Children's Home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children’s home: 1249123 1 Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited 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 provides care for up to six children with social and emotional difficulties or with a learning disability. It provides short-, medium- and long-term placements, with a therapeutic outdoor activity-based response for children in crisis.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 6 and 7 February 2024, and 6 June 2024.

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 1249123 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/03/2023 Full Good 15/03/2022 Full Outstanding 05/11/2019 Full Good 20/11/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1249123 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made progress in many areas of their lives. Some children have lived in the home for a significant period of time and have developed a sense of permanence, stability and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a history of educational disruption prior to moving into the home. All children are now attending, engaging and making progress in education. One professional said, ‘Staff attend meetings, assemblies and come to fundraising events. The child is making progress socially and emotionally, as well as educationally.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a wide range of therapeutic outdoor-based activities, which they enjoy. Children also attend activities of their choice, play for local football teams and have started to have free time in the community. These experiences help children to develop their confidence, social skills and interactions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support family time in and outside of the home. Staff travel a considerable distance to ensure that children see people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans and placement plans for some children are not always received from placing authorities in a timely way. Children’s care plans were significantly out of date and did not include details of their current care arrangements. There was no evidence of escalation to placing authorities prior to the inspection. However, this was actioned during inspection. During the subsequent visit, escalation by the registered manager to placing authorities was evident.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are considered. However, children do not contribute to their records in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis.

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

Children say that staff care for them and are available for them. This means that children can share any worries or concerns so that staff understand their vulnerabilities to support them. There is a strong focus on building and maintaining relationships with children. This helps children to trust the adults who care for them.

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

Children’s risk management plans are in place and contain all known risks, as well as actions for staff to take should a known risk arise.

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

There has been a high number of incidents of physically holding children since the last inspection. Records demonstrate that holding a child is used as a last resort to safeguard children and is appropriate and proportionate. The registered manager has reviewed how staff engage with children after being held and how this is recorded. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249123 4 Safer recruitment practice ensures that robust checks are in place when recruiting new staff to work at the home. This ensures that all staff are suitably checked and vetted and that the home is a safe place for children to live.

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

Children’s safety is supported further by the health and safety procedures in the home, which are robust, clearly monitored and up to date. This helps children to stay safe.

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

Praise and rewards are used regularly to celebrate and promote positive behaviour. Consequences are used to manage behaviour but are not recorded in line with the regulations. This meant that there is no management oversight to ensure that consequences are fair and proportionate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager holds the relevant qualification. The home is staffed and resourced to meet the needs of the children. There is a stable, skilled and committed staff team, and high staff-to-child ratios. This provides children with consistent and stable care from adults who know them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are committed to training, and the training programme provides staff with the necessary skills to care for the children in their care. Staff keep up to date with their safety qualifications to take children on outdoor-based activities, such as wild swimming, ghyll scrambling and climbing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision that is practice based. Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended. Annual appraisals are in place which review staff’s knowledge and skills and identify future training needs. This supports staff’s ongoing professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some shortfalls in the recording of documents were identified. For example, some documents are incomplete and do not have author’s, signatures or dates, and vary in quality. This limits the manager’s ability to review records and identify potential learning to improve the quality of care and staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249123 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and 6 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1249123 6 a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, this relates to the use of consequences.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’, supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 58, paragraph 11.19)  The registered person should ensure that all children’s case records are kept up to date and stored securely whilst they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up-to-date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 1249123 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fitzroy Academy, Cruckton, Shrewsbury SY5 8PR

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Inspectors

Nicola Clements, Social Care Inspector Jessica Higginson, Social Care Inspector

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Inspectors

Paula Shepherd, Regulatory Inspection Manager Sarah Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1249123 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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