Children's Home run by Total Care Matters Limited in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1268530 1 Registered provider: Total Care Matters Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and provides care and accommodation for up to three children with emotional, social and mild learning difficulties. There was one child living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a manager who is registered with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 1268530 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/05/2022 Full Good 07/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/08/2021 Full Inadequate 25/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1268530 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is well maintained. Communal areas are comfortable. This creates a homely environment that children can enjoy living in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The relationships between staff and children are generally good. Staff know the children well. They feel passionately about providing children with good care. Staff value the views, wishes and feelings of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to access activities that are individual to them. One child enjoys playing pool and a pool table was purchased for the home. This supports children to strengthen the relationships and bonds between the children and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to engage in educational activities. This is particularly positive for one child who has been out of education for a long time. Educational activities are individualised and based on children’s specific educational needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met, but not all staff have the skills and knowledge to have conversations with children when children show curiosity regarding the impact of vaping. Another child asked for support with their mental health. However, there was no documentation to evidence that support was offered. This prevents children from having the opportunity to make decisions that would promote a healthy lifestyle and to have positive relationships with health professionals.

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

Children who take illegal substances are provided with good support to help them reduce or eliminate their drug use. However, the manager and staff have not always been confident to manage children’s challenging behaviours. For example, room searches have not been undertaken when risks to children are known, and the reasons for searches of children’s rooms are not documented. Management oversight in this area requires some improvement.

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

Some children have accessed inappropriate content online. This has been dealt with well. Safe practices have been considered and amended to minimise risk. Staff have targeted discussions with children to address the risks associated with the internet. As a result, children are helped to understand the risks and how to keep safe online.

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

External and involved professional agencies are positive about the help and support children receive to manage their behaviour. They state that communication with staff and managers at the home is good. One social worker stated, ‘Staff are good advocates for (name of child), the manager genuinely cares for (name of child).’ Inspection report for children’s home: 1268530 4 Thorough recruitment processes are followed to help ensure that only those adults who have been assessed as safe to work with children are employed to work in the home.

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

The manager has not ensured that the procedures regarding fire drills are undertaken and documented. When fire risks are identified, she has not always taken the appropriate steps to reduce the risks. It has been documented that flammable items should not be left in front of the internal garage door to enable children and staff to exit the home. During the inspection, it was identified that items have not been removed and, as a result, the risk is not reduced.

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good

Management oversight of the home, particularly about incidents and risk management, has led to several shortfalls. Key documents lack manager scrutiny and evaluation. This prevents learning from events and improving practice, which could better support children’s outcomes. Leaders recognised this as a weakness and are completing a thorough audit, which has already identified areas for improvement.

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good

The manager informs the regulator of serious matters and demonstrates the decisive action they take to protect children. However, the manager does not always provide updates when child protection enquiries conclude. This is not helpful in supporting the regulator to assess the outcomes for children.

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good

The staff have faced some difficult situations and have had to manage some behaviours that have challenged them. Team meetings take place on a regular basis. However, there have been times when the needs of the children have not been discussed. As a result, staff are not always provided with the time to develop as a team and be supported to address current issues.

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good

All staff are provided with a good induction programme and comprehensive training, which includes information on safeguarding practices, de-escalation, and physical intervention. Staff receive the correct guidance and training to work with the children.

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good

Leaders are open and honest about times when they have struggled. They are aware of their and the team’s strengths and things that require improvement. They passionately talk about returning to providing good outcomes for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1268530 5

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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 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 receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being.

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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

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b) (2)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to children receiving support to enable them to have their health needs met. 17 May 2024

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring that robust quality assurance and monitoring systems are in place, used regularly, and recorded. 17 May 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1268530 6 After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, as far as is reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that all children have the opportunity to be part of a fire evacuation drill. 17 May 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they inform Ofsted when a child protection enquiry concludes. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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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: 1268530 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Total Care Matters Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 230 Bathley Street, The Meadows, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG2 2ER

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Inspector

Corline Parker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1268530 8 regulates and inspects 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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