Children's home run by I.M.P.A.C.T Children's Residential Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 1 Registered provider: I.M.P.A.C.T Children’s Residential 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

This privately run home provides care for up to four children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in August 2021. The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home.

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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 outstanding

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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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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/06/2023 Full Good 15/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/11/2022 Full Inadequate 15/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children at this home make good progress from their starting points. Staff build supportive relationships with the children and encourage them to have ambitions. Children are supported to access services that can help them to learn and develop new skills. This has resulted in children making progress in areas such as education and health. Children in the home who had previously been out of education now have access to educational provisions or attend school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff have worked to improve the care given to children, and they make an effort to provide the children with new and positive experiences. Staff have a warm and caring relationship with children. Children feel valued as a result of their positive relationships with staff. A child said that staff ‘really care’ about the children. Children are encouraged to share their views, and they know how to make a complaint and make compliments about their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to lead a healthy lifestyle. The children participate in various activities, including regular exercise, going to the gym and playing sports that they enjoy. When children choose not to attend health appointments, they are encouraged by staff. Formal and informal discussions are used to help children understand risks to their health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s needs are thoughtfully considered by leaders, managers and staff. Managers plan for when children will move into the home and consider risks to ensure that children settle well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop their independent living skills, confidence and self- esteem. Staff support children to cook, plan their weekly activities and share their views. A child was keen to show the cooking skills they have learned while living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children maintain relationships with family and friends who are important to them. A parent praised staff and said that they ensure the children are able to spend quality time with family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and decorated with photos of the children, which adds to the homely environment. The property is in good condition, with some minor repairs required.

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

Children said that they feel safe in the home. Staff know and understand the needs and vulnerabilities of the children. Children are supported by staff to understand Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 4 possible risks, and staff work with professionals to reduce the risks that the children experience. Staff provide this support with warmth, sensitivity and care.

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

Risk assessments provide staff with the information and actions required to ensure that children remain safe. The assessments are thorough, considering all possible risks, but they are long. This may impede staff’s ability to review and monitor the most pertinent risks.

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

Missing-from-home episodes have reduced. Staff ensure that they contact professionals, family and friends when children go missing from home. Return home interviews are completed with children, and managers ensure that the learning from these interviews is shared and discussed with staff.

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

Staff work with children to support them with their emotional needs. The work is empathetic and focuses on improving the children’s outcomes.

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

Staff are trained in the use of restraints, and these are only used when harm is immediate. There has been no recent use of restraints. Staff spoke about other interventions to prevent restraints and ensure safety. Goal setting and incentives are used in the home to evidence the children’s progress and achievements.

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

There are safe recruitment processes in place, and managers carry out necessary checks before new staff start working at the home. Children are supported to participate in the recruitment process for staff. However, recorded training dates did not always reflect staff’s actual completion dates, and the process used for employing persons with a criminal record has not been formulated into a policy. This may hinder managerial oversight and create inconsistencies in recruitment practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home benefits from having a highly motivated leadership team and an experienced registered manager. The registered manager, responsible individual and deputy manager use their detailed knowledge of the home to support the children and staff. This has resulted in the children having a stable staff team that cares and supports their needs. Children with complex support needs are helped by staff to recognise and understand risks. Managers ensure that staff have the skills, support and direction to address high levels of risk and to take action to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The leadership team demonstrates an awareness of the home’s strengths and areas for development, and it uses this knowledge to continually improve the care provided to children. For example, leaders are continuing to make improvements to recording systems.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers encourage the children to be ambitious and provide opportunities to support the children’s development. The registered manager has commissioned specialist training to support staff in meeting the individual needs of the children and promoting positive outcomes for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 5 Leaders and managers promote staff development. Managers model behaviours and share learning across the staff team. Consequently, children receive care and support from staff who understand how best to support them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Supervision is regular and includes consideration of the children’s needs. Managers use a specific model of care, encouraging staff reflection and learning. The manager supportively challenges staff when she identifies that practice could be developed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered individual and independent visitor both praised the management team’s ability in creating a culture of high aspirations for children. Both have mentioned that they are able to challenge management to improve outcomes. Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they maintain good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. There should be clear lines of accountability regarding ongoing checks of staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child in risk assessments must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that records of each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Children and their parents should be supported to

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Recommendations

understand the nature of records kept to show children’s progress. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.5)

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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: 2624855 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: I.M.P.A.C.T Children’s Residential Care Limited

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Inspectors

Richard Wyper, Social Care Inspector Natalie Marshall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2624855 8 regulates and inspects to 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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