Children's Home run by Kinsman Residential Homes Limited in Herefordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2742846 1 Registered provider: Kinsman Residential Homes 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 home is privately owned and provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager were registered in February 2024. The manager is currently undertaking his level 5 diploma.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection of the home since its registration with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living at the home and were present during the 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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2742846 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Five children have moved into the home since it opened, and one child has moved out. Generally, children experience good introductions to their new home, the staff team and other children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress from their starting points. For example, children who previously isolated themselves prior to living at the home are building positive relationships with the people around them and feel comfortable spending time in communal areas. Children enjoy spending time with each other and sharing experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are healthy. They are registered with local health services and supported to attend medical appointments. The staff encourage the children to eat healthily, and implement nutrition plans when children need them. When children have disturbed sleep, hygiene plans support their welfare. A therapist works directly with children, where needed, and offers support and guidance to staff in respect of children’s care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s identity is promoted. Life-story work with children explores their heritage, culture and diversity. Children enjoy hair and skin care treatments and foods that meet their individual needs. Children are supported with their religious interests. For example, one child has enjoyed taking part in a faith related camping trip. To support the children’s understanding of diversity, a cultural box is delivered to the home monthly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with family and friends, and family members are welcomed to the home. Staff maintain positive relationships with children’s family members, and this extends to the families of children’s friends. One parent said that there is positive communication. This means that children see positive adult relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is promoted by staff. One child is currently attending school and thriving in their learning. When children are not in education, the staff support the children’s learning at home. There is a clear timetable and expectations in place. Additionally, children are provided with maths tuition. This means that children continue to learn while the arrangements for a school place are being confirmed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and generally well presented. The children enjoy the use of numerous communal rooms and extensive outdoor space. The children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms and make decisions about their home. Some further personalisation is needed for some rooms to ensure there is a homely feel throughout. Inspection report for children’s home: 2742846 3

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

Children’s care is individualised. Children’s in-house placement plans reflect their individual needs, risks and the areas where they need support to develop. Children participate in their care planning, which means they have a good understanding of their care and the progress they make.

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

Staff use a therapeutic parenting approach to support children’s changing behaviour. Consequently, there has only been one incident of physical intervention. This was appropriate and well recorded. Staff are quick to respond to, support and advocate for children to access specialist support when they need it, to reduce risk.

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

Children are supported to take age-appropriate risk. Staff help children to access mobile devices and the internet safely. Children receive one-to-one learning and access resources online to help educate them on keeping themselves safe. Children also have free time in the community with their friends and attend events, with appropriate safety planning in place.

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

There have been some episodes of children going missing from the home. Overall, staff respond well and make effective use of guidance. However, on one occasion, staff did not report a child missing within the expected timescales. The registered manager escalated concerns for one child who went missing from the home, but did not notify Ofsted about a significant missing episode.

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

Proportionate decisions are made to enhance children’s safety. For example, the home usually operates a no door alarm policy. However, following concerns at nighttime, a sensible decision has been made to apply a door alarm to one bedroom. This measure was agreed with the child and relevant professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is new to the role. He is supported effectively by the responsible individual as he gains confidence in his responsibilities and develops his managerial skills. He is extremely ambitious for the children and the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has positive relationships with staff and children. He operates an open-door policy and models the importance of love and nurture for the children. The approach is mirrored by staff, who share the same ethos and vision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the registered manager. One staff member said, ‘I’ve enjoyed all my jobs but in terms of relationships with the team and management, this is one of the best places I’ve ever worked.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable staff team. Staff enjoy a thorough induction and training. Staff have regular professional supervision. The registered manager is preparing for the first staff appraisals later in the year. Safe recruitment is in place and there is a clear policy about family members working together. Inspection report for children’s home: 2742846 4 Training is effective. Staff complete the organisation’s mandatory training and additional training to support children’s individual needs. This has included advanced safeguarding, internet safety and self-harm. This means that staff are equipped with the right level of learning to respond to children’s needs and any identified concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has made effective use of the online recording system and has written a programme to ensure that monitoring systems are effective. This means that he has good oversight of all aspects of the operation of the home and children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children and staff speak highly of the registered manager. External professionals are also positive about the team and the approach. A social worker said, ‘I have found David and the team to be communicative with myself and they have raised issues and concerns with me immediately. They have advocated for the young people in their care with other professionals and made the young people feel listened to and have a voice.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2742846 5

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene, etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (regulation 36 (schedule 3(14)). This information should be shared with the placing authority and, where appropriate, with the child’s parents. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care (see paragraph 15.2). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31)

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Recommendations

 Regulation 40(4) requires the registered person to notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious (40(4)(e)). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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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: 2742846 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kinsman Residential Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Manchester House, Grosvenor Hill, Cardigan SA43 1HY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jonathan Williams

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Inspectors

Stacie Sharpe, Social Care Inspector Siân Heffey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2742846 7 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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