Children's Home run by SANQ Children Services in Dudley

Inspection report for children's home: 2750621 1 Registered provider: SANQ Children Services Limited

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager were registered with Ofsted in February 2024.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2750621 2

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home was registered, three children have moved in, and one child has moved out. Both children living at the home at the time of this inspection were spoken to by the inspector.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are beginning to make progress from their starting points. They enjoy positive relationships with staff, who provide them with consistent, nurturing care. Children respond to the boundaries and structures in place. This provides them with security and stability and has helped them to be increasingly settled.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand and monitor children’s health and emotional well-being. They encourage and support children to have a healthy lifestyle, including eating nutritious food and being physically active. Staff make sure that children get the advice, support, and treatment that they need to be healthy.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children do not attend mainstream education, they are supported to engage in home tuition provided by an external provider to help them explore educational opportunities for the future.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to see the people who are important in their lives. Family time is promoted in line with children’s plans. Children enjoy spending time with their peers, and staff help them to maintain positive friendships.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are consistently listened to, and their views are valued. Children’s meetings provide a space for them to choose their weekly activities and daily meals, and promote their right to be heard. Activities and hobbies that children enjoy including trips to theme parks and an inflatables park and going go-karting.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff create memory books for children, starting from the day they move into the home. They capture the child’s experiences in photos and messages written by staff. This provides children with positive memories that they can take with them into adulthood.

p.2

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

Children say that they feel safe in the home. They know that staff take time to listen to them and help them to understand their emotions. Children’s risk assessments are clear and outline the known concerns for children and the steps staff should take to reduce those risks. Staff implement this guidance, and this supports children to be safer.

p.2

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

Physical restraint with children is rarely needed. When restraint is used, it is necessary and proportionate. When staff apply consequences for the children’s behaviour, they speak to the child about the measure so that they can reflect and learn from the incident. Inspection report for children's home: 2750621 3 Bedrooms are fitted with door alarms that are used to monitor the children’s movements after bedtime. These are used routinely for children who are new to the home. This measure is not regularly reviewed to ensure that it is still proportionate to safeguard children. Consequently, children may be subjected to unnecessary surveillance. During the inspection, the manager reflected on the potential impact this may have for children and started to review this practice in the best interests of the children in the home.

p.2

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. The safer recruitment process means that those who are employed are assessed as suitable to work with children.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s confidence is growing as she continues to be assisted by the responsible individual to develop her abilities in leading and managing the staff. The needs of children remain central to the ethos of the home.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to clear plans and information about children. This helps them to deliver consistent care that meets children’s needs. The manager attends children’s review meetings with other agencies and contributes towards the wider planning for children.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home and feel supported by the manager. Staff understand the need to be flexible when planning for children’s care, and they support each other as a team to make children’s stays enjoyable.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers provide effective supervision to staff. These sessions are reflective and capture each child’s progress and staff’s development needs and well- being. All staff have completed relevant training to help them to support children who may display behaviours that challenge. This enables them to keep children safe.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular team meetings are well attended by the staff. They are reflective in nature and provide a platform to explore and review children’s progress. There is a strong focus on providing consistency in the care and support that children receive.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External monitoring is routinely completed each month. This provides children with access to an independent person who spends time with and children and staff, gathering their views, wishes and feelings. Their reports provide the manager with challenge and scrutiny to drive improvement. Inspection report for children's home: 2750621 4

p.3

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.

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that —

p.4

Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises —

p.4

Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

p.4

Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised. (Regulation 21 (c)(i)(ii)(iii)) 30 September 2024

p.4

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: 2750621 5

p.4

Children’s home details

Registered provider: SANQ Children Services Ltd

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Office 132, 12-22 Newhall Street, Birmingham B3 3AS

p.5

Inspector

Lisa Walsh, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2750621 6 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.

p.5

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.6

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.6

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.6