Children's Home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited in Somerset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire 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 is registered to care for three children who have emotional and social needs. At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children are currently living in this home, and they were both spoken to by the inspector. Two children have moved on to other homes since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made timely progress since they moved to live here. The children said that they liked living in this home and things are going well for them. They feel like they belong here, and they can very much trust the adults who care for them. They like their bedrooms and they have been able to personalise them, so they feel like their own space. One child told his teacher at school that he ‘feels really content living in this home’. . The children did not identify anything that they would wish to change about their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each child benefits from having a small stable and nurturing staff team, who have cared for them consistently. As a result of this, the children receive particularly good levels of care. They have positive routines and boundaries. This strong level of support reassures children that they are loved and cared about and it plays an important part in the progress that children make. This support helps children to develop a positive outlook on life, and they work hard to do their best.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

. Staff work hard to understand challenges children may face and how they can support them to progress. For one child. they are now attending school full time and can manage their own self-care well. They can speak to everyone in school and are showing interest in learning. They are much more able to keep themselves safe and are learning how to make friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are respectful and they value the children, their views and their identity. Through listening children, they have adapted the support that they provide to them. This has included asking the children for their views on family time, activities and school. Staff support children to express their views to others, and they advocate strongly for them when things are not right. Staff strongly supported one child to challenge the plans that were being made about their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to lead a healthy lifestyle. They encourage them to be involved in preparing healthy meals and to enjoy meals at the table with the adults. The children access activities in the community that are in line with their interests. One child enjoyed going to watch their favourite football team in the big city. Children have also enjoyed outings to theme parks and to go swimming. The home environment is clean and well maintained. It has a homely feel that enables children to feel relaxed and at ease.

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

When safeguarding concerns are identified they are reported promptly to other agencies. There is effective communication between staff and social workers, and this helps to Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 4 promote children’s safety. Staff talk to children openly about any worries for their safety and they respond sensitively to information that is shared with them. When children phone staff at times when they need urgent help, the adults attend immediately and support children to make positive choices. There has been a significant reduction in incidents for the children.

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

Before two children moved on to another home, there were some serious incidents when children had gone missing from home, and when one child came to the attention of the police due to behaviour. When children go missing, there are usually robust responses to this. However, on one occasion, the child phoned staff several times for support, but there was no signal on the staff phone. Staff did not call the child back in a timely way. The manager felt confident that staff would have attempted to contact the child immediately, but this was not reflected in records.

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

Restraints have been used on some occasions, and this was proportionate to the risk. There has been a noticeable reduction in the use of restraint. Staff work hard to build stronger relationships with children, and to better understand children’s needs. They use positive strategies to support children that include distraction and humour, and this helps them to de-escalate any situations that arise. Staff provide the children with an elevated level of support and commitment that helps to reduce any risks to them.

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

There is effective communication between staff, family members and professionals, who receive regular updates about children. When any incidents that may present a risk to a child’s welfare do occur, there is prompt communication with other agencies to ensure that they are informed and to resolve any issues that need to be addressed. There are regular meetings held with other professionals about children. This ensures that a team of professionals is appropriately managing any risks.

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

When concerns are raised about members of staff, children have been listened to carefully and their concerns are treated seriously. Any concerns are investigated thoroughly. Records that are written about children are clear and thorough. There are positive levels of management oversight in place to support staff to move forward with their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a consistent manager in post since this home opened. The manager knows the children very well and is regularly involved in their day-to-day care. She spoke positively about all the children and has high aspirations for their futures. When there are gaps in the rota, the manager will cover shifts to ensure that staff from outside of the home are not used. This helps children to receive consistent levels of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable group of staff in this home who have worked consistently with the children. There are some vacancies, but new staff have been recruited. Any gaps in the staffing rota are filled by existing members of staff, or by the managers. These decisions Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 5 have been key in supporting children to make timely progress and ensuring that children receive consistent levels of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoke positively about their manager, saying that they receive particularly good levels of support, supervision and training. Team meetings are held regularly, and they are well attended. Staff also receive regular opportunities for clinical supervision. This support helps staff to improve their knowledge and to develop their practice and skills. This also supports staff in providing elevated levels of care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been keen to develop the practice of staff through training and development. Members of staff are given areas of practice to specialise in. They then receive additional training to support them in developing this role. One member of staff completed specialist bereavement training and was then able to support a child who had experienced a significant loss. Staff are receiving more in-depth training in some areas to support them in meeting the specific needs of children in this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works in partnership with people who are important to the children. When there was an escalation in risk and behaviour for one child, the manager worked in partnership with the social worker and other agencies to make decisions about the child and what should happen next. Meetings were held more frequently, and this process enabled all the professionals to work together. This ensured that all the professionals were managing any escalation and management of risk. Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 6

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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: 2719373 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lumonics House, Valiant Office Suites, Valley Drive, Swift Valley Industrial Estate, Rugby CV21 1TQ

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Inspector

Sarah Sheffield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2719373 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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