Children's Home run by Homes for Support in Cheshire East

Inspection report for children's home: 2647770 1 Registered provider: Homes for Support Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private organisation. The home provides care for up to six children who may have social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in September 2021 and the manager registered in July 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living at the home at the time of this 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 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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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2647770 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/03/2024 Full Good 09/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2647770 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have created an environment where children feel listened to and can express their wishes and feelings freely. Staff care for the children with warmth and empathy. As a result, staff develop strong and trusting relationships with the children. One child said. ‘Staff are showing me they care.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of children’s individual needs. Staff support children to safely spend time with their families. They support children to develop and establish relationships with those people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a variety of activities inside and outside of the home. Staff provide children with opportunities to enjoy new and existing hobbies and interests such as street dancing, golf, watching movies, arts and crafts and going for a walk or a drive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are in good health and staff actively encourage and support children to attend health appointments. Medication is stored securely and administered safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the children to keep their bedrooms tidy and help with preparing meals. One child has been able to go shopping with his own bank card. This helps to promote the child’s independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child who moved into the home has been supported to continue to attend their current school. The manager remains persistent in their attempts to engage children in education. However, not all children are engaging in full-time education. There is a lack of structure to the day when children are not in school. This means that there are missed opportunities to support children’s education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated nicely, and children’s bedrooms are personalised, with their personal possessions and photos displayed. This gives the children a sense of belonging. However, some repair work is needed around the home, including replacing some internal doors.

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

Staff know the children well. They have a good understanding of children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Children’s risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated by the manager and staff.

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

Incidents of children being physically held are rare. When incidents occur, staff manage these well. They use strategies that require minimal physical intervention. The manager has oversight of all incidents and opportunities are provided to staff and children to reflect and learn from incidents. Inspection report for children's home: 2647770 4 Staff follow the agreed procedures when children go missing from home. They look for the children in the local area and the places that they may go to and try to contact the children. They report the incident to the police. Staff make detailed records of the steps that they take to help children return home safely. This enables the manager to maintain oversight of practice and evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken to safeguard the children. A member of the missing-from-home team said, ‘Staff do everything to prevent missing from home.’

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

Positive recognition and praise outweigh negative consequences. Staff support children to reflect on their behaviour and the choices they make. This approach is restorative and helps the children take responsibility for their actions. The manager evaluates consequences, ensuring that they are proportionate and restorative.

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

There is a robust process in place to ensure that the people who work with children are checked and vetted before working in the home. New staff undertake a structured induction and benefit from ongoing training related to their role. This safer recruitment process means that those who are employed are assessed as suitable to work with children.

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

Two children have moved out of the home and two children have moved in since the last inspection. The children who moved in were supported to visit and meet the children and staff who live there. These were successful moves. However, leaders and managers are reviewing their processes to ensure they are robust in assessing the impact that children moving into the home will have on the existing group of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run efficiently by an experienced and enthusiastic manager. The manager and staff are committed to giving children opportunities to reach their full potential. The staff say they feel well supported by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the manager. The manager creates a warm and open culture in the home. One member of staff said, ‘Management are always there to listen when needed.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff complete a programme of training and learning. Staff receive bespoke training from the in-house therapist, based on the specific needs of the children. This provides staff with the skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively and meet the needs of those in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular and reflective supervision. Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended by the staff. Staff also attend team consultations that are led by the home’s in-house therapist. The meetings are reflective and provide a forum to explore and review children’s progress and support strategies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains positive relationships with all professionals involved in the children’s care. Professionals speak highly of the manager. One social worker said, ‘I Inspection report for children's home: 2647770 5 have nothing but amazing things to say about the staff, the home and the communication.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. However, this could be strengthened with more rigorous monitoring and reports from the independent person. This is a missed opportunity to help leaders and managers to identify and address areas for development. Inspection report for children's home: 2647770 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training, and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of 20 September 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2647770 7 exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training, or employment and to prepare for future care, education, or employment;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities, and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff help children to engage in education as part of a daily structured routine and in accordance with children’s relevant plans.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of its children. Any damage in the home should be quickly repaired. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment. The registered person must ensure that the independent person consults regularly with a range of stakeholders as part of their assessment of the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 65, paragraph 15.5)  The registered person should ensure that they only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered

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Recommendations

the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 56, paragraph 11.14) Inspection report for children's home: 2647770 8

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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: 2647770 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes for Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Northern House, 3 Kennerleys Lane, Wilmslow SK9 5EQ

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Inspector

Stacey Ilaboya, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2647770 10 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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