Children's Home run by Kids Inc Residential Services Limited in Manchester

Inspection report for children’s home: 2651800 1 Registered provider: Kids Inc Residential Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private company. It provides care for up to three children. The home specialises in caring for children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2022.

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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: 2651800 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/06/2023 Full Good 28/09/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2651800 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in this home have good relationships with staff. Children move on in a planned way that is sensitive to their needs, wishes, and feelings. Some children who have left have remained in contact with staff, which shows the positive impact that the care that they received had on their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported to attend education. Children are motivated to learn and have future ambitions. However, when children are not in education, such as when they are on reduced timetables or during school holidays, staff are not proactive at providing structured routines and activities for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage learning about different cultures, religions, faiths, beliefs, and gender identity. Children’s cultural needs and beliefs are well understood. Children are supported to celebrate their traditional festivals according to their beliefs. As a result, children feel valued, and are comfortable exploring their identity without the fear of being judged.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain healthy lifestyles and eat healthily. They are registered with doctors and dentists. Most children have regular health and dentist checks. However, when a child feels unable to access a dentist, staff are not successful in developing ways to help them overcome their fears. This could have negative consequences for the child as they get older.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are regularly sought. Children whose first language is not English are provided with additional support from an interpreter. This helps children to express their feelings about their lives, and helps staff to better understand their views, which improves the quality of care they receive.

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

Children are helped to understand how to keep themselves safe. They have good relationships with staff and know how to ask for support. Staff promote positive behaviour and praise. Consequences for unwanted behaviours are proportionate. This helps children to feel safe and secure.

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

Children understand how to make complaints. When complaints are made, leaders and managers respond effectively. Managers and leaders thoroughly investigate complaints and take prompt action when necessary. Managers ensure that children are kept up to date with actions they intend to take and the outcomes. This means that children feel safe to raise concerns about their care and are reassured that they will be listened to.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the risks for children. Risk management plans are child specific and reviewed regularly. They have the necessary details to help staff to Inspection report for children’s home: 2651800 4 understand children’s behaviour and what action to take to support them. However, staff do not always consider the language they use with children when de-escalating a situation. Children are not always helped to develop alternative ways of managing their emotions and reduce the risk of criminalisation in the future.

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

Children who are struggling with their emotional well-being and mental health are well supported. Children who self-harm are given immediate attention to help protect them and keep them safe. Staff refer to appropriate services, such as child and adolescent mental health services, to ensure that children receive the right support to help improve their mental health. As a result, self-harm incidents have reduced.

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

Staff understand what steps to take when a child goes missing from home. The missing- from-home risk assessments are reviewed following every incident. Staff work in collaboration with other professionals, such as the police, social workers, and education and health professionals to ensure that children are safe. The manager also attends regular multi-agency meetings that are led by the local police force to ensure that they have the most up-to-date information about local risks in the area.

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

The manager ensures that the home environment is well maintained, homely, and safe for children. The home is currently undergoing some decorative renovation. The manager has plans for the bathrooms and garden to be refurbished. If there are any repairs needed or damage in the home, they are fixed promptly. The fire risk assessment is completed annually, and any actions are dealt with promptly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are led by an ambitious and child-focused manager. The manager has high expectations for their team and leads by example. They are enthusiastic about developing staff skills and knowledge. The manager makes sure that staff receive additional training to meet the specific needs of the children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a robust recruitment system in place so that they only employ staff who are experienced and safe to work with children. The staff are all permanent members of the team. If there are gaps in the rota, they are either covered by the team or bank staff. This ensures that children are cared for by staff who they are familiar with and know them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has oversight of all significant incidents and documented discussions with children. The manager evaluates the records well and gives clear actions for staff to follow up. However, the manager does not ensure that the language used in records is child focused, helpful and non-stigmatising for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff get the opportunity in their one-to-one supervision to reflect critically on their work with children or discuss their learning to improve the quality of their practice. They use monthly team meetings effectively to reflect on children’s progress and as opportunities for training and sharing skills, research, and good practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2651800 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(c)(f))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s plans are of consistently good quality. Children’s plans must provide staff with strategies about how to support children’s individual needs, and to avoid the risk of criminalisation for children.

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Requirement Due date

Plans should clearly identify how children are supported to make progress and be written in a way that helps children to understand their journeys.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the language used within children’s records is helpful and non-stigmatising. 16 May 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2651800 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are offered a wide range of opportunities and are encouraged to participate in fun and enjoyable activities. When children are not in education or during school holidays, they should have a clear structure to their days. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all children in their care attend the dentist. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.11)

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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: 2651800 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kids Inc Residential Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 201i 5300 Lakeside, Cheadle SK8 3GP

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Inspector

Sarah Probert, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2651800 8 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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