Children's home run by Nestlings Care Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2510604 1 Registered provider: Nestlings Care 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

The home is privately operated and provides care for up to four children who may have complex mental health difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered with Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

An assurance inspection on 4 October 2023 judged this home to have serious and widespread concerns. This was in relation to the care and protection of children and the leadership and management of the home. Ofsted issued a restriction of accommodation notice. This was to prevent the provider from accepting new children. Compliance notices were also served in relation to regulations 12 and 13.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following a positive monitoring visit on 10 November 2023, both compliance notices were deemed to be met and the restriction of accommodation notice was lifted. Inspection report for children's home: 2510604 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/05/2023 Full Good 08/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 11/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2510604 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning and practice is individual to each child and in line with the providers therapeutic model. Leaders, managers, and staff have a comprehensive understanding of the child’s needs and provide them with a bespoke package of support. They work closely with external agencies to ensure that children receive the services and support they need to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children who live here have complex mental health needs that are thoroughly understood by the staff. Each child receives personalised care based on an individualised medical model. Additionally, some children are protected by legal orders to ensure their safety. The staff have undergone specialised training on these issues to comprehensively understand their implications. This approach ensures that the children are kept safe and are cared for in accordance with multi-agency plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to celebrate diverse identities and cultures. They are supported by a diverse staff team that educates them about their own cultures and traditions. This approach helps children gain a broader understanding and appreciation of different backgrounds and perspectives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff show insight and understanding about each child. This means they provide effective care for the children, which has led to a marked reduction in incidents. Staff effectively address the individual needs and behaviours of each child. As a result, children show improved emotional and behavioural stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff sensitively explore challenges with the children to help them understand and manage some of their personal needs independently. Additionally, children are supported to develop their self-care skills such as cooking, tidying up and cleaning. This helps them develop skills that will help them into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that all children attend education. As a result, children are making progress. Some children are in school, and others have a bespoke package of education. Staff attend meetings with education staff and are clear about children’s plans. This enables children to feel supported and helps them to achieve their academic potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children arrive at the home, their known risks and needs, as well as those of the other children, are not fully considered. This means staff are unable to prepare effectively for their care.

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

Children say that they feel safe living in the home. Staff spend time developing relationships with children, to help them feel safe and secure. This means children are able to talk to staff about the things that are important to them. Inspection report for children's home: 2510604 4 Risk assessments are detailed and updated following incidents. The risk assessments support staff to identify triggers and provide strategies to keep children safe. This means that staff are clear about what actions to take to support the children.

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

Children have been physically held by staff to protect them from harm. Staff use physical holds in line with the home’s policies and procedures. Records contain the relevant information, and staff carry out reflective debriefs with children. The manager reviews all incident records. This means she has oversight of the effectiveness of interventions.

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

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met. Arrangements for medication handling and administration are safe and completed as directed by medical professionals. Where medication errors occur, action is taken to report and address the concerns. The manager responds to errors and ensures staff have necessary training.

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

Leaders and managers have a robust approach to addressing complaints. When complaints arise, they are handled promptly and with the utmost seriousness. The staff follow a clear and transparent process to investigate and resolve issues, ensuring that the concerns of both children and their families are heard and addressed. This ensures a culture of trust and transparency but also promotes continuous improvement within the home.

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

Incentive systems are in place to encourage positive behaviours. Each child has a personalised incentive chart to follow. This system works well, and the children enjoy receiving rewards. Staff review the targets to ensure that they are relevant to the children.

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

Recruitment procedures and practices are safe and effective. All staff are checked and vetted before starting work. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children in the home.

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

The manager ensures that the home is a safe and comfortable place to live. All the required health and safety checks are in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is child focused, caring and dedicated. She has high aspirations for the children and is invested in their progress. The manager is inspirational and well respected by staff and children. Staff say that they feel supported by the manager and that she is readily available for advice and guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with training to meet children’s needs. Staff have benefited from training on the providers model of care and related legislation. This means staff are equipped with the required knowledge to care for the children. Training is extended to temporary staff to ensure they fully understand the risks and needs of the children and how to meet them, prior to working in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2510604 5 The staff team is becoming more stable and agency staff are used less frequently. Three agency staff members have successfully applied for permanent positions within the home. This means the home will be fully staffed by a permanent team. Feedback from professionals and parents report this will have a positive impact on the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervisions and appraisals are scheduled regularly. However, appraisals could be strengthened by including the voice of children, peers and professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have been proactive in taking action to address recording shortfalls identified at the last inspection. Incident reports are now much more detailed and consider reflective practice for staff and a debrief with children. The manager analyses incidents and has developed good monitoring tools. However, this monitoring needs implementing to all areas of recording. Inspection report for children's home: 2510604 6

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Statutory requirement

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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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

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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 regis- tered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child's relevant plans are followed.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, when children arrive at the home, their risks and needs must be assessed to consider the children that already live here and staff strengths. 15 August 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should ensure that staff appraisals should include feedback from professionals and children wherever possible. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.5) Inspection report for children's home: 2510604 7  The registered person should actively make best use of information from internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement in relation to having consistent oversight in all areas of the home. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

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: 2510604 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Nestlings Care Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: suite 4, 1 Derby Street, Leigh, WN7 4PF

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Anthony Thompson

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Inspector(s)

Sally Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Mark Woodbridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2510604 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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