in and provided effective management oversight, supporting the carers and ensuring that children continued to receive the level of care they are entitled to. He is present in the home and his support remains in place while the acting manager continues to settle into her role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Retention of carers is good. Carers like working in the home and choose to stay working there. Children experience consistency of care from those who know them well. Carers said that the support they have received from leaders and managers during the recent period of change has been excellent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision for carers provides a space for reflection and encourages them to have a voice. However, supervision does not always take place on a regular basis. On occasion, when concerns have been raised during supervision, supervisors have not recorded an action or response. This may lead to carers feeling undervalued and not gaining full benefit of management oversight and guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are well attended. Agendas and any resulting actions are clearly detailed. However, actions are not reviewed. Discussions about the care and needs of children and the running of the home take place. Carers are encouraged to raise concerns that they may have.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

At times, reports detailing children’s and carers’ actions lack detail. Management oversight has enabled managers to identify areas where practice could be improved. Managers provide thorough feedback to carers and promote reflection. Managers understand the need for clear and informative recording to underpin good practice and to provide a full narrative for children who may wish to review their files.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have positive relationships with external professionals. They request meetings when concerns about children arise, which leads to multi-agency planning. Four external professionals have provided overwhelmingly positive feedback in relation to all aspects of the home and the care and advocacy that children receive. A dip in communication between the registered manager leaving and acting manager starting was seen; however, any concerns held were short lived. Comments about current communication are positive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2549629 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that risks are appropriately assessed and documented so that carers have easy access to correct and necessary information to help keep children safe. 23 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. 23 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2549629 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(c) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that boundaries are implemented in relation to the use of vapes and cannabis. Children should receive a consistent narrative that supports them to know what behaviours are acceptable and understand the harm that the use of vapes and cannabis can cause.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that carers receive regular supervision. If carers raise concerns, these should be acknowledged, and timely responses should be provided. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that, when appropriate, the conversations carers have with children are curious and explore the child’s experiences, wishes and feelings, aiming to gain a full picture of the child’s narrative. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.10)

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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: 2549629 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Impact for Change Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Canns Down Press, Beaford, Winkleigh, Devon EX19 8LZ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nicholas Scribbins

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Inspector

Carla Simkiss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2549629 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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