Children's Home run by Invested Childcare Ltd in Middlesbrough

Inspection report for children’s home: 2695599 1 Registered provider: Invested Childcare 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 provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2695599 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2695599 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When a new child moves into the home, they experience well-planned introductions. Visits take place at the child’s pace, and this involves them meeting the staff and other children living at the home. When needed, interpreters are used to ensure that children understand their plans and to enable them to share their views. Furthermore, the children go shopping to choose their bedroom decor and soft furnishings before moving in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

However, one child had to move out of the home in an unplanned way after only living there for almost three months. This was due to them moving into the home with gaps in their history. There were also known safeguarding risks which were assessed and predicted to be problematic due to the locality of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop positive and trusting relationships with staff. Children talk through their feelings and learn to understand and manage difficult times. Children take responsibility for their actions during restorative discussions. This approach has developed children’s resilience and helps them to understand the impact of their actions on other people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress from their starting points. Children are in full-time education. The manager works well with other professionals to support children’s needs, and this helps the children to remain living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have positive relationships with those that are important to the children. There are effective lines of communication with professionals and family. Plans are shared and expectations are high to ensure that everyone acts on behalf of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they feel heard and listened to. Children take part in regular meetings and have access to advocates and translators. Care plans and meeting minutes are translated into the children’s first language to support their understanding. Children are at the centre of decisions, and they understand their plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Furthermore, children can find important information using their preferred method of communication. The manager and staff send the children’s guide and the complaints procedure electronically to children’s mobile devices. Children have the option to share their views and make complaints using Quick Response (QR) codes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The time that children spend with their family has increased in frequency and quality. When speaking about their child, one parent reports significant progress, feeling loved and ‘having my daughter back’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2695599 4 The home is a welcoming environment for children. The communal areas are comfortable, and the children’s bedrooms are personalised and well furnished. Any damage caused is quickly rectified and new replacement items are purchased. This means that the children who are not involved are not aware that damage has been caused by others.

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

The staff are familiar with the children’s needs and their risk assessment plans. Staff know the children’s current risks and how they should support the children to manage their vulnerabilities. The majority of staff know what they should do if there was a safeguarding concern.

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

Staff support children to understand risks, and children are provided with information on how to keep themselves safer. This is through staff having discussions with children that educate them and focus on addressing issues of concern. Children learn to use strategies that are incorporated into their safety and care plans. The risks to children have reduced, and children enjoy increased positive experiences during their time at the home.

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

The children’s safety plans are effective. The plans are reviewed after each incident and involve the children’s social worker and linked safeguarding agencies, such as the police and mental health services. This ensures that the plans are up to date and involve the views and actions from all professionals to help to keep children safer.

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

The manager and staff advocate on behalf of children when other professionals are not acting in their best interests. This includes when children are at risk of harm. For example, the staff escalated their concerns until an appropriate response was received following a serious incident. This triggered an immediate assessment, diagnoses and action plan for the child involved.

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

When children are missing from home, the staff act quickly to ensure the children are returned as quickly as possible. The manager works with local and regional policing teams and missing-from-care coordinators. This makes sure that all professionals work together to share intelligence. Plans are robust and updated to help reduce the risk of future incidents.

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

When children have been missing from home, they have received an interview from an independent person. These are completed in a timely way, and the manager regularly reviews the response. When there are signs that responses are becoming delayed, the manager challenges this to maintain effective and timely interviews for the children.

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

Children are listened to when complaints are made. Safeguarding protocols are followed, concerns are investigated and professionals are made aware when children may be at risk of harm. Following a complaint, the manager looks at any learning to inform the development and practice of staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2695599 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed by a qualified and experienced manager. New employees receive an effective induction, training and support during their probationary period. This means that the staff are trained to meet the needs of the children. The manager seeks specific training when new or emerging needs develop. This ensures that children receive effective care from staff who understand their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff receive regular and effective supervision. Staff’s well-being and reflective practice support staff with their professional development. The needs of children are discussed regularly. Staff receive additional supervision and personal support plans to increase their well-being and improve their performance. Leaders and managers provide daily check-ins, and staff can access counselling and additional development sessions. This provides a supportive environment for the staff to increase confidence and improve performance. This leads to improved outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers advocate on behalf of children and challenge services when the children do not receive their expected outcomes. Health services are challenged, which led to one child receiving mental health support. The local authority and education providers are challenged when there is a delay in a child’s education being sourced. This ensures that children have a strong advocate and that they receive the best service possible from others.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has effective oversight of the home. This is through the use of auditing and monitoring systems to inform and support staff when reporting and recording information. The manager has been inventive in creating systems to increase the engagement of staff, and this supports efficiency. Furthermore, this keeps the manager abreast of any shortfalls, and they are attuned to the strengths and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers lead a culture of inclusivity. Children explore personal and sensitive subjects openly with staff, and their relationships with staff help them to have difficult conversations. Children feel acceptance, and an increase in positive engagement leads to a decrease in self-harming behaviours and difficult times.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers seek solutions to support children to help stabilise their stay at the home. The manager ensures shared ownership of care and safety plans between health services, care services and the placing authority. Joint working and the strong advocacy by the manager ensure that children receive the best support when resources are stretched. This creates a culture of positivity and high aspiration for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2695599 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they only accept children into the home if they are satisfied that they can respond effectively to the child’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with arrangements in relation to dealing with allegations involving staff in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.19)

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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: 2695599 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Invested Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Acklam Hall, Hall Gardens, Middlesbrough TS5 7BJ

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Inspector

Lee Riley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2695599 8 regulates and inspects 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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