Children's Home run by SureCare Residential Ltd in Hertfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2711401 1 Registered provider: SureCare Residential 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

This home provides care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, four children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2023. She has recently achieved a relevant level 5 qualification.

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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: 27 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: 2711401 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/11/2023 Full good Inspection report for children’s home: 2711401 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All four children were spoken with during the inspection. The manager was present during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy strong relationships with the adults who care for them. They trust staff to keep them safe when they feel upset and overwhelmed. Children’s family members and professionals all agree that their children are safer since living at the home. The manager has good oversight of the home, and staff say that they feel well supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff are proud of the home. They work hard to make it welcoming and cosy for the children. The children have spaces where they can choose to spend time alone if they want to. They can also sit with staff and watch their favourite television shows. Children’s pictures are displayed on the walls on entering the house and up the stairway.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are in education. One child had not felt safe enough to attend school for two years before moving into the home. The manager advocated for the child to receive a bespoke education package. Another child’s local authority wanted to place the child in a pupil referral unit. The manager tenaciously advocated for the child to attend a mainstream provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are consistently and sensitively met by staff. Staff support children to have open and frank discussions about intimate aspects of their lives, such as their sexual health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend meaningful time with family and friends. Staff understand the need to build and keep children’s relationships with their families. One child’s social worker praised staff’s ‘diligence in building relationships’ with the child’s parents. The social worker noted how this has enabled the child to spend safe time with both parents and more recently progress to unsupervised time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves in and out of the home have been well planned. Children are supported to stay in contact with staff. One child, who has moved out of the home, said, ‘Staff will always be my family. I love them and always will. They changed my life. I have so much to thank them for. They just loved me.’

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

Staff confidently understand children’s vulnerabilities. Staff talk to children so that children know what worries staff have for them and to help children to become safer. Strategies to help keep children safe are clearly set out in children’s individual risk Inspection report for children’s home: 2711401 4 assessments. The risk assessments are reviewed frequently. As a result, children can talk about how to keep themselves safe.

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

Staff know the children well. This enables them to support the children effectively and help them to calm when children’s feelings become overwhelming. Due to these positive relationships, staff have not had to hold children to keep them safe.

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

The registered manager and staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities and ensure that they work together with other professionals. Incidents are managed well, and all necessary actions are taken to ensure that children are safeguarded effectively.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. When they do, staff are proactive and curious. They search for the child and work with the police and social workers. Children are welcomed home warmly. Staff complete return home interviews.

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

The manager balances the safety of the children alongside encouraging staff to allow the children to take measured risks. This enables children to build their independence and to try new things at a pace that is right for them.

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

Children’s social workers and parents agree that children are safe. One child’s social worker said that his child is happy and feels safe. He said, ‘I rarely meet a child who is so settled and relaxed in residential care.’ Another child’s parent said that their child is ‘super safe’, and this has helped them to come to terms with some of the distress that they had felt when their child moved into residential care.

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

Staff talk about the children with warmth and genuine care. This is generally reflected in their write up of key-work sessions and children’s meetings. However, there was a small number of written records where the language used did not reflect the therapeutic ethos of the home. This fails to accurately reflect the warmth of relationships that staff were observed to have with the children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a tenacious and unapologetic advocate for the children she cares for. She is aspirational in her expectations of her staff team and leads staff in a collaborative manner. Staff say that the manager ‘cares about everyone’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they enjoy their work. They speak of the manager as ‘always having time for us’. One member of staff spoke about the support the manager had offered them in their personal life. They said that she is ‘amazing and goes above and beyond’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular and effective supervision that is further enhanced by regular team meetings and reflective space in therapeutic consultations. This helps staff to feel fully supported in their roles and with their continual professional development. Furthermore, new staff are motivated throughout the induction and probation Inspection report for children’s home: 2711401 5 process. This gives staff a sense of being appreciated and valued. Consequently, staff morale appears high.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with a balance of online and face-to-face training. They are trained to understand and respond to the needs of the children. Learning from this training is embedded in practice. Staff are given opportunities to develop their skills further.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and her staff have good working relationships with other professionals. This means that the children have a wide network of relationships with adults. This keeps them safe and increases their relational resilience. One child’s social worker said, ‘The home’s care of the children is superb. It’s one of the best homes that I’ve come across.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met the one requirement from the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2711401 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that records relating to children are written in child-friendly language and that the language used to describe children is appropriate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2711401 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SureCare Residential Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Old Snap Factory, Twyford Road, Bishop’s Stortford CM23 3LJ

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Inspector

Majella Russell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2711401 8 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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