Children's home run by Country Care Children’s Homes Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2590408 1 Registered provider: Country Care Children’s Homes Ltd

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a small private company. The home provides care for up to three children who have experienced trauma resulting in emotional difficulties and associated challenging behaviours.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2020 and holds a level 5 qualification.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2590408 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/06/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2590408 3

p.2

improvement to be good

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

p.3

improvement to be good

Overall, some children have made progress since the last inspection. However, some safeguarding arrangements and management systems continue to require improvement. Consequently, shortfalls in these systems have had an impact on children’s overall experiences of living in the home.

p.3

improvement to be good

Care planning and assessment processes require improvement. Since the last inspection, two children have moved into the home and one child has left. One move was well planned and the transition was handled sensitively and well. However, another child moved into the home in an emergency, and the registered manager failed to complete a thorough assessment of the child’s needs and risks. Consequently, this poorly planned move had a significant impact on children and increased their vulnerabilities.

p.3

improvement to be good

The home is homely and welcoming for children. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and are suitable to meet their individual interests. However, there are areas in the home and the garden which require improvement and redecoration.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children develop good relationships with staff, and they speak positively about living in the home. One child said, ‘I feel safe here. I enjoy living in the home because of the staff.’ Another child said that they ‘like living in the home and staff are OK’.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children’s educational needs are prioritised. Staff and the registered manager work with other professionals to support children’s learning and to ensure that their individual needs are met. One child is making good progress at school and another child is receiving support to keep them engaged in learning.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff promote the time that children spend with their families and friends. For example, family time has increased for one child since the last inspection, and another child has begun to see their family regularly. Additionally, staff plan for children’s friends to visit them and spend time in the home. One parent said that staff help to ‘support my face- to-face family time with [name of child]’. They said they have ‘good communication with staff’, and that the child’s confidence has increased because of the support they receive.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children engage in a range of leisure and community-based activities. One child attends Brownies on a regular basis. Another child enjoys doing artwork and going on trips out of the home with staff. These activities help children to become more socially aware and to improve their self-esteem. Inspection report for children's home: 2590408 4

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff do not always assess risks effectively when working with children. For example, following an increase in incidents of children going missing, substance misuse and child exploitation, staff and leaders did not conduct a review or make changes to reduce these risks. One child was known to have brought substances into the home and shared these with another child. However, staff continued to allow the child to have unsupervised time in the community to meet with other vulnerable associates. These safeguarding shortfalls increased children’s vulnerabilities and compromised their safety.

p.4

improvement to be good

The registered manager’s decision-making and understanding of safeguarding thresholds are inconsistent. On some occasions, the registered manager has shared information with partner agencies and other children’s homes to put in place strategies to safeguard children. However, on one occasion, they failed to share significant concerns about the safety of vulnerable children with the local authority. This lack of action and information- sharing does not promote children’s safety and well-being.

p.4

improvement to be good

Tailored risk assessments help to inform staff about the issues pertinent to each child. However, not all risk assessments are up to date and reflect all known risks. Consequently, staff are not always informed of all risks or the actions they should take to protect children.

p.4

improvement to be good

Despite some of the shortfalls identified, staff responses when children have gone missing from the home are good. For example, information has been shared with the police and staff have searched for children. Staff have attended risk management meetings and put in place joint risk management plans with other agencies. Also, children receive return home interviews and are spoken to by somebody independent of the home. These systems reassure children that staff and leaders care about their welfare.

p.4

improvement to be good

Incidents requiring the use of physical restraint with children are rare. Staff make effective use of their positive relationships with children and de-escalation techniques to manage conflict. Staff work with the home’s psychologist to understand trauma, and they reflect effectively on incidents with children. This promotes the use of restorative techniques and incidents reduce for some children.

p.4

improvement to be good

Leaders ensure that children are protected by the organisation’s effective safe recruitment practices. Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. This helps to prevent unsuitable adults working with children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is led by a registered manager who is child-focused and wants children to do well. Staff and children say they feel supported by the registered manager. However, the home’s leadership systems are not yet consistently effective in making continual improvements to the care that children receive in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2590408 5 Overall, staff training is up to date and relevant to the needs of children. Supervision sessions are sometimes used to provide staff with additional support. However, leaders are not using training and supervision effectively to improve staff’s safeguarding practice and ability to manage complex incidents.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

An independent person has conducted external monitoring of the home every month. While these visits are completed within required time frames, they do not fully focus on developing or improving the home. For example, the independent person’s monitoring has failed to identify shortfalls in safeguarding and leadership systems. Consequently, the external monitoring systems do not improve the quality of care for children.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager ensures that the home is suitably staffed. Staff have worked hard to cover gaps in the home’s rota. In addition, staff retention is good. As a result, children receive care from staff who know them well.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The staff and registered manager have established good working relationships with a range of agencies and external professionals who are involved in children’s care. Staff work closely with education and health professionals, social workers and the police. External professionals said, ‘The home is good,’ staff are ‘child-focused’ and ‘communication has always been of good quality’. Inspection report for children's home: 2590408 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

p.6

Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(vii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff are equipped with the skills to assess children’s risks effectively and take action to reduce risks to children.

p.6

Requirement Due date

This also refers to the registered manager’s understanding and implementation of safeguarding procedures and the actions to take when concerns are identified for the safety and welfare of children.

p.6

Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 30 May 2024

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 30 May 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2590408 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and

p.7

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)(a)(c)(f)(h))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that they have clear monitoring and review systems in place to identify shortfalls, improve practice and understand the impact the care provided has on children’s progress and experiences.

p.7

Requirement Due date

This also relates to staff performance in the home and ensuring that the home has suitably skilled staff to work with children.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)) 30 May 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2590408 8 In particular, the registered person should ensure that they carry out suitable assessments to determine whether the home can meet children’s needs, vulnerabilities and risks.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (1) (5))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, the independent person’s oversight and reports must identify any shortfalls in the quality of care children receive. 30 May 2024

p.8

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

p.8

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: 2590408 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Country Care Children’s Homes Ltd

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Meadows, Beech Lane, Dove Holes, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 8DJ

p.9

Inspectors

Dean Wilton, Social Care Inspector Nurul Kabir, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2590408 10 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.

p.9

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10