Children's home run by Rainbows Corner Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2550830 1 Registered provider: Rainbows Corner Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private company. It provides care for up to five children who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: 5 December 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2550830 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/12/2023 Full Outstanding 06/12/2022 Full Good 06/07/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: 2550830 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s confidence flourishes because of their established and trusting relationships with the adults who care for them. The children’s diverse needs are met by a competent and highly committed staff team. The warm and nurturing environment enhances the children’s sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Social workers, other professionals and family members value the care and support staff provide to the children. They recognise the progress children make and the quality of their care. Individuals said, ‘They provide consistently high standards of care that focuses on the individual needs of each child.’ ‘Staff have helped [Name of Child] develop better coping strategies,’ and, ‘They don’t just care for [Name of Child], they love them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have good working relationships with health professionals. This ensures that the children’s health needs are well understood and met. Staff advocate for the children when they have concerns about the children and their health plans. Staff’s nurturing and affectionate practice provides comfort to children when they are unwell. Focused conversations with children about their diet helps them to consider the impact their choices have on their well-being. For example, staff talk to them about the dangers of having energy drinks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff give high importance to children’s education. This helps to promote the children’s positive attitude towards their learning and maintain high levels of attendance. Structured morning routines help prepare the children for the day ahead. Open lines of communication between the education professionals and staff ensures everyone is kept informed of key information. Staff welcome the children home each day and show interest in the experiences of children at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to talk to the staff. Regular conversations at the dining table encourage the children’s contribution to how they feel the home should be operated. This has helped to broaden some children’s spoken vocabulary. This reciprocal dialogue enhances the children’s experience and participation in life at the home. The team’s inclusive culture is embedded in their practice. This helps children to be tolerant and accepting of one another and promotes social integration. Listening to the children’s voice is central to staff’s practice. They consistently seek out the children’s views and share them appropriately so everyone who needs to know is aware of what children are thinking and feeling.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Meal options are balanced and nutritional; and children eat the food they enjoy. Staff make mealtimes a fun and engaging time. Children choosing their favourite meals and eating out at their favourite restaurants enriches their day-to-day experiences. Inspection report children’s home: 2550830 4 Children are supported to attend youth clubs, football matches, concerts and they go on, bike rides amongst other activities. Staff’s dedication and shared enjoyment enhances the children’s fun and helps to develop their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop their independence skills relating to their personal care and health. Staff help children to think about their future in preparation for leaving the home.

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

The children’s risks are understood by a competent staff team. Staff are insightful about the children’s complex needs. As a result, children feel safe living at this home and have trust and confidence in the staff who care for them. Their bond and connection with staff, their predictable routines, and consistent daily experiences, enhance children’s sense of safety.

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

Children do not go missing from this home. Staff’s warm nurturing approach helps children to feel safe and deters the risk of them wanting to leave. Children have individual missing-from-home risk assessments, but they lack information and guidance about what staff must do should an incident occur.

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

Staff have reflective conversations with children about acceptable behaviours. This helps the staff to positively influence the children’s attitude and consideration for one another. Staff help children using their preferred methods of communication to understand how their behaviour may affect others and the negative impact that words can have when used inappropriately. As a result, children feel safe living together at this home.

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

When concerns about children’s safety are identified, staff escalate these to the managers and speak to children to ascertain the facts. On one occasion, in response to a child having an unexplained bruise, staff completed the relevant mapping and recording and passed the records for management oversight. However, on this occasion due to poor communication between the staff and manager, this was not escalated until another professional addressed the issue. Investigations then took place and considered whether the bruising could have been of an accidental nature caused while the child was in school.

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

Staff help children to develop their own strategies to cope with overwhelming emotions. Children are encouraged to take time-out to gather their thoughts and re-integrate back into their routine once they have calmed. One child now does this of his own with little need for prompts.

