Children's home run by Sweet Hope House Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2706369 1 Registered provider: Sweet Hope Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a private company. It provides care for up to three children who need support with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by an experienced, qualified and 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 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2706369 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/05/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2706369 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy living at the home. They have positive relationships with staff and enjoy interacting and spending time with them. Children can identify adults who have made an impact on their lives, and they are likely to remember them when they move on. Children talk freely and openly about good memories they share with staff, and as a result they feel supported and understood by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to develop independence skills. Children carry out day-to-day activities such as cooking, cleaning and shopping. For example, a child was making his own breakfast. Another child talked about how staff were guiding him on how to budget his money and spend wisely. Children are encouraged to develop their independence in the community, and they understand what is expected of them to keep them safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is generally comfortable. However, some decorating and improvements are required in some living areas of the home to make them more inviting and comfortable for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers have an open-door policy which gives children the opportunity to share their views, wishes and feelings. Children are also offered one-to-one discussions through key-work sessions. However, the quality of records and reflection with children during discussions needs to improve. The manager is aware of this and is working with the staff to improve children’s experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff advocate for children to attend education that meets their needs. All the children attend education on either a part-time or full-time basis. Children are progressing with their education. They have personal education plans that identify their educational goals and how these should be met. Staff are proactive in supporting children to reach their full potential and overcome educational barriers. For example, one staff member who is skilled in maths has supported a child to prepare for his GCSE exam. Another child’s social skills and confidence have improved due to their increasing school attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of family time and family relationships for children. They actively mediate between children and their parents to promote positive relationships. Staff acknowledge the importance for children of building networks with their family in readiness for independent living. For example, staff supported two children to reconnect with their parents and develop their relationships. Children are now experiencing improved family time. This support is valued by parents and external professionals working with the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand how children’s health needs impact their overall development and progress. Children have bespoke health plans that detail their health and cultural needs and how staff can ensure these are promoted. Staff ensure that children are referred to Inspection report for children's home: 2706369 4 appropriate mental health services if required and encouraged to engage with this support. This helps children to explore and talk about important personal issues.

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

Children are safe at this home. Children have not gone missing from home and there have been no physical interventions. Children are supported by staff to understand how to keep safe. Staff implement behavioural boundaries with children and, on the whole, children understand what is expected of them in relation to their behaviour. Consequently, children are safer and settled and receiving the support they need to be safe and make progress.

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

Staff’s recording of children’s medication requires improvement. Children’s records need to show why children are administered medication and when they have not taken medication, especially where controlled medication is concerned.

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

There is a shortfall in the recording and reporting of significant events. The manager has not always ensured that incidents which could be deemed as important are reported to Ofsted and external professionals working with the children. This prevents Ofsted and other external agencies from being satisfied that the appropriate action is being taken to safeguard children.

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

Children know how to make a complaint and they understand their rights. When a child made a complaint, the manager acted swiftly to explore this with external agencies. Steps to safeguard children were taken until a full investigation could take place. Children understand that their complaints are taken seriously, and they are informed of outcomes.

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

Children have risk assessments that inform staff of identified risks and how to respond. The quality of risk assessments do not yet ensure consistency of approach in reporting significant incidents.

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

The home is led by an experienced and qualified manager. She is well supported by a deputy manager and together they are aspirational for children. They have a plan to improve the home because they recognise that some areas of care practice and the physical environment of the home require some improvement.

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

Staff are happy working at the home. When staff have personal worries or concerns relating or children, they can discuss these with managers. As a result, they feel valued and supported.

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

Staff supervision and team meetings take place regularly. These provide staff with the time and space for reflection and learning. Staff supervision is supported by an appropriate agenda that balances the needs of staff and children. However, discussions in individual supervisions are not yet reflective in relation to children’s progress or Inspection report for children's home: 2706369 5 changes for children and how this affects the current support they are receiving. The impact of staff training is not reflected on, which does not allow any further development opportunities for staff to be identified.

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

Not all staff have completed their required training. The manager’s oversight of staff training is made difficult because information relating to staff’s previous training is not available. The home cares for children who have very specific needs. Staff have not completed child-specific training to enable them to fully support children.

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

The manager is in the process of developing tools that support the oversight of the home, but these are not fully developed and embedded. Leaders and managers have not yet made certain that the manager’s oversight provides critical reflection and guidance so that significant incidents are not missed. Inspection report for children's home: 2706369 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 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 promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring staff undertake the correct training to meet children’s specific and identified needs, that staff training is reviewed to ensure staff have completed all required training and that quality assurance and oversight systems are employed by the manager to drive improvements. 27 September 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2706369 7 The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person reviewing the competency of staff when administering and recording children’s medication. 27 September 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to,

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

is instigated; or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager providing Ofsted with a serious incident notification following any incidents deemed significant. 30 August 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2706369 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children, in most cases be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2706369 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 42 Winchester Street, Nottingham NG5 4AJ

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Inspector

Netsai Muzuva, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2706369 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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