Children's Home run by Restorative Social Care Services Ltd in Calderdale

Inspection report for children’s home: 1277079 1 Registered provider: Restorative Social Care Services Limited. 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 managed by a private company. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. Two children were living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1277079 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2023 Full Good 15/03/2022 Full Good 16/10/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1277079 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children living at the home have positive relationships with staff. Staff understand the children’s individual needs. Children say they like the home and the staff. Interactions between children and staff are warm, natural and nurturing. This creates a sense of belonging for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress with their education. Staff are ambitious for the children in their care. They communicate regularly with school and college staff and do all they can to promote children’s education. Feedback from professionals is positive about the care provided. Children are supported to attend open days for further education and encouraged to reach their own goals. This gives children control over their lives and shows them they are valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The transitions of children in and out of the home are well planned and managed. Decisions are taken in the best interests of the children. This promotes positive change for children and leads to good outcomes. Children are supported to build friendships. Their feelings are acknowledged and considered thoroughly before any decisions are made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make complaints. The manager ensures that complaints are taken seriously and responded to. Children are informed of the outcomes of any complaints they make.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s wishes and feelings are explored in regular house meetings. They also complete a twice-yearly questionnaire about their experience of living at the home and action is taken in response to their views and opinions. One child asked for a new wardrobe, which has been purchased, and the manager is negotiating with another child regarding their request to change their bedroom.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are given the opportunity to choose how they spend their free time, appropriate to their age. When children struggle to make these decisions, staff offer a range of activities to widen the child’s life experiences. This includes going out for meals, ice skating and swimming. However, these activities and experiences, alongside other life-story events, are not recorded in a meaningful way that would enable children to understand who they are and where they came from.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s guide is tailored to reflect the age and understanding of each child. The guide helps children to understand the home and who they can contact if they need help. The guide does not tell children how to access advocacy support or independent advocacy. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277079 4

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

Children have clear and consistent boundaries in place. Staff understand the children’s needs and engage in the continual review and discussion about their care and needs. Professionals are positive about the support offered in all areas of the children’s lives. The help provided by staff keeps children safe and increases their sense of security.

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

Staff manage children’s behaviour in line with their plans. When incidents occur, these are managed in line with expectations. Staff are trained to use physical intervention if necessary. They are skilled in adopting strategies to engage children and help avoid incidents. Children very rarely go missing from this home. If children do go missing, staff take the necessary action to look for them and keep them safe.

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

The careful recruitment of staff keeps children safe. The manager is assured that children are protected from harm. Staff supervision sessions are held regularly, and this includes a discussion about the continued suitability of staff to work at the home.

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

Any allegations are shared with the necessary people and reviewed and investigated effectively. Appropriate links with other professionals, including the local safeguarding team and social workers, mean that risks to children are reduced.

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

Children at the home feel safe and happy. One child rated the home as ‘five out of five’. Children have trusted adults who they can speak to. This means that children know where to go for support if they need it.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has oversight of the home. He knows the staff and children well. The manager ensures that he is aware of children’s day-to-day needs and wishes. The manager is well supported by the deputy manager and the responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s development plan is clear and includes children’s wishes. There are monthly visits to the home by an independent person, which are reviewed and responded to positively by leaders and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains an overview of staff’s training and skills. These are up to date. Additional training has been undertaken in relation to topics such as drugs, alcohol and autism to ensure that staff understand and can respond to children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff meetings are held regularly and are well attended by the staff. Children are a focus of the meeting. The manager is keen to upskill staff to enhance their practice, promote change and move the service forward.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An induction programme is in place. Supervision sessions are carried out, which staff say are helpful to them. Staff feel that the processes in place support them to carry Inspection report for children’s home: 1277079 5 out their role. Staff understand their role and expectations and feel supported by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains an overview of the safety and security of the home. This includes an annual review of the location of the home, a development plan for the home and a current fire risk assessment. However, at the time of the inspection, extension leads used in the home were seen to be overloaded, which does not comply with health and safety legislation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s care plans direct staff on how to care for the children. Staff regularly review and sign documents to say they have read and understood them. However, information in the ‘placement plan and essential information’ document and the missing-from-care protocol needs to be updated. These documents do not fully reflect the most recent information which is available for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277079 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s plans form the basis of their care. In particular, they should ensure they are up to date and reflective of the child’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.1)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets children’s needs. The home must comply with relevant health and safety legislation. In particular, ensure that extension leads are used safely and not overloaded. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should review their responsibility in helping children to understand who they are and where they come from, such as through carrying out life-story work or other direct work. In particular, staff should record significant achievements and positive memories for children. Staff in the home

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Recommendations

should play a full role in work of this kind. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide helps children to understand their rights and how they can access advocacy support or independent advocacy if eligible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)

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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: 1277079 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Restorative Social Care Services Limited.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Restorative Social Care Services, 8 Victoria Street, Greetland, Halifax HX4 8DF

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Inspector

Jo Cansfield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1277079 8 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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