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

The children benefit from speaking with staff about matters relevant to their developmental needs. Sensitive conversations about consent, sexual identity, and inappropriate language helps children to understand the impact of this. When children push boundaries, the manager’s tracking of these behaviours helps them to monitor everyone’s actions and explore how things can be managed differently to prevent more serious concerns developing. Inspection report children’s home: 2550830 5

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

The manager is working towards completing the relevant leadership and management qualification. He is well supported by the responsible individual and the quality assurance manager. The appointment of a new deputy manager demonstrates the providers ambition to strengthen the management team and the support for staff.

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

Some staff have mixed views about the effectiveness of leaders and managers. This has left them at times feeling unsupported and lacking guidance and direction and questioning the management decision making. The staff have shared their concerns with managers, who have listened, but not enough action has been taken by leaders to help the team to recalibrate their focus to minimise any potential impact on the children’s care.

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

On occasions, when the actions of staff and management has fallen short, these have not always been followed up effectively. Reflective conversations intended on addressing practice shortfalls have not always focused on the key issues. Information has not always been shared with others to prevent a repeat of the concerns.

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

The staff team has access to a wide range of training to support them to meet the children’s needs. However, managers have failed to enhance staff’s knowledge through refresher safeguarding training to ensure staff know how to respond to future concerns.

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

Managers have escalated their concerns when there has been drift and delay in children’s care planning. Unforeseen changes in one child’s plan left managers and the child’s social worker having to adjust the child’s plan relating to them moving out on a number of occasions. A lack of understanding about the arrangements for young people being able to live at the home has prevented managers and other professionals from making child-focused decisions.

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

Children are supported to stay in contact with staff after moving on from the home. However, when changes have been made to a child’s plan about the frequency of contact with staff, this has unsettled the child and some staff. More needs to be done to ensure that the impact of relationships changing does not cause unnecessary stress and anxiety for children.

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

Staff are highly committed and want the best for children. They advocate for the children when they feel decisions are not made in the children’s best interest.

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

Reflective supervisions and team meetings are child focused. Supervision sessions enable staff to talk about their own wellbeing and reflect about the children’s needs. Well attended team meetings provide a forum for staff to consider the children’s care needs and celebrate the children’s achievements.

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

An independent person completes external monitoring of the home and submits their reports each month to the regulator. They speak with a range of people to help them evaluate the children’s safety and wellbeing. However, the length of time they are in the Inspection report children’s home: 2550830 6 home is limited, and they visit when most of the children are in school, so their views are not always captured. The independent person has not explored whether the staff have any concerns and has only consulted with senior staff members. This limits the quality of their evidence when making their evaluations. Inspection report children’s home: 2550830 7

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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, 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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

staff have safeguarding training and knowledge of safeguarding procedures so that they can respond quickly to concerns about children’s care

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Requirement Due date

professional practice standards are upheld for managers and staff

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Requirement Due date

effective work is done with the staff team to re-establish stability and to minimise any potential impact on the care of children. 4 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 4 August 2024 Inspection report children’s home: 2550830 8 that arrangements are in place to—

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority; (Regulation 14 (1)(b) (2)(b)(iii)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

they are fully aware of the wholly and mainly policy so they can contribute accurate information to care planning meetings

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Requirement Due date

they have a contingency planning as part of their discharge policy that is in the best interest of minimising disruption for children

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Requirement Due date

they have individualised strategies for children who are moving out that address the arrangements for ongoing contact with the staff.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s missing from home protocols provide staff with guidance about steps they must follow should a missing incident occur. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards,’ page 45, paragraph 9.24).

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children by spending a sufficient amount of time in the home; when children are most likely to be present; speak to a variety of staff and explore with them what are their experiences of working at the home; and avoid making generalised statements month-by-month without demonstrating how evidence has been gathered to make those statements. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards,’ page 65, paragraph 15.5).

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 2550830 9 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 children’s home: 2550830 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Rainbows Corner Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: c/o Harris & Co, Marland House, Huddersfield Road, Barnsley S70 2LW

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Inspector

Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2550830 11 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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