Children's Home run by AVB Enterprises Ltd in Leicester

Inspection report for children’s home: 2777336 1 Registered provider: AVB Enterprises Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and is registered to provide care for up to three children who may require support with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager’s post has been vacant since September 2024. There is an acting home manager appointed. The acting manager alongside the responsible individual and deputy manager were present and supported the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

One child, who was missing at the time of the inspection, currently lives in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2777336 2

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improvement to be good

This is the home’s first inspection since registration in June 2024. The manager resigned and left the home with immediate effect in September 2024. A new acting manager and deputy manager have been appointed. Two children have moved in since the home opened and one child has moved out. One child remains living in the home but was missing from care at the time of the inspection.

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improvement to be good

The first child admitted to the home only stayed for six weeks before they moved out in an unplanned way. Due to the short time the child lived in the home, there were limited opportunities to establish care plans or to get the right services in place to meet the child’s needs. However, during their time in the home, the child was supported to build positive relationships with staff.

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improvement to be good

Opportunities for children to voice their opinions, wishes and feelings are inconsistent. Staff do not record all conversations and support provided to children in a detailed manner. Furthermore, the acting manager does not yet provide consistent oversight of the recordings. As a result, key-work sessions and children’s records do not fully reflect the work being carried out.

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improvement to be good

As the current child has recently moved to the home, they are not yet in education. The acting manager has developed professional networks to support this transition into education. The acting manager has also ensured that the child was registered with local health services following their move to the home. However, while the child has been missing, they have not attended all required health appointments. Staff continue to liaise with the professional network and encourage the child to attend appointments to ensure that their health needs are met.

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improvement to be good

The child does not have a care plan in place. This limits the staff’s understanding of what support the child may need and what agreed plans are in place. While managers attribute this failing to the placing authority, they have failed to take more proactive steps to address this issue.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the risks posed to the child. Of significance for this child, is the risk of going missing from care and being exploited. The child receives specialist support from a local authority exploitation worker. As a result, the duration of missing-from-care incidents has decreased and such events have been well managed. Staff actively look for the child when they go missing and work well within a multi-agency team, reporting all missing incidents to relevant agencies. The child regularly stays in touch with the home when they are missing, which is positive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2777336 3 Risk assessments are regularly reviewed. These are updated to ensure they remain current. Staff identify going missing and being exploited as the biggest risks for the child currently living in the home. They know how to respond to such risks. As the child is new to the home, the risk assessments are not yet fully embedded and are updated as staff

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improvement to be good

Bedroom searches are routinely undertaken. These are not recorded in sufficient detail and there is no management evaluation, outcome recorded, or next steps referenced. It is not always clear how emerging risks are being managed and shared with the professional network, when items of concern are found.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding incidents are not always responded to appropriately. One child was placed at risk of harm during an incident whereby staff did not follow the home’s safeguarding procedures. Furthermore, concerns about the safety of the child during this incident were not shared with relevant safeguarding professionals in a timely manner. This could have placed the child at further risk of harm.

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

The resignation of the registered manager resulted in staff experiencing instability in the leadership and management of the home. At the time of this inspection, the acting manager had been in post for two weeks and the deputy manager for one week. Managers are proactive and working with the responsible individual to address shortfalls in the safeguarding of children, and they are taking action to rectify these areas.

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

The acting manager is working hard to establish clear expectations for staff. He is ambitious for the development of the home and has identified several key areas for improvement. This includes the strengthening of staff recording and management evaluation. This is not yet embedded and therefore does not yet provide staff with opportunities to reflect and develop their care practice. This limits the impact of reflection or learning outcomes for staff.

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

Some information in the home is not easily accessible or available. Both paper and online systems are used while the acting manager implements additional staff training for the newly implemented online system. This prevents consistent oversight and scrutiny. However, the acting manager is working with the system development team to ensure that this is fit for purpose and that staff are fully trained and confident in their use of the online system.

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

The acting manager has identified that staff have not always received regular one-to-one supervision discussions in line with the home’s policy. He has prioritised this area and has completed introductory discussions with the staff. The acting manager plans to complete all future supervision sessions with the support of the management team. Team meetings are held regularly and staff report finding these beneficial. Inspection report for children’s home: 2777336 4 The acting manager has developed strong links with the local authority and key external agencies. This contributes to a network of support for the child. The acting manager or deputy manager attends and contributes to safeguarding meetings in respect of the child to ensure collaborative working to keep the child safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2777336 5

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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, 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account the information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to leaders and managers ensuring that staff implement the home’s safeguarding policies and procedures during incidents. 4 December 2024

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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 their full potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 4 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2777336 6 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to the manager and leaders having oversight and monitoring systems in place for all aspects of the child’s care and recordings.

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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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to leaders and managers making appropriate notifications to professionals following serious incidents. 4 December 2024

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Recommendations

 It is crucial that the home works in close partnership with all those who play a role in protecting and caring for the child, but particularly with the child’s local authority and statutory social worker. The registered person and staff at the home cannot force a relevant person to engage or work productively with them and regulation does not require this. The registered person should evidence what they have done to achieve engagement, including any actions taken to escalate concerns. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3)

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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: 2777336 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: AVB Enterprises Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5 University Road, Leicester, Leicestershire LE1 7RA

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Inspector

Caroline Coop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2777336 8 regulates and inspects to 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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