Children's home run by Homes2Inspire Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1256404 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private company that is owned and operated by a national charity. It provides care for up to five children who may be experiencing emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified.

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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 outstanding

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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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: 7 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: 1256404 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/12/2022 Full Good 26/10/2021 Full Good 11/02/2020 Full Outstanding 12/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1256404 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive relationships between staff and children are at the heart of the care the children experience. Staff understand the importance of building strong relationships to help children feel safe. Children talk openly to staff about their feelings, which helps them to process difficult emotions. Staff respond sensitively and have high aspirations for them. This is communicated to children in an inclusive way, which helps them to have high expectations and aspirations for themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to be themselves and enjoy their childhoods. Children enjoy a wide range of activities in the home and in the community. Children have fun, make friends and enjoy socialising. This helps to develop their confidence and sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand that past life experiences can continue to impact on children. In response to negative behaviours, staff adopt a caring and nurturing approach, and they give praise freely and often. Staff use a therapeutic approach, which is evident in all areas of practice. Staff focus on restoring relationships when difficulties arise. This allows for respectful and meaningful bonds to develop between the children and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are regularly praised and offered rewards for positive behaviours. However, this is not recorded. This is a missed opportunity to encourage and work with children to reinforce positive behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in crucial areas of their lives. Staff understand children’s needs from when they first move into the home. Managers and staff celebrate children’s achievements, no matter what these may be.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy and value the time they spend with staff. They discuss issues that are important to them, which has a positive impact on their continued progress. Children said that key-work sessions teach them about things such as staying safe online, feelings and emotions and looking after their health. Staff ensure the support is creative and fun. Children learn from this support and are developing a sense of self- worth and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the worries that children may have before they move in. They seek to minimise these worries through excellent transition planning and working collaboratively with external agencies. The nurturing and caring approach from staff helps children settle quickly following their move to the home. One child said, ‘I loved [name of home], the staff are so caring and loving. I miss them and didn’t think I would say that. I keep in touch with staff and know that they are here if I need them.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 1256404 4 Children’s education attendance is variable. One child was out of education for a prolonged period of time before moving to the home and now attends daily. Another child continues to make good progress in education. Some children are having difficulties with attendance due to their current individual circumstances. The manager is tenacious in her work with children and relevant professionals,

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

encouraging children to attend education and for timetables to be tailored to their needs. However, for those children refusing to attend education, suitable structured activities are not in place to support them during the day.

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outstanding

The staff and managers go above and beyond to keep children safe. Children’s behaviour is well managed and they rarely go missing from home. The underlying reasons for children’s very good behaviour and stability are the excellent relationships children and staff enjoy. One child who previously went missing every day, has not gone missing for over six months. This is a significant achievement.

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outstanding

Staff consider all the children’s safeguarding needs and act quickly if they need to keep children safe. Staff work very effectively with external partner agencies and professionals regarding safeguarding matters that affect children.

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outstanding

Children’s individual risk assessments capture their risks and vulnerabilities. The level of detail recorded shows how well staff know each child. Managers and staff regularly review risk assessments and update them if circumstances warrant it. As a result, staff have up-to-date information about each child and the best way to respond to their needs and to risks when they arise, enabling them to keep children as safe as possible.

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outstanding

Staff are very proactive and use their skills and experience to creatively respond to risks and de-escalate incidents quickly. Staff have a good understanding of children’s emotional needs and have the required skills to manage effectively behaviours that challenge. In most instances, this approach works. As a result, there has only been one occasion in the last 14 months when physical restraint has been used.

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outstanding

The children have access to the internet and social media and enjoy this aspect of their lives. The online activities of the children are monitored to ensure that they remain safe. Staff seek to educate children and raise their awareness so that they can enjoy their online activities in a fun and safe manner. Children who would historically hide conversations of concern are now confident in sharing information with staff. This enables staff to act when necessary to safeguard children.

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outstanding

The number of concerning incidents involving children has decreased. When incidents do occur, staff are quick to respond and follow relevant protocols. Staff are meticulous in recording incidents, and they capture all the vital details. Staff undertake individual debriefs with children following any incidents and further individual work is carried out with children if necessary. The focus on learning from Inspection report for children’s home: 1256404 5 incidents by managers and staff is excellent. They remain committed to learning lessons and preventing incidents in the future.

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outstanding

Concerns about staff performance are thoroughly investigated. Leaders and managers ensure that information is shared with appropriate safeguarding professionals and is fully investigated and dealt with in a timely way. All concerns are taken seriously and steps are taken to protect children from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered managers have a wealth of experience in caring for children. They are ambitious about the quality of care children receive and passionate about ensuring children have positive outcomes. These aspirations are the goals of the whole staff team and are shared by the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The ethos of the home is that children are cared for by staff who do not give up on them. The managers ensure that children are well matched. There is extensive planning when children move in and out of the home. This has meant that children make progress and their experience of living at the home is positive from an early stage.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers provide extensive and creative support to staff in several key areas of practice. Managers regularly use trusted sources of learning and published research to develop the team’s knowledge and skills. The team is highly committed and drives plans forward to continually improve children’s care and experiences. The managers’ inspirational approach to research-informed practice is worthy of wider dissemination.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The managers are excellent advocates for children. The managers challenge effectively decisions made by professionals when they are not in children’s best interests. They escalate concerns appropriately when support is not put in place to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are positive about the support they receive from managers. They receive regular reflective supervision and new staff have excellent inductions. Staff appreciate the open-door policy of managers, which promotes effective communication throughout the staff team. Morale is high, with staff having admiration for each other and for the children they work with. Staff report that they love working at the home and, despite all the challenges faced, remain exceptionally committed to their work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager looks for external support to develop the home. They have invited professionals from an array of disciplines to offer objective advice and guidance around the care of the children. Feedback from others is always taken seriously and used as an opportunity to drive improvements for children. This has inspired a culture of learning and an appetite to develop existing skills. The team is continually striving to improve. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256404 6 The manager’s diligence around children moving into and out of the home has created a stable group environment. Children have a platform to flourish and have a very positive experience of living at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256404 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff recognise and celebrate the achievements of their children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.7)  The registered person should ensure that when children are not accessing education, managers put plans in place so that children are supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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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: 1256404 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Homes 2 Inspire Limited, Lumonics House, Valiant Office Suites, Valley Drive, Swift Valley Industrial Estate, Rugby CV21 1TQ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Craig Whitchurch

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Children’s home details

Registered managers: Holly Stringfellow and Julie Mason

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Inspectors

Zoey Lee, Social Care Inspector Linda Mason, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1256404 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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