Children's Home run by Core Children Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2682113 1 Registered provider: Core Children Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2022 and holds a leadership and management qualification at level 5.

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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 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: 28 February 2023

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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: 2682113 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2682113 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out and one child has moved into the home. At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home. The child said he is happy living here.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys spending time with staff and they are creative in engaging him to have fun, in and out of the home. The child is provided with lots of opportunities to take part in activities such as golf, go-karting and going on walks, which he enjoys.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have built excellent relationships with the child and he benefits from trusting and stable care. The child was helped to rescue a cat whose poor care was causing him to worry. The cat is now part of the household and the child takes responsibility for caring for his pet. This positive experience has helped him feel listened to and understood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s parent said they are proud of their child and the progress he has made. Staff have built good relationships with the child’s family and have helped to support positive relationships between the child and those people who are important to him.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff have strongly advocated for the child to secure him an education placement. The child had not been in formal education before coming to live at the home. Managers have been proactive in challenging other agencies to secure the right education for the child. Staff supported him to receive tuition at home and continued to be ambitious for his education. As a result, the child has now begun to attend a school setting and has good attendance and engagement. The staff continue to be ambitious and stretch the child’s aspirations. There is a clear agreed plan for sessions to increase until he is in school full time. To further improve staff practice and the impact of challenging other agencies, staff would benefit from training on the education of looked after children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well understood and they are supported to keep healthy. Children’s emotional needs are supported well by multi-agency working with other professionals. Managers have challenged other professionals when children have not always received the services they need, and they are proactive in seeking alternative support to best meet children’s needs. However, there is no clear plan around one health concern for the child, to show the strategies and outcomes of the interventions the staff have tried. This makes it difficult to see the impact of the care being given and may make it difficult for staff to escalate their concerns with other agencies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The move for the child who left the home was not positive. Their placement ended in an unplanned way, not in line with their plans. Managers have reflected on this and challenged other agencies when they failed to work collaboratively to help ensure a timely planned move. Inspection report for children's home: 2682113 4

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

The child feels safe living here. When incidents do occur, they are responded to consistently and in line with the child’s clear written plans. Incidents are subject to effective management oversight and any learning is discussed in team meetings and staff supervision. Managers support good reflective work between staff and the child to repair relationships and this has resulted in incidents reducing.

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

Risks are well managed and have reduced since the child has lived at the home. Staff seek multi-agency support, in addition to undertaking direct work, to help children understand risks. As a result, children learn about dangers, possible consequences and how to keep themselves safe. Children are supported to make the right decisions and take responsibility for their actions, instead of formal consequences being used. This has helped children in learning positive decision- making and taking ownership of their behaviour.

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

Restraint, when used, is subject to clear management oversight and staff and children benefit from detailed debriefs. This has helped to ensure that restraint practice is used appropriately and everyone involved is able to quickly move on positively.

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

Allegations have been responded to quickly and appropriately. Managers undertake detailed investigations when required and respond in depth to children when they raise concerns. This helps children feel listened to.

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

Staff receive training in the provider’s therapeutic model, including attachment and developmental trauma. Staff use their training to deliver sensitive care, with an emphasis on routines and clear boundaries. This helps to promote a consistent approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers are inspirational, confident and ambitious for children. The passion managers have to ensure that children achieve and make progress is shared by staff and they value and share this ethos.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel motivated in their work and want to do their best. They benefit from regular supervision and ‘job chats’ that give them opportunities to offload, reflect and learn from practice. Staff said they benefit from managers’ open door policy and feel they can speak to managers about any concerns or worries they have and get the support they need. Staff are praised by managers, including the responsible individual, who recognise good practice. At the same time, managers have a good understanding of areas for development and help staff to improve practice where needed. This has helped staff who are new to residential care feel confident in their work. Inspection report for children's home: 2682113 5 Staff have excellent communication and are open in reflecting on things that may not have gone well, to help their learning. Regular team meetings are well attended and managers are creative in the use of workshops, discussions and inviting visitors

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

who deliver specific training refreshers or updates. Staff benefit from the theory- based knowledge of the clinical team, which helps them develop resilience and understanding of children’s needs and their own roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Since the last inspection, only one member of staff has left the home, while two others have joined. Staff are safely recruited and there has been no use of agency staff. When staffing levels increased for one child in crisis, managers and staff worked flexibly to ensure consistency for the child, to prevent the need for staff he was unfamiliar with coming into the home. New staff are supported with a mentor who role models good practice. In addition, they benefit from a thorough and well- considered induction programme.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has strong quality assurance systems and closely monitors performance. During a period of crisis for one child, the manager carried out detailed scrutiny and analysis of records to identify any patterns, themes and trends, to help identify and consider anything that could impact on practice. Inspection report for children's home: 2682113 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there is a clear coordinated plan of routines and strategies that are used to manage children’s health needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff are trained in the education of looked after children to help them challenge and advocate to improve children’s attainment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 27, paragraph 5.11)

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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: 2682113 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Trent House, 234 Victoria Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 2LW

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Inspector

Jessica Forshaw, Ofsted Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2682113 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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