Children's Home run by Affinity Childrens Services Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2746965 1 Registered provider: Affinity Children’s Services Limited

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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 three children who have experienced social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably experienced and has been registered with Ofsted since the home opened on 27 November 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 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2746965 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home. The staff are warm and nurturing and this has helped the children to quickly settle and form positive relationships with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have worked well with education professionals, which has meant the children are progressing well with their learning. The children have seen that staff and teachers work well together and want them to achieve positive outcomes. Consequently, children are investing in their own learning. They are making good progress and are expected to achieve their predicted grades.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to spend quality time with family and friends. The children are making positive friendships in the community, which has helped to develop their self-esteem and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are enabled to express their wishes and feelings in various forums, such as children’s meetings and individual conversations with staff. The children are involved in making decisions about their lives. Children feel that their voices matter and they are listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to be involved in activities in the home and the community. The children have enjoyed day trips to museums and the cinema. The children are having lots of positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the home is well maintained and provides a warm and cosy environment for the children to live in. Children have personalised their bedrooms. However, the flooring in one child’s bathroom needs replacing.

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

Staff and the manager know the children very well and have positive relationships with them. The children are able to speak with staff and ask for support whenever they face difficult or unsafe situations.

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

When children go missing from home, staff alert relevant agencies, such as police and social workers, promptly and conduct searches of the local area. When children return home from being missing, staff welcome them home, tell them that they are glad that they are safe and talk to them about what happened while they were away, to see if they need help with anything to prevent them from go missing from home in the future. This good practice helps to keep children safe.

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

Staff model positive behaviour to the children. When children display risky behaviours, staff take time to speak with them to understand how they can best support them. Inspection report for children's home: 2746965 3 Children are learning to regulate their emotions better. As a result, risk-taking behaviours are reducing.

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

Staff de-escalate challenging situations effectively. They have not needed to use physical intervention to manage the children’s behaviours to keep the children and other people safe.

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

Safer recruitment processes are thorough. This helps to ensure that safe adults support and care for the children.

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

The manager deals with complaints sensitively and diligently. She communicates effectively with those involved by acknowledging receipt of the complaint, outlining the action they will be taking and checking that those who have raised concerns are happy with the outcome. Any conflict is resolved swiftly in the home. This is good for children, as they know concerns are taken seriously.

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

The manager has spent a lot of time with staff, modelling the positive approach to children’s care. This has helped staff to develop their skills and experience, and deliver good care to children. However, this has limited the time she has for maintaining other aspects of the service. For example, some information in children’s records was not up to date. Some records are kept electronically and the manager does not ensure that these can be accessed by those who need to see them when she is away from the home. Some information was not available, for example, in relation to staff training and workforce development. When the manager updates the home’s statement of purpose, she has not shared this with Ofsted, as required.

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

Regular team meetings encourage consistency in practice and supportive relationships, which benefit children. Staff receive regular good-quality reflective supervision, which supports them in carrying out their roles effectively.

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

Partner agencies are positive about the support and quality of care that children receive. They are also positive about the communication that they have with staff, and they are kept up to date with the children’s progress. Inspection report for children's home: 2746965 4

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h) 31 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(b)) 31 July 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home environment meet the needs of the children. In particular, ensure that when flooring is damaged that this is replaced. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children's home: 2746965 5

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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: 2746965 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Affinity Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Old Coach House, Horse Fair, Rugeley WS15 2EL

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jennifer Henderson

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Inspector

Rumbi Mangoma, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2746965 7 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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