Children's Home run by Flourish Children’s Services Limited in Rotherham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2562678 1 Registered provider: Flourish Childrens 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

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It can provide care for up to four children with social and/or emotional difficulties. There were three children living in the home at the time of inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager was registered by Ofsted in August 2023.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2562678 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/06/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/03/2023 Full Inadequate 15/03/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2562678 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience stability and a sense of permanence. One child has lived in the home for almost three years, one almost two years, and another child has recently moved in. This stability supports children to make good progress from their individual starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s needs are thoroughly considered before they move in to the home, even when this is at short notice. Transition plans that are devised by staff ensure that children are kept safe, and staff know how to support the children already living in the home to minimise disruption.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is prioritised. Two of the three children are making good progress with their learning, and attendance is supported by staff. One child has experienced difficulties with engaging in education. The manager has worked with agencies to minimise the impact on the child’s learning. An interim reduced timetable allows for alternative plans to be developed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Advocacy is valued and promoted within the home. The children have access to an independent advocate and use this service regularly. Staff and the manager consult the children regularly and this can influence things, such as the menu, activities, and personalisation of the home environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to complain. When they have raised complaints, investigations have taken place and actions to address practice is taken. Children do not always receive a written response that details the outcome of their complaint.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are healthy. Staff have a good understanding of their health needs. When there are issues, such as poor personal hygiene routines, staff support children with this to help them to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents feel assured that their children are safe living here. One parent highlighted some concerns around communication between them and the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is homely. There are pictures of children displayed on walls around the home. Children’s bedrooms are personalised in the way that children choose.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s life experiences and behaviour. Staff have built good relationships with children and this supports staff to manage incidents well. Incidents rarely escalate to physical intervention. The one incident where physical intervention was used, was proportionate to keep everyone safe. Appropriate discussions Inspection report for children’s home: 2562678 4 were held with children and staff afterwards. Positive behaviours are promoted through incentives that are individual to children.

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

Staff have meaningful conversations with children. Staff often use activities to support children to increase their knowledge around subjects that are important to them. The manager has developed a clear plan to support conversations to be more focused around children’s identified needs.

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

When children go missing from home, staff follow and ensure that they are safe. Staff alert relevant professionals in line with children’s plans. Independent return-home interviews take place.

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

Risk assessments are individual to children’s needs. They are detailed and contain strategies for staff to follow to support children. These include the importance of supporting children before they go into crisis, and clarifies how to respond if they do. Risk management in relation to one child is disproportionate to the risks present and the child’s age. This has not supported this child to increase their independence or understand what support the child may need when spending time outside of the home.

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

Adults who work with the children have been safely recruited. However, the systems in place to record decision-making around employability are inconsistent. Induction records are not always completed, and one record contained incorrect information.

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

The manager has not informed Ofsted about a notifiable event relating to a child protection enquiry. This prevents Ofsted having oversight of safeguarding concerns and the actions in response from the home and partner agencies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitability qualified and experienced. The manager has built effective links with the wider network to support good outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good systems in place to ensure that there is effective oversight of children’s progress and staff development. This ensures that children receive care in line with the statement of purpose, and any shortfalls are identified and rectified in a timely way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive good-quality, regular, reflective supervision from the manager. There is equal balance of praise and challenge of practice. Team meetings are held monthly and offer staff a safe space to discuss the children, wider issues, and reflect on what is working well and what may need to change.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team works together to ensure that agency staff are not required. This supports consistency of care for children. The manager ensures that mandatory training is kept up to date. The provider has worked hard to upskill staff. Staff who have worked in the home for over two years have achieved their qualification in line with the timescale outlined in the regulations. Inspection report for children’s home: 2562678 5 The manager’s quality of care review lacked analysis of the information provided and lacked an understanding of children’s views and how they have informed practice within the home. This was a requirement from the previous inspection and has been restated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records of consequences do not capture the details effectively. The manager has missed opportunities to evaluate the patterns to children’s behaviour. Inspection report for children’s home: 2562678 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 registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b) (4)(b)) 4 November 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry). (Regulation 40 (4)(d)(i)(ii)) 10 May 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, in particular consequences, are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and their effectiveness is evaluated to further inform children’s plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when children make complaints, they receive a written response, outlining the actions that the provider has taken in response to the complaint. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.20) Inspection report for children’s home: 2562678 7  The registered person should ensure that recruitment and induction records are in line with the policies set out by the provider and ensure that children’s safety is maintained. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 2562678 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Flourish Childrens Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Flourish Childrens Services Limited, 96 Blacker Road, Birkby, Huddersfield HD1 5HN

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Jill Witherspoon-Smith

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Inspector

Joanna Beal, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2562678 9 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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