Children's home run by Momentum Residential Care Home Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2714006 1 Registered provider: Momentum Residential Care Home Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in December 2022 and is privately owned. It provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties and/or have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The interim manager has been in post since October 2023 and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two 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 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: 7 November 2023

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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: 2714006 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/11/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2714006 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at this home enjoy good stability in the care arrangements provided. For example, both children have lived at the home for over a year. The routine and structure provided support children to feel secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff working at the home know the children very well and have formed positive relationships, which has improved children’s trust in them. Children have clear routines and boundaries. They are aware of their schedules, which is helping them to feel more secure. Children have strong relationships with staff and experience consistency in their day-to-day experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress. Although this is sometimes small steps, it is significant considering their starting points. Staff and children said that there has been progress in areas such as better school attendance. One child said that they have reduced swearing as ‘it will get you nowhere in life’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are strong advocates for children and encourage them to get involved in a wide range of activities. Children are encouraged to pursue their interests and are asked for their opinions on what activities they would like to do. This has helped them to build positive relationships with staff. Children are also helped to learn life skills, such as budgeting, shopping, cleaning and cooking. The staff’s support helps transition the children towards independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

House meetings take place consistently, and children are encouraged to attend and are praised when they do so. Children provide updates and feedback, making these meetings a space to have discussions about issues. The children’s contributions and suggestions in these discussions make their home better. Attendance and participation from children are evident in the ongoing running of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with local authorities to keep children in contact with their families where this is appropriate. For example, they transport children to spend time with their family and support them while they are there. This ensures that children can spend time with people who are important to them.

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

Children’s assessment of risk begins before their admission to the home, through carefully planned transitions. The manager meets with children before they move in, and children are offered visits to meet staff and children who already live at the home. Risk assessments and careful introductions help everyone to understand what additional support is needed to ensure a smooth transition. Inspection report for children’s home: 2714006 4 Risk assessments and individual behaviour support plans are a strength. They are clear and easy to understand, giving staff strategies to manage and support children when needed. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are up to date and to consider any new or emerging risks. This helps staff to keep children safe.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. Staff are well prepared should a child go missing from the home, and they work well with partner agencies to ensure that relevant information about vulnerabilities and risks is shared. Each child has a missing-from-care protocol that includes clear guidance and helpful information to share if needed.

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

Staff work well together to manage behaviour consistently, focusing on positive reward systems. Staff have established nurturing relationships with children. Therefore, staff are confident to challenge some of the life choices children make, such as around healthy eating choices.

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

Managers and staff record incidents happening at the home and manage behaviour well. Some of these incidents meet the threshold for notification to the regulator and have not been notified. Although there is no direct impact on children, without these notifications, the regulator is not able to monitor or oversee trends and patterns at the home and advise on children’s safety and safeguarding processes if needed.

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

The use of physical restraint techniques in the home is rare. However, when restraints are used, records do not include all the detail required by regulation. For example, a description of the measure and its duration are not always recorded. The organisation of these records does not make them accessible enough to assist managers in obtaining the full picture surrounding the incidents. This was seen across several areas of records, limiting managers’ ability to understand patterns in behaviours and respond to incidents.

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

Most safer recruitment checks are carried out, including overseas checks and the right to work in the country. However, some safer recruitment checks are missing, including an explanation for gaps in employment and two forms of proof of address for employees. Leaders and managers have started to address shortfalls in recruitment checks since the last full inspection, but this is still not robust enough.

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

All members of staff have received safeguarding training, and child protection incidents are being appropriately reported to the correct authorities for investigation. This gives confidence that managers and staff are aware of processes to keep children as safe as possible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and leaders have high ambition and expectations for the children they care for. They invest in creating positive relationships with them to improve outcomes. They are facilitating opportunities for children to enjoy and achieve. Workers are diligent and persistent in engaging children to purse interests and think about their futures. Inspection report for children’s home: 2714006 5 The interim manager has an application in progress and is awaiting a fit person interview. The new manager has put new systems in place to improve practice. Systems and records are more organised, and training and reflective sessions for staff are in place. The interim manager is diligent about supervision, which now takes place consistently. This enables the staff to work well as a team, and there are some delegated responsibilities to deputy managers and senior staff members.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel supported by the manager and are feeling the benefits of stronger organisation and positive practice. Team meeting records show there is more of an emphasis on training, reflection and learning from incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders know the children in the home well. Managers are an integral part of the children’s lives. They spend time with children, listen to them and respond. Leaders and managers understand children’s previous trauma and experiences. They work with staff to create an environment that supports the children’s progression. Children can make direct contact with leaders if they are not happy or do not feel listened to, which adds an additional layer of protection for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders are more aware of the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. Regular whole-organisation management meetings give a clear oversight of what is happening at the home and any areas of practice that need to change or improve. Monitoring systems, processes for feedback, supervision, and management oversight on files have all improved significantly. This ensures better scrutiny of the children’s care and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Positive feedback from agency partners shows strong evidence of partnership working to meet children’s needs. One independent reviewing officer described the home’s corporate parenting as ‘outstanding’. Leaders and managers are strong advocates, securing the services children need to promote positive outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders understand children’s diverse and unique needs. These needs are reflected well in children’s care plans and their views are well captured, which makes planning a collaborative process. Children’s feelings are consistently shared, and staff record responses and actions required. These are then followed up in key-work sessions. Children said that they feel able and confident to approach staff and express concerns about different matters in the home. Staff are receptive and explore actions to resolve children’s issues. Inspection report for children’s home: 2714006 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders must ensure that proof of address and explanation of employment gaps are obtained for all staff. 30 November 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 30 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2714006 7 within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration; (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that all details of the restraint are recorded and that records of the incident that led to the restraint, the record of the restraint and any body maps are kept together.

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Requirement Due date

If a child dies, the registered person must without delay notify—

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Requirement Due date

HMCI; 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, sexual exploitation;

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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

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 (1)(a) (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 30 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2714006 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: 2714006 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Momentum Residential Care Home Limited

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Inspectors

Christine Kennet, Social Care Inspector Rachel McIntyre, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2714006 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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