Children's home run by The Place Young People’s Company

Inspection report for children’s home: 2722943 1 Registered provider: The Place Young People’s Company 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 by a private company. It provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there was one child living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 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

Date of last inspection: 24 January 2024

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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: 2722943 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/01/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2722943 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is one child currently living in the children’s home. Since the last inspection, two children have moved out of the home. Children have positive relationships with staff, who provide consistent care. One child’s social worker said, ‘Staff are committed to [name of child]; they care for them and advocate for them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and encourage children to take part in activities to promote their hobbies and interests as well as their physical and social needs. However, staff also respect that the child living in the home is at an age where they often prefer to spend time on their own rather than with the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child currently living in the home attends school and is making progress in line with their targets. One child, who has recently moved out of the home, was having difficulties with their attendance at school. Staff worked together with the school to effectively support and increase the child’s attendance levels.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend routine medical appointments, such as the dentist, GP and opticians. They are also supported to access specialist health and well-being professionals when necessary, such as the in-house therapy team and child and adolescent mental health services.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are suitable arrangements for the safe storage and administration of medication. However, when pain relief medication is given, the reason it is necessary is not always recorded, which means that its use cannot be properly monitored.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and support children to engage in age-appropriate independence work, such as budgeting, cooking and household cleaning tasks. This targeted work helps to prepare them for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Direct work sessions take place frequently. They cover relevant topics and are completed in a planned way. They are also conducted reactively following any significant events, such as children going missing from home, restraints or to discuss any worries and concerns. They support and educate children to understand about safety and emotions.

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

Staff have a clear understanding of the specific needs and vulnerabilities of the children. Risk assessments and support plans are detailed documents, which are regularly reviewed. They provide clear guidance and strategies for staff to follow. However, they do not include the information provided in the police trigger plan, and there are not clear guidelines for staff around the use of the police. Inspection report for children’s home: 2722943 4 There has been one complaint from a child. The manager took suitable and appropriate action and notified all relevant professionals, while ensuring that the welfare of the child was a prioritised throughout the investigation.

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

When it has been necessary to physically hold a child, it has been reasonable and proportionate. The manager has reviewed each report. Staff and the child are supported to reflect on the incident and to explore their feelings around the use of the restraint.

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

Positive behaviour is suitably encouraged and praised. Staff prefer the use of natural consequences, although there are occasions when it has been necessary to impose a consequence. When this occurs, they are reasonable and proportionate. However, the consequences are not always recorded suitably. The manager must ensure that there is a clear record of consequences so the effectiveness and fairness can be assessed.

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

When children are new to the home, their compatibility is suitably assessed based on information available at the time of referral. Children are supported to move into the home with the best possible planning under the circumstances. Children who already live in the home are involved and prepared for new children arriving.

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

When children have moved on from the home, the manager and staff have completed a group supervision to discuss the ending of the child’s placement and to identify lessons learned from what went well and what they would do differently. This ensures that reflection and learning takes place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a registered manager in post, who is supported by a deputy manager. The manager has suitable systems in place to ensure that she has oversight of the home. She knows the children well and understands their individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager effectively uses internal and external monitoring of the home and has a vision of the development she wants to achieve, alongside an understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. However, some records are handwritten and illegible, which means that it is not always possible to monitor these records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, practice-related supervision. This is suitably recorded and positively impacts staff performance and growth.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a significant increase in incidents where staff have contacted the police to assist with the behaviour support of the child. Following this, the manager has not reflected on staff practice or the need for police involvement. This means that staff are continually using the police for behaviour management and practice is not challenged or changed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly alongside team development sessions. These are an opportunity for staff to share information and updates and for trainers to discuss the children’s specific needs and strategies. However, team meetings are a missed Inspection report for children’s home: 2722943 5 opportunity for the team to reflect on significant events and identify lessons learned to support change going forward.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work in partnership with external professionals, such as the therapy team, Prevent officers and the local police, to ensure that there is a team approach in supporting children. When needed, the manager has challenged the placing authority to ensure that children’s plans are received.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are trained in most topics in order to meet children’s individual needs, including ‘Prevent’ duty and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Additional training is also sought when the manager feels it is necessary, such as training in physical intervention, child development and trauma. However, staff have not completed training in mental health, which is essential to meet the needs of the child. Some staff also require refresher training in fire safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When it has been necessary to use agency staff, there are suitable safer recruitment checks in place and the manager ensures that there are always staff on shift who know the children to work alongside the agency staff. This provides stability and consistency for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff take pride in the home environments and ensure that it is maintained to a high standard, meets the needs of the children and feels and looks like a family home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2722943 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, 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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there is sufficient evaluation of staff practice following significant events. Poor practice must be identified and addressed.

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Requirement Due date

In addition to this, the registered person must reflect on periods of crisis with the staff team to identify areas for development and improvements in practice. 12 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2722943 7 The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff have access to relevant information regarding the threshold for police involvement within risk assessments and support plans. 12 July 2024

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff are trained in subjects specific to meet the needs of the children. 12 July 2024

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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; 12 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2722943 8 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

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Requirement Due date

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 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that imposed consequences are appropriately recorded.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful and clear recording, ensuring that handwritten records are legible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that medicines are administered in line with a medically approved protocol. Records must be kept of the administration of all medication, including the reason that pain relief medication has been administered. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2722943 9 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: 2722943 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Place Young People’s Company Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Lymevale Court, Lyme Drive, Parklands, Stoke-on- Trent ST4 6NW

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Inspectors

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Nicola Jeffery, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2722943 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted Inspection report for children’s home: 2722943 12

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