Children's Home run by Homes for Support in Cheshire East

Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 1 Registered provider: Homes for Support 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 company. The home provides care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, the home was providing care for one child.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operating without a registered manager.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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: 5 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/09/2022 Full Good 19/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s outcomes are improved in this home. Staff consistently advocate for children to ensure that they receive the support and guidance required to make positive changes in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care is carefully planned in partnership with external agencies. The level of support and engagement provided in the home enables children to make consistent progress towards their agreed targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. They are registered with local practitioners and are supported to attend appointments and receive treatment where necessary. Staff ensure that children’s health records are consistently maintained to include a record of all vaccinations, illnesses and treatments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is prioritised. Staff advocate for children and consistently challenge delays in children accessing the most appropriate educational provision. Since coming to live at this home, children have engaged in a range of learning opportunities and are making timely progress in reaching their educational targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with help and support to develop skills for independent living. This means that the children can prepare meals, travel independently and manage their laundry. The children were observed to be clean, well dressed and taking pride in their appearance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time is consistently promoted and planned. Families are welcomed to the home. However, when required, extra care is taken to ensure that suitable venues are provided for family to come together and that children receive the correct level of support to experience positive family time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are consulted about all aspects of their lives. Key-work sessions, children’s meetings and monthly feedback forms provide children with opportunities to have their views and opinions listened to and acted on. Children’s views are respected in this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Recreational activities are encouraged and supported. Some children have made positive friendships in the community. When there is a concern about community friendships, staff take suitable action to address this.

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

Children’s safety is suitably managed. Staff act swiftly to mitigate potential risks and take effective action should a concern arise. Children engage with staff and external agencies. This helps the children to understand the impact of some risk-taking behaviours on themselves and others. Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 4 Children are provided with valuable sessions that address matters such as substance misuse, criminal activity and healthy relationships. The manager, in partnership with external professionals, has developed learning packs for children. These packs help them to understand the impact of the choices they make and promote positive future decisions.

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

Staff are trained to hold a child safely to keep them safe in the event of a crisis. On the occasions where this has been required, staff have used low-level guiding techniques to secure the child’s safety. Children are provided with a debrief and opportunities to reflect on their behaviour with the support of staff.

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

Incidents of children being reported as missing from home have recently increased. Procedures for securing the safe return of children are consistently followed. Staff work closely with the children to help them to understand the reasons why they go missing and offer continuous support to help them overcome feelings of separation and anxiety.

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

Children are cared for by staff who are appropriately vetted before starting to work in the home. Records of staff recruitment confirm that safer recruitment policies are consistently adhered to.

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

Consequences are used to address the children’s behaviours. Overall, these measures are effective. However, some consequences are not related to the specific behaviour displayed and do not serve to help a child understand the ramifications of their behaviour.

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

Individual risk assessments identify potential triggers for behaviours and the strategies in place for staff to manage them. However, not all assessments identify when strategies have changed or require amending. This means that staff do not have up-to-date information when providing care for the children.

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

The home has experienced several changes since the assurance visit in November 2023. A new responsible individual and manager have been appointed as well as several experienced staff. A full evaluation of the service being provided to children is under review. This has prompted a change in the home’s statement of purpose.

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

The home has operated for 12 months without a registered manager. The organisation has employed managers; however, none have registered with Ofsted. A new manager has been appointed and has made an application for registration.

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

The monitoring of the quality of care provided in the home identifies some areas for development. However, this monitoring does not identify that some strategies in place for children require further development.

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

Half of the care staff team have successfully completed a relevant childcare qualification. They receive consistent training to assist them in how they support the children. A staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 5 member said, ‘We are a strong team who are all working hard to get the best results for the children.’

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

The new manager provides regular formal and informal supervision and guides the staff in the development of a safe and nurturing environment for children.

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

Although there are vacancies, a core staff team remain in place. Staff say that they are happy in their role and that there is better support and guidance from the new management team.

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

The organisation has recently undertaken a recruitment drive and has successfully recruited new staff to fill the vacancies at this home.

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

The external monitoring of the home is improved. Visits are undertaken consistently, and reports provide the home with an in-depth evaluation of the home’s practice and recommendations to improve practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 6

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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 provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if–

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the acting manager is registered with Ofsted. 14 August 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that risk assessments provide staff with clear strategies to manage risks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that consequences used to address the behaviours of children are restorative and help children to understand the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that the monitoring and review of care provided in the home identifies the strategies in place for children that require further development. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)

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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: 2638736 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes for Support Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Northern House, 3 Kennerleys Lane, Wilmslow SK9 5EQ

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Inspector

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Donna Ryan, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 8 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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