Children's home run by Almond Care Children’s Services Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2567607 1 Registered provider: Almond Care Children’s Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private provider and provides care for up to five children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by an experienced manager who is registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

There are currently three children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector was aware during this inspection that serious child protection allegations were being investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegation were considered (where appropriate) alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspector’s judgements.

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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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2567607 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/12/2022 Full Outstanding 29/06/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2567607 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are clear, concise and help to guide staff’s care practice. Children can contribute to their plans and are supported to understand and influence the care they receive. For one child, there are good plans in place to support her towards independent living and to meaningfully prepare for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager plans carefully for when children come to live at the home. He undertakes a risk assessment to understand the impact of the new child’s presenting behaviours and how staff can manage the needs of the children collectively. Several children have left the home at short notice and the manager recognises that this has had an impact on other children. There is now careful planning to ensure that children admitted to the home can be supported on a long-term basis.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s mental health. Children can speak with a psychologist who can offer them bespoke support. Children are also engaged with mental health services, if required. This means children get the help and support they need with their emotional and mental health needs. External professionals said staff have an open communication style and they work collaboratively on approaches that will further support children’s safety and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and staff have regular one-to-one discussions that are of good quality. Staff are comfortable to address more difficult topics with children and reassure children that they care for them. For one child, this has included exploration of safe relationships and recognising signs of grooming. Children also engage in children’s meetings. The manager always comments on matters discussed and writes back to children. This helps children to understand the purpose of their care and the home’s responsibilities to them and addresses their concerns. This allows children to know that their opinions are valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and maintained to a good standard. Children benefit from having large bedrooms and several shared spaces where they can relax. The home does not yet feel homely, and some areas need redecorating. Children’s bedrooms would also benefit from being more personalised for them. The manager is aware of this and work is under way to improve this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are not yet engaging regularly in activities or hobbies outside of the home, although opportunities to socialise are offered to them. One child currently spends long periods of time on their games console. There is the potential for children to become socially isolated, especially when they are not attending school regularly. Inspection report for children’s home: 2567607 4

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

Children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans are of good quality. The staff understand how the child perceives the risk they may be exposed to and what staff can do to support them to manage their behaviour. Children’s individual risk assessments are updated monthly, so staff can see whether risk-taking behaviours are increasing or decreasing. Consequently, staff are not risk averse, understanding the need for children to be given opportunities to make good decisions for themselves and to know they can be trusted.

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

The manager recognises that children benefit from routines and behavioural boundaries. A specific document has been developed so staff can easily understand the structure of each child’s day and offer consistency in approaches to behaviour management. This has been particularly important as the home has navigated several changes of members of staff.

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

When children make allegations against staff, these are taken seriously. Managers escalate concerns appropriately to external professionals. Internal investigations are carried out quickly, are thorough and reflect on the lessons that can be learned. When needed, changes to practice are implemented quickly and staff are given training to refresh their understanding of safeguarding practice.

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

When children harm themselves, incidents are responded to by staff remaining calm and offering initial first aid and reassurance. Children trust staff to care for them and will seek out their support when required. At times, staff have to conduct searches of children’s rooms to support children to keep safe. Staff listen to advice from mental health professionals to achieve the right balance of safety and independence for children.

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

Staff only use physical restraint with children as a last resort. They try to use de- escalation techniques such as humour and distraction to prevent any escalation. When holds have been used, they are recorded clearly and in detail, which helps give wider context to incidents. Staff and children are given the opportunity to debrief following incidents and to reflect on what they would do differently next time. Good manager oversight ensures that holds are consistent with staff’s training and are proportionate.

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

The home has a separate self-contained flat where older children can learn the skills needed to live independently. A specific risk assessment was not completed when a child moved to live in this flat. This meant an opportunity was missed to think about specific safeguards needed and to obtain the child’s wishes and feelings about how she would be supported there.

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

One child has a tracker placed on their phone as a measure to help them to feel safe. However, it is unclear that this level of observation had been requested and agreed with the child’s social worker. Inspection report for children’s home: 2567607 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by a suitably qualified and committed manager. He is ambitious for the home while recognising the areas in need of improvement. He has been quick to respond to recent incidents and implemented changes to care practice to safeguard children. He has plans, working with other senior members of staff, to establish more thorough auditing processes to ensure a consistent approach to care practice is embedded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is good management oversight of all incidents. Reviews of incidents are reflective, include the manager’s thoughts and help staff to learn and develop. Staff trust the manager’s opinion and feel that he leads by example. The manager ensures that staff have opportunities to debrief after incidents and explore what they would do differently next time. As a result, staff rely on managers and trust their guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Support systems for staff are well established. Staff receive good-quality and regular supervision. Supervision is valued by staff as a space where they can discuss their welfare, the children they care for and wider work issues. Staff also come together regularly for team meetings. These prioritise discussions about children and provide staff with a forum to share their thoughts and learn from each other.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The safe recruitment of staff is prioritised. There are established systems to ensure that necessary checks are carried out and references are taken for newly recruited staff. As a result, the manager can be assured that the staff working at the home are suitable to work with children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2567607 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

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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to there not being a specific risk assessment around the use of the independence flat at the home. This also relates to the need for a clear rationale and agreement around the use of a tracker on a child’s phone. 11 April 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming and supportive and which provides appropriate boundaries in relation to children’s behaviour. The home should also meet children’s basic day- to-day needs and physical necessities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities both inside and outside of the home (where appropriate) and are encouraged to participate in activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 5.6) Inspection report for children’s home: 2567607 7

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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: 2567607 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Almond Care Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Almond Care Ltd, 4 Barling Way, Nuneaton CV10 7RH

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Inspector

Louise Copping, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2567607 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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