Children's Home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1256638 1 Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for up to three children who have suffered adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and presenting complex behaviours. Children may also have a learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and forms part of a large social care organisation, which offers an education service and therapeutic support.

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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: 1256638 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2023 Full Good 22/11/2021 Full Good 24/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/08/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1256638 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved in to the home and one child has moved out. Another child moved in to the home during the inspection. Children say that they like living in the home and are well supported by the people caring for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child, who lived at the home for over four years, has moved to live semi- independently. The child received excellent support from staff to ensure that they had the desired skills in preparation for the move. Additionally, staff supported the child during the transition and have continued to visit and stay in touch after the move. This means that children have positive experiences when leaving the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical health needs are well met. Staff ensure that children are registered with local health services and attend routine health appointments. Staff also recognise the importance of a healthy lifestyle and incorporate this into children’s daily routines. Children are educated, through discussions with staff, around the benefits of maintaining good health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is an appointed therapist who is assigned to support children. The home’s therapist provides direct support to children each week to allow them to explore their feelings and emotions. Furthermore, the therapist is also available to the manager and staff, providing support and guidance on how to meet children’s changing needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school full time. Staff help children to understand the barriers to learning and have high aspirations for their academic progress. Staff maintain positive relationships with school staff, ensuring effective communication and joint working, which contribute to children’s progress. One child has made significant progress since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to see people who are important to them. The manager and staff understand the importance of children having positive time with their loved ones. Staff maintain positive relationships and communication with family members to make sure that children continue to have positive experiences. This supports children to maintain a sense of their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the home is well maintained. Staff help children to personalise their bedrooms with a choice of colours, soft furnishings, and personal items. However, there are areas that need attention and redecoration. Some furniture is tired or damaged and in need of replacing. This has the potential to impact on children’s experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256638 4

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

Staff provide children with consistent routine and boundaries. This ensures that children have certainty in their care. Staff are empathetic to children’s feelings and explore their emotions through reflective sessions. Because of this approach, children feel listened to and, as a result, there are few safeguarding incidents. Behaviours do not escalate to a level of risk that is unsafe, meaning that staff do not physically restrain children.

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

Children’s plans are detailed, well recorded, and regularly reviewed. Plans have clear guidance and strategies to help staff to keep children safe. Additionally, staff demonstrate a good understanding of children’s behaviours and know how to manage any big emotions. Children continue to have ‘traffic light’ plans, which are kept under review. This allows children to identify how they are managing their emotions and daily routines. This individualised approach means that children feel listened to and valued.

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

Staff understand the risks posed to children online. On one occasion, when a child was at risk, staff took immediate action to ensure the safety of the child. Safeguarding agencies were notified, and the child was helped to understand the risks by staff during planned discussions. Furthermore, additional learning was sought and provided for the child by an external professional who specialises in the dangers posed to children on the internet.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. Staff understand the protocols for each child and have received training to ensure that they know how to respond if a child does go missing. Protocols are also evidenced in children’s records and kept under review.

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

New staff have been safely recruited. The recruitment of staff members is detailed and robust. This makes sure that only adults who are safe to work with children are employed in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager dedicates time to building strong and trusting relationships with children. She talks proudly of the progress that children make and places them at the centre of decision-making, regularly seeking their views. She treats children with warmth and has high expectations for them. This approach means that children benefit from trusting relationships and helps them to feel a sense of belonging.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has an established staff team. Staff turnover is low. The skills, knowledge and experience of the staff team are a huge strength, and benefit children. Additionally, staff speak extremely positively about children, working in the home, and the support they receive from the manager. This means that children receive nurturing and consistent care from a highly skilled and motivated staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, detailed supervisions and annual appraisals, which are reflective and assess staff performance. Clear goals are provided to ensure that staff continue to Inspection report for children’s home: 1256638 5 develop their practice. Staff are encouraged to learn and progress in their roles. This was evident with the new learning and development systems that the manager has recently introduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a wide range of training. Training is also delivered in line with the needs of the children who are living in the home. The registered manager secures training from various sources, including online and face to face. The manager has made notable improvements to monitoring systems around training. A new format has been created, which allows the manager to identify when training is expiring. This means that staff are regularly refreshing their skills and knowledge to meet the needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has made positive changes to the use of children’s door alarms. There is no longer a blanket approach. Instead, alarms are individually risk assessed for each child and include time-scaled reviews involving children and social workers. One child’s door alarm has now been de-activated following a review. This means that children’s rights and experiences are appropriately considered, and the use of door alarms is continually monitored.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the manager demonstrates effective partnership working. A professional for one child said, ‘My child feels loved and wanted here. This is their home.’ However, in contrast, the manager has not appropriately escalated concerns regarding the care plan for one child, which has not been received within appropriate timescales. This detracts from the otherwise good relationships with professionals. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256638 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, 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that the premises are furnished to meet children’s needs. 13 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation (5)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that children’s up-to-date care plans are obtained from the placing authority. Additionally, the registered manager should appropriately escalate concerns if she feels that the performance of the placing authority is not adequate. 6 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1256638 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: 1256638 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fitzroy Academy, Cruckton, Shrewsbury SY5 8PR

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Inspector

Carl Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1256638 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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