Children's home run by Semi-independent House Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1259551 1 Registered provider: Semi-independent House Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

A private organisation runs this home. It provides care for up to five children who have experienced trauma and have complex needs. There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection, and two children were spoken to.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since October 2024.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 13 February 2024

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1259551 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/02/2024 Full Good 06/12/2022 Full Good 25/05/2021 Full Good 06/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1259551 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were two children living at the home at the time of this inspection. One child has moved out of the home and no children have moved into the home since the last inspection. Two children spoke to the inspector.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in their education. When children have faced challenge or setbacks in education, the home proactively advocates for children. This means children access education with support tailored to their needs. Staff encouraged children to persevere with their education and support children to engage in developing age-appropriate independence skills.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are open and honest with children, which helps to build positive and trusting relationships. They have a good understanding of children’s needs. Staff work closely with external agencies to support children with health and well-being concerns.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive, warm and nurturing interactions were observed between the children and staff, with lots of laughter throughout the inspection. The children are very comfortable in the company of the staff team and have built good relationships with the staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their tastes and liking, and children also have a say in how the home is designed and decorated. Children enjoy the activities that are offered to them and speak positively about them. When asked what they like about the home, a child said, ‘The food and the staff; I wouldn’t change anything about the home.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in children’s meetings. However, records lack detail, which means further opportunities to explicitly capture children’s views, wishes and feelings are missed.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a designated smoking area on site that is in view of the children, which does not does not demonstrate that a good, healthy lifestyle is being role modelled to the children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Where safe and appropriate, the staff work hard to ensure that when children see their families, this time is meaningful. This means children can maintain links with those who are important to them.

p.3

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

Staff have undertaken the organisation’s mandatory safeguarding training. They are confident in their roles of reporting and escalating any child protection concerns, and they understand the whistle-blowing policy. Staff have a good understanding of the Inspection report for children’s home: 1259551 4 children and their risks; they are sensitive in how they approach and support children to identify and understand the risks posed to them.

p.3

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

Missing-from-care incidents are rare. When children go missing, staff are quick to respond. Partnership work with the police is effective, and staff actively ensure that the children return home as soon as possible. However, children are not always offered return home interviews. This means that opportunities are missed to understand why children go missing and to reduce these incidents. Furthermore, on some occasions, leaders and managers have not reviewed incidents and consequences to identify learning.

p.4

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

The children’s guide is child-friendly and gives children a sense of what it is like living at the home. The guide also contains details of who children can speak to if they are worried or if they need support outside of the home. Staff go through this with children when they first move in to ensure they understand the external agencies that are available to them.

p.4

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

Children say they feel safe living at the home, and children can identify several staff they would speak to if they have worries or concerns. There have been no physical interventions, complaints or allegations made against staff.

p.4

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

Feedback from professionals was positive about the care that is provided to children. A social worker said they were happy with how their child is safeguarded and that staff have a good understanding of risk management.

p.4

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

The safe recruitment systems for staff are comprehensive. This helps to prevent unsuitable adults from working with children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager deregistered with Ofsted in October 2024. The deputy manager has been appointed as the interim manager, and they were present during the inspection, supported by the head of care and area manager.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is enthusiastic, and she speaks with commitment and dedication about the children. She is ambitious for children and has a good understanding of their needs. She is child-centred and regularly spends quality time with the children. Children said that they would talk to the manager if they had any worries. Staff spoke positively about the care and support that are provided to children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from external professionals was positive. A professional said, ‘Communication is very good. They [staff] know what they are doing; they have been very supportive with a child’s transition into college.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers complete annual reviews of the premises. However, they do not consult with relevant agencies as part of their review process. This means Inspection report for children’s home: 1259551 5 opportunities are missed to identify risks to children in the local area and strategies to mitigate these risks.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager regularly consults with children, professionals and parents. However, they have not ensured they always have the children’s most up-to-date local authority plans.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff undertake a wide range of training, which includes therapeutic training. Staff benefit from regular one-to-one supervision and annual appraisals and say they feel listened to and supported by the manager.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from monthly reflective meetings. Team meetings encourage discussion and provide staff with safeguarding scenarios to develop their understanding of keeping children safe. Staff also benefit from consultations with the home’s therapeutic intervention trainer.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some staff hold a relevant qualification, and those who do not are working towards completing one. This ensures that staff have the knowledge and skills they need to care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1259551 6

p.5

Statutory requirement

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.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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)(h))

p.6

Requirement Due date

all incidents and consequences given to children are reviewed to evaluate the impact on children and where possible inform future practice;

p.6

Requirement Due date

when conducting the review of the premises, the registered person consults, and takes into account the views of, each relevant person. 29 November

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children benefit from a nurturing environment that is welcoming, supportive and which provides appropriate boundaries in relation to their behaviour. Staff should seek to meet children’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met. In particular, they should ensure that staff do not smoke on site or in view of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7) Inspection report for children’s home: 1259551 7  The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Information provided by such interviews

p.6

Recommendations

should be considered when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. In particular, the registered person should ensure that children are routinely offered return home interviews after missing-from-care incidents. The interview should be carried out within 72 hours of the child returning to the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that children are encouraged by staff to contribute to the home’s records in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. In particular, they should ensure that children’s participation in children’s meetings is clearly recorded and that they capture the views, wishes and feelings of the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.9)  The registered person should ensure that they ‘seek to involve’ the placing

p.7

Recommendations

authority that places a looked-after child in the home, which in practice means working primarily with their statutory social worker. In particular, they should ensure that there are no delays in obtaining updated care plans from the local authority after children’s care review meetings have taken place. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.5)

p.7

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: 1259551 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Semi-independent House Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 51 Ploverly, Peterborough PE4 6HZ

p.8

Inspector

Anver Rose, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1259551 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9