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

Inspection report for children's home: 1256135 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private company that is owned and operated by a national charity. It provides care for up to three children with complex needs who have experienced trauma and loss.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2022.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1256135 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/04/2023 Full Good 17/08/2022 Full Good 02/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 17/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 1256135 3

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improvement to be good

At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home. Both children were spoken to. One child said that they felt safe and enjoyed living at the home. The other child said that they liked staff who worked at the home but that their relationships were still forming. Staff support children with their interests, which include producing artwork and gardening.

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improvement to be good

One child has moved out of the home since the last inspection. This was in line with their care plan, and they experienced a well-planned move out of the home.

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improvement to be good

Experiences for children living in the home are mixed and care is not individualised. One child is settled in the home and is making progress when considering their starting point. However, one child has poor eating and sleeping routines. This impacts on their ability to engage in activities and does not encourage engagement in education. As a result, their progress has been slow, and the registered manager and staff have not yet identified a plan to support the child to address these concerns.

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improvement to be good

Children are registered with schools that meet their individual needs. One child who is finding it difficult to attend is encouraged by staff and their attendance has improved. However, the other child is not yet attending school consistently and the registered manager and staff have not yet identified how they will support them to attend.

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improvement to be good

The children living at the home are not supported to have a good relationship with each other. A serious incident occurred where the children made threats to harm one another. This incident required police assistance. Staff have not supported the children to understand their behaviours. As a result, the children have not developed the skills to resolve conflicts and to build positive relationships. This impacts on the quality of their daily lived experience in the home.

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improvement to be good

There has been a high number of incidents of one child going missing from the home. Since living in the home, the number of times the child has gone missing has increased. Staff have lacked professional curiosity, and it is not always known where the child is or who they are with. The frequency of the child’s missing incidents and the lack of understanding where the child goes is a serious concern that the provider has failed to notify the regulator about. Not sharing this information hinders external scrutiny of safeguarding practice within the home. Inspection report for children's home: 1256135 4 Some staff lack confidence when identifying ways to respond to risk and they do not always explore risks for children fully. This means that one child’s risks have increased in their time living at the home.

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improvement to be good

Children are not supported to lead healthy lifestyles. One child smokes cigarettes and uses electronic vapes, and there is no plan to help them reduce their use. Furthermore, children’s plans do not reflect their needs, so that they can be supported to understand the implications and risks to their health.

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improvement to be good

Staff offer support to children to educate them on risks and to improve their safety. The quality of this support requires improvement because it is not yet effective in promoting their welfare. Children continue to lack understanding about their risks.

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improvement to be good

When staff use physical intervention to manage children’s behaviour, this is always as a last resort. Children are helped to understand why the physical intervention took place and are offered reassurance following the incident. Children’s positive behaviour is consistently promoted, and their achievements and progress are celebrated. Children rarely receive consequences.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to make a complaint, and investigations into complaints are always conducted by the manager. Children receive regular updates about their complaint and always receive an outcome. This practice supports children to feel valued and listened to.

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

There is a registered manager in post who has relevant qualifications and experience. They spoke warmly about the children and have developed trusting relationships with them.

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

The home has been through a challenging time since the last inspection, as there has been a high turnover of staff. This has been compounded by the complex needs of one child and staff’s lack of confidence in delivering day-to-day care which meets the child’s needs. The registered manager acknowledges the shortfalls identified at this inspection and says they are committed to making improvements.

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

When there are concerns about staff practice, the registered manager carries out investigations promptly to explore the concerns and appropriate action is taken to safeguard children.

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

Staff receive regular practice-related supervision which offers them an opportunity to discuss children’s progress and their own professional development. The registered manager also uses supervision to discuss low-level practice concerns, to improve the quality of care staff offer to children.

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

Staff take mandatory training courses such as in first aid, safeguarding and physical restraint. However, not all staff have been trained in areas specific to children’s Inspection report for children's home: 1256135 5 individual needs. This does not support staff’s understanding of the children who are living at the home.

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

The manager’s monitoring and review systems are not effective and have not identified shortfalls identified at this inspection. This reduces the registered manager’s oversight. There have been missed opportunities to address shortfalls and make improvements to the care that children receive. Inspection report for children's home: 1256135 6

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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 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—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account 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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff receive training relevant to children’s needs, for example, around children going missing from home and child sexual exploitation. The registered person must also ensure that waking night staff and agency staff are suitably skilled. 8 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met; 8 December 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 1256135 7 children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when children smoke and use vapes, they are helped to understand the implications for their health, and reduction plans need to be implemented to support them to reduce their use.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual 8 December 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 1256135 8 and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11(1)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, when children who live together in the home experience conflict in their relationship, the registered person must ensure that they are supported to resolve conflicts and develop sufficient understanding and skills to form positive relationships.

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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 fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that the staff team has the skills and knowledge to be able to care for the children who live at the home. When children are not making sufficient progress in line with their plans, there must be appropriate management oversight to identify and act on shortfalls. 8 December 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 1256135 9 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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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)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must report all serious incidents or concerns to the regulator without delay. 8 December 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. ('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: 1256135 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 3h, Valiant Office Suites, Valley Drive, Swift Valley Industrial Estate, Rugby CV21 1TQ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Cherelle Robinson

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Inspector

Charlotte Love, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1256135 11 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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