Children's home run by Homes2Inspire Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2720723 1 Registered provider: Homes2inspire

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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 run by a private company that is owned and operated by a national charity. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The home is led by 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 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2720723 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/09/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2720723 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection there were two children living at the home. The registered manager was absent. The deputy manager supported the inspection throughout.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained and a homely atmosphere has been created. Children like living here. There are good relationships between the children and the support workers. One child said, ‘I feel safe here. It is chilled and staff are really nice. Staff help as much as they can.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s placement, care & pathway plans are clearly written. They inform staff of how to care for each individual child. However, the plan for one child is not on the electronic recording system. As a result, the support workers do not have access to the latest information regarding the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Support workers support children with their education. Children in schools are helped to maintain their placement. Others are helped to re-engage with learning. The manager and support workers work closely with teachers. They are also supported by the provider’s education co-ordinator.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to remain healthy. Support workers ensure that all children see doctors, dentists and opticians. When required, specialist services have been accessed. This is with regards to children’s mental health and other needs. Children eat a healthy diet and take part in activities that involve exercise. This includes gyms and park walks. Therefore, children lead a healthy lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Support workers hold regular one-to-one discussions with children. They are helpful and linked to the individual needs of the child. In addition, home meetings take place weekly. This ensures that children are listened to with regards to their wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped by support workers to learn independence skills. This is appropriate to the age of the child and the short time spent at the home. An older child has learnt budgeting, cooking and clothes washing. A young child is learning how to brush their teeth and bathe.

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

Children’s positive behaviour support plans are clear and detailed. They are specific to the individual needs of the child. They are also appropriate to their short stay at the home. The plan includes an assessment of risks to the child. There is also a comprehensive risk assessment of the location. This includes an action plan to address identified risks. The police and other professionals are consulted to inform this. As a Inspection report for children's home: 2720723 4 result, support workers understand risks to children and how to work to keep children safe.

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

Support workers manage children’s incidents of unwanted behaviour well. Physical Intervention is rarely required. It is only used as a last resort to keep the child or others safe. It is brief and proportionate to the risks. The manager audits all records of interventions. She also helps the child and support workers to understand what happened.

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

Children have gone missing from the home. When this happens there are clear procedures that are followed. Support workers and the manager work closely with the police’s missing persons team. Children are helped to understand the risks associated with being missing from care.

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

The manager responds well to allegations from children. They are taken seriously. Safeguarding professionals are involved in line with legislation. There is good independent support to children from children’s rights advocates. This ensures that children feel listened to.

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

The manager uses safe recruitment processes for new starters. This addresses the shortfall identified at the previous inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Support workers like working at the home and caring for children. They feel supported by the manager and deputy manager. One support worker said, ‘They make sure that staff get all the possible training and let us have a chance to bring new skills to the team. They are very supportive and have been the best managers I have worked for.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that there is a thorough induction for all new workers. This starts with a comprehensive three-week training programme. This also includes an introduction to the company and residential care. Induction continues at the home with a work booklet that is overseen by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular supervisions take place for all support workers. They are led by the manager and deputy manager. This provides a time for reflection alongside professional and personal support. Therefore, staff are helped to develop in a supportive way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes good use of monthly team meetings. There is time to talk about the children and operational issues. In addition, learning circles are introduced. Topics include safeguarding, complaints, recording and professional boundaries. As a result, staff develop their knowledge in these important areas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is very good support to the manager from an experienced responsible individual. This includes regular supervision and visits to the home. There is additional support from other managers within the company in weekly and monthly meetings. This provides the manager with learning and development opportunities. Inspection report for children's home: 2720723 5 The manager and deputy manager use comprehensive quality assurance and monitoring processes. These include audits across the day, week and month. There is management oversight added to incident reports and other important documents. Most importantly, the manager and deputy manager spend time with children and monitor staff practice. Inspection report for children's home: 2720723 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home;

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring that every child’s care plan is accessible to staff to follow at all times. 31 July 2024

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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: 2720723 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Suite 3h, Valiant Office Suites, Valley Drive, Swift Valley Industrial Estate, Rugby, CV21 1TQ

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Kathryn Scoltock

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Inspector

Shaun Caplis, social care inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2720723 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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