Children's Home run by Heart and Home Living Limited in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2733224 1 Registered provider: Heart and Home Living 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 privately owned. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with emotional and social needs. At the time of the inspection, there were two children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager position has been vacant since 30 August 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

The interim manager is covering while the new manager completes their induction. Following this induction the manager is intending to apply for registration.

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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: 20 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2733224 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2733224 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection the home has had an entire change of leadership team. These changes are creating a greater sense of positivity in the home. Children are settled and making good progress and say that they are happy in their home. A social worker praised the team’s work, saying that her child had benefited from the clear boundaries and expectations. Staff instil these expectations in all aspects of the children’s care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The team has cultivated a home where there is great emphasis on the importance of education. One child moved in having not attended school for a lengthy period. The staff worked with the child’s school to plan a gradual part-time reintroduction. The child’s teacher said, ‘Not only is she attending regularly, but she wants to stay longer each day.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend all their relevant healthcare checks. This ensures that they do not have any unresolved health issues. Children and staff have access to an educational psychologist commissioned by the organisation. The psychologist is in the early stages of building a rapport with the children. She is doing this by visiting the home regularly before starting any direct work. These visits also assist with minimising any stigma associated with having therapeutic input.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and wishes are built into their weekly activity planning and into their home. They have each personalised their bedrooms to reflect their personal styles.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The interim manager has revised the format for the children’s meetings. This is to ensure that the sessions are less formal. The revised approach is leading to improved engagement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s routines enable them to live together with few issues. Staff are assisting children to develop personal and independence skills. These life skills are equipping children for living with others now and later in life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children have families who live some distance away from the home. Staff support children’s time with their families by taking them to see their relatives or meeting them part way. This is enabling the children to maintain strong relationships with their families.

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

Children are much safer than when they arrived at the home. One child was subject to deprivation of liberty safeguards when they moved in. This was due to previous risk- taking behaviours. The child has now ceased the concerning behaviours. The children are benefiting from the staff team’s direct one-to-one sessions with them. This is enabling a greater sense of stability and safety in the lives of both children. Inspection report for children's home: 2733224 4 Children feel better equipped to manage their emotions. They can now identify alternative ways of communicating their negative emotions. This is evident in the reduction in the number of incidents. The children show a sense of calmness and have stopped presenting challenging behaviour. There have been no instances of going missing from home. Children are responding well and thriving because of the clear boundaries and expectations that the staff have put in place.

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

Children have made allegations linked to historic events. Staff are supportive throughout the process, including while investigations are pending. These disclosures indicate that children feel safe speaking to staff about sensitive matters and trust staff to take the appropriate action.

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

Staff work in a non-risk-averse way. This ensures that children can safely have access to a wide range of opportunities. For example, one child volunteers at a local charity shop. Staff stay nearby to provide support if needed. Their discreet presence prevents the child feeling stigmatised by constant supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has had a change of leaders. There is a new responsible individual and a new interim manager. They are both ambitious for the home and staff but especially for the children. This ambition is reflected in the team’s work with the children. The team’s direct work is assisted by a combination of the change of leaders and the therapeutic input.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has brought a sense of calm, safety and security to the house. This is having a positive impact on the children and staff. Staff praised her hands-on approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel more supported, valued and upskilled than they ever felt before. It is commendable that the manager has achieved this in the two months she has been in post.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team works well with other professionals. The professionals say that they have seen an improvement in communication. They are also impressed with the quality of the team’s work and the reports they have received.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has overhauled the auditing processes. This is to ensure that all the information is complete and accurate. Records are now more reflective of each child’s journey, their wishes and ambitions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has addressed all the shortfalls raised at the previous inspection. The recommendation raised at this inspection relates to employment paperwork and processes that the interim manager is revisiting and/or updating.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders have advocated on behalf of children and staff. This has ensured that poor practice has been addressed swiftly and efficiently. Inspection report for children's home: 2733224 5 The home benefits from having a team that is diverse in relation to age, gender, origin and experience. This enables the children to learn and appreciate differences. A staff member said the home now prides itself on the fact that ‘everyone is included, not excluded’. Inspection report for children's home: 2733224 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should maintain good employment practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 2733224 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Heart and Home Living Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Highbank, Greenbank Crescent, London NW4 2LA

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Inspector

Sonia Hay, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2733224 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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