Children's home run by Nurturing Haven Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2749948 1 Registered provider: Nurturing Haven 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 privately run home was registered with Ofsted in November 2023 to care for two children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager joined the home in July 2024 and has applied to Ofsted to be registered.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2749948 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is the home’s first inspection since it opened in November 2023. Since then, three children have moved into the home and one child has moved out. At the time of the inspection there were two children living in the home and both children shared their views as part of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before children move to the home, managers gather extensive information about their needs and consider whether they can meet them. On one occasion, despite the efforts made to gather accurate background information, a child was admitted to the home, but the staff were unable to meet their needs. The manager advocated for the child and did their best to facilitate a positive transition from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff. Staff have a good understanding of children’s individual needs and personalities, which helps them to provide sensitive care. When siblings are living in the home they are recognised as individuals who need different support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s education, but their progress has been mixed. One child had excellent school attendance whereas other children have not been engaged in regular school since moving to the home. The manager is very proactive in trying to secure school places for the children and provides effective challenge to other professionals when this does not happen. Children are supported through a range of activities and informal learning while they are not attending school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. One child has learned to cook and now enjoys cooking meals for everyone at the home. Another child had rarely left their bedroom before living at the home but has now enjoyed visiting the shops and a day trip to London, which is an excellent achievement for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are very good at supporting children’s independence. One child was supported to plan a day trip, including planning train journeys, activities and managing a budget. Another child learned to manage their personal care more independently. Children are praised for their achievements, and this helps them to build their confidence.

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

Risk management is effective. Staff have a good understanding of the risks and vulnerabilities of each individual child and there are clear plans to guide their practice. Safety measures are in place to ensure children are safe online and children are helped to understand the risks. Room searches are carried out only when necessary and have helped to find items that may have posed a risk to a child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2749948 3 Behaviour is managed well. Children are supported through a range of incentives and rewards, and consequences are rare. Children enjoy earning extra money which they save to buy more expensive items. For example, one child is currently saving for a new phone and another bought a new keyboard.

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

When behaviour escalates, physical interventions are carried out appropriately by trained staff and are only used as a last resort. Although records clearly show the reason for the intervention and how it was carried out, debriefs focus on the wider incident rather than reflection with staff and children about the physical intervention specifically. This is a missed opportunity to learn from practice or check how the child felt about the measures that were used.

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

Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding. They know what action to take if they have concerns. However, on one occasion when a child made an allegation, the manager did not report this to all relevant professionals in line with their own child protection poli- cies or statutory guidance.

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

Managers undertake checks on staff before they begin working in the home. However, a significant gap in one member of staff’s employment history had not been recognised or explored. As a result, managers could not be sure that the individual was a suitable person to work in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the home opened, there have been two managers. The current manager has experience of working with children with learning disabilities and staff respect her knowledge and support. One staff member said that the new manager has brought lots of experience and new ideas to the home and is making positive changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the children’s needs and their care plans. She is sensitive about children’s early life experiences and how they have impacted them. She is passionate about children having a voice and has helped to build the children’s confidence to speak out. For example, children have been supported to speak directly to their solicitors and to the judge. One child has also written to their social worker to give their views. This helps to children to feel involved in decisions about their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has sufficient staff to meet the children’s needs. Agency staff are used proportionately and only when absolutely necessary. For example, when it became apparent that a child that a child required additional staffing, the manager arranged agency staff to provide extra support during the night so that the child was supported by familiar staff during waking hours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback about the home was positive. One social worker said that she ‘couldn’t be more confident about the children’s care.’ They said that staff are always in attendance in meetings and that the manager is a very good advocate for the children and will Inspection report for children’s home: 2749948 4 challenge other professionals when needed. This good multi-agency working helps to ensure that everyone is working together to meet the needs of the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2749948 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, 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.

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

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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)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that all gaps in an applicant’s employment history are fully explored. 6 November 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any allegation of harm or abuse is addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. The relevant officer or teams within the local authority should be informed promptly of all allegations that come to an employer’s attention or that are made directly to the police. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraphs 9.17 and 9.18)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained is given the opportunity express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. Children should be Inspection report for children’s home: 2749948 6 encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)

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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: 2749948 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nurturing Haven Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: West Midlands House, Gipsy Lane, Willenhall WV13 2HA

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Inspector

Vicky Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2749948 8 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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Inspector

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