Children's home run by Heartly Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2773405 1 Registered provider: Heartly Care 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 by a private provider and offers care for up to three children.

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Information about this children’s home

No children were living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

An acting manager leads the home. He is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2773405 2

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improvement to be good

The home is furnished and decorated to a good standard, which provides a homely environment for children. There is sufficient space for children to play and relax. Children’s bedrooms are suitably furnished. New children coming to live at the home are provided with a welcome basket containing toiletries and small gifts. The garden is enclosed, well maintained, and provides a secure space for outdoor play and activities.

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improvement to be good

The first child admitted to the home had been living there for approximately six weeks before they moved out in an unplanned way. During the child’s time in the home, they were supported to build positive relationships with staff. The child had been able to identify members of staff who they had started to develop trusting relationships with. Due to the short time the child lived in the home, there were limited opportunities for establishing care plans or getting the right services in place to meet the child’s needs.

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improvement to be good

Opportunities for the child to voice their opinions, wishes and feelings were inconsistent. Staff were not always recording conversations and support provided to the child. As a result, key-work sessions did not fully reflect the work being carried out.

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improvement to be good

The child was supported to develop their independent living skills. They were able to have time away from the home, develop friendships and socialise with others. However, following the child informing staff that they had developed a relationship with a girl, the staff restricted the child’s time away. The child and staff had limited discussions over this. As a result, the child responded badly to this decision, which contributed to an incident involving staff using physical intervention.

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improvement to be good

Staff have supported the child to engage in play and access activities. This has included trips to the seaside, arrangements to join a boxing club and a local youth club. However, these activities had not properly started before the child left the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff supported the child in developing their independence skills, such as spending time in the local community and socialising with others. However, when the child informed staff they had a girlfriend, this was not fully explored and was a missed opportunity to support the child to develop their understanding of appropriate relationships.

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improvement to be good

Before the child’s admission, they had not accessed education for a considerable period. Staff were proactive in providing opportunities for learning through extra-curricular activities. However, the manager did not advocate strongly for more secure educational plans for the child’s education.

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improvement to be good

The child’s health needs were met well by staff. They ensured that the child was registered with local health services following their move to the home. The staff and the Inspection report for children’s home: 2773405 3 manager also ensured that the child had a healthy diet and opportunities to take part in enjoyable activities.

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improvement to be good

There is a clear procedure to guide children who wish to make a complaint if they are unhappy about any aspect of their care. Following the child making a complaint, it was responded to appropriately by leaders. However, one complaint had not been recorded as being shared with the child’s social worker.

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improvement to be good

The responsible individual and acting manager understand that staff are new and require further support and leadership to build and develop their confidence, skills and knowledge. The lack of experience in supporting a child when they are physically and verbally aggressive led to action being taken which was not in the child’s best interests. This involved the police being called and the child being arrested. There is evidence of debrief and reflection taking place, with outcomes and learning for the manager and staff.

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improvement to be good

Consequences used to address the child’s unwanted behaviour were not always proportionate. Opportunities were missed to support the child’s understanding of staff’s rationale to impose some consequences. The child was subject to physical intervention following them becoming very upset and angry because they did not understand why their time away from the home had been restricted. This area of care practice and behaviour management requires further work to be good.

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improvement to be good

The responsible individual acted swiftly to recruit an acting manager in response to the registered manager leaving the home. He has been proactive in the support of the new acting manager to address the shortfalls identified through his management oversight.

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improvement to be good

At the time of this inspection, the acting manager had been in post for six days. He is proactive and working with the responsible individual to further develop staff’s knowledge and skills before any new children come to live at the home.

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improvement to be good

A risk assessment was in place for the child. However, this had not been fully updated to reflect the child’s changing needs. The arrangements for the child to maintain their links with their family required further assessment and planning with the child’s social worker. The lack of an agreed plan led to the child having telephone contact with their parent which had not been fully risk assessed.

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improvement to be good

Staff follow the missing-from-home policy and procedures, which are approved by key safeguarding agencies. Good links have been made with the local community, which the acting manager intends to build on. Additionally, there are good arrangements in place to ensure the safe recruitment of suitable staff and plans for staff training and development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2773405 4

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

The resignation of the registered manager resulted in staff experiencing instability in the leadership and management of the home. It is positive that the responsible individual and acting manager have identified shortfalls and are taking action to rectify them.

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

The responsible individual was proactive in appointing an acting manager, who plans to register with Ofsted. In the short time the acting manager has been at the home, he has been working with staff to identify the support and guidance they require to carry out their roles effectively.

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

The acting manager is working hard to establish clear expectations for staff. He is ambitious for the development of the home and has identified several areas for improvement. This includes to further develop staff’s understanding of the key guidance and legislation that underpins their care practice.

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

The acting manager has identified that staff have not been receiving regular one-to-one supervision, and team meetings have not been taking place regularly. As a result, staff have not been provided with the support they need to develop their experience and practice and opportunities for reflection in a consistent manner.

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

Staff speak positively about the acting manager and said that they are in the process of getting to know him. They are looking forward to receiving further support in readiness for the admission of children into the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2773405 5

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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, 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.

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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— in particular

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

ensures that the registered person has oversight of debriefs and key work records to support children to understand risks, to prevent reoccurrence. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(c)(2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager and leaders having oversight and monitoring systems, particularly in relation to debriefs and key-work sessions with children following incidents. 17 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure staff are provided with regular supervision to enable staff to reflect and act upon how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for.

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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

the measure 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 ensure methods to manage children’s behaviour is proportionate and restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others. (Regulation 35 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the management of children’s behaviour by staff. Behaviour management must be restorative 17 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2773405 6 and children must be helped to understand how their behaviour can affect others .

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff act as effective advocates for a child who may be experiencing difficulties with education or training matters, such as attainment, admissions, attendance or behaviour, as a good parent would do. (‘Guild to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.12)  The registered person should support staff to be ambitious for every child in the home and to have the skills and experience to enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential. To ensure that staff understand and can meet each child’s needs, in line with their responsibilities, the registered person themselves will need to understand the needs of the children in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)  The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor

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Recommendations

behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour, and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that staff receive supervision that enables them to reflect on their own feelings and behaviour and how they may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15) Inspection report for children’s home: 2773405 7

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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: 2773405 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Heartly Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 9 to 13 Holbrook Lane, Coventry, Warwickshire CV6 4AD

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Inspectors

Angela Duffus-Palmer, Social Care Inspector Caroline Coop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2773405 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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