Children's Home run by Motivations Activity Projects Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 1257202 1 Registered provider: Motivations Activity Projects Ltd

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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 owned by a private company. It can provide care for up to four children who have experienced childhood trauma. At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home. All children were spoken with during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

A suitably qualified and experienced registered manager is in post.

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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 outstanding

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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: 11 October 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: 1257202 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2023 Full Good 07/03/2023 Full Good 06/01/2022 Full Good 09/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1257202 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy. One child rated the home as ‘10 out of 10’ and said, ‘I have lived here two and a half years. It’s good, the best placement I’ve been in.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into the home are centred around the child. They can visit before they move in to find out what the home is like. This helps children to settle quickly. Two children who have moved out maintain regular contact. This ensures that they continue to feel loved and supported and shows them they have adults in their life who care about them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children respond well to the daily routines in the home, and they are making lots of progress from their starting points. This includes improved personal care and sleep routines. This has a positive impact on children’s well-being. With support from staff, one child has stopped smoking, which has improved their health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and staff share trusted and secure relationships. The stable staff team provides consistency for children and contributes to their sense of security. This is because they receive care from staff they know and trust.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise and promote the importance of education. Their support has helped one child to reframe their thoughts about education and overcome barriers to learning. As a result, the child is enjoying their college course, which they say is helping them to build life skills alongside lessons in maths and English.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are motivated. They encourage and share children’s individual interests. One child enjoys bike rides with staff. Another child enjoys horse riding and takes good care of their pet guinea pig. The third child enjoys arts and crafts, and their artwork is displayed around the home for everyone to enjoy. Supporting and sharing children’s interests increases the children’s sense of self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is tidy, warm and welcoming. Children are proud of the Halloween decorations they have displayed around the house. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, and staff are working hard to encourage children to keep their bedrooms tidy.

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

Children feel safe and can identify a trusted adult they can talk to about any concerns. Staff fully understand their responsibilities to keep children safe. The manager makes sure that the risks that children face are assessed, and that staff have the up-to-date guidance they need to provide safe care.

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

Children’s behaviour is managed well through a nurturing and therapeutic approach. Bullying is not tolerated, and staff use resources to educate children about being kind to Inspection report for children's home: 1257202 4 others. Good-quality direct work helps children to recognise how their behaviours impact on themselves and others. These positive experiences build trust and give children support and guidance to manage their feelings and emotions.

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

When a child’s online safety was compromised, the manager took prompt action to keep them safe. The child was sensitively supported to increase their understanding of the risks, which helps them to make good life choices.

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

When children go missing, staff follow the children’s safety plans and work in partnership with safeguarding authorities to bring children home safely. Children’s plans are updated to reduce the risk of harm.

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

Staff have warm and nurturing relationships with children, which helps to keep children safe. As a result, children are rarely restrained. Staff are skilled at de-escalating incidents effectively and responding quickly and appropriately. The manager thoroughly scrutinises all incidents to ensure that restraint practice is proportionate and necessary. Following incidents, children’s views about being held are captured and relationships are quickly repaired. After one incident, the manager wrote a thoughtful letter to the child, which provided reassurance and contributed to the child’s feeling of security when they were feeling vulnerable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children are extremely fond of the manager, who is dedicated to her work. One child described her as ‘the best thing about the home’. The manager talks about children with warmth and affection, and is very proud of their achievements. In addition, her oversight of children’s care is exemplary. As a result, she knows the children and their needs in intricate detail. Her knowledge supports their progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager maintains effective communication with other professionals to support positive outcomes for children. A social worker said, ‘The manager is very invested in the children. Communication is excellent. Children are at the centre of her practice.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Monitoring tools and review systems are extremely organised and effective. This helps the manager to fully understand the strengths of the home and areas for development and to continually learn. To further improve practice, some research is used in relation to exploitation, self-harm and relationships. This is in its infancy and the manager will have more time to develop this area of work when the newly recruited deputy manager starts work at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel supported and hold the manager’s leadership in high regard. There is a strong sense of togetherness, and the manager has led the team through a very difficult period following the death of a child in January 2024. The child continues to be sensitively remembered. Staff completed a bungee jump and donated the funds raised to a children’s charity in the child’s memory. A sky dive is planned to remember the child on what would have been their 18th birthday. Inspection report for children's home: 1257202 5 An inclusive culture is embedded. Children and staff participated in a ‘seven days of kindness’ challenge in which they carried out acts of kindness for themselves and for each other. This shows the ethos of the home is demonstrated in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The reflective learning culture underpins staff practice and the investment in staff training and development is a key strength of the home. Staff are encouraged to continually develop their knowledge and skills through supervision and training. They are also involved in analysing their own practice, to continually improve children’s experiences. This creative approach provides the opportunity for self-reflection and makes staff feel empowered and valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements or recommendations were made following this inspection.

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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: 1257202 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Motivations Activity Projects Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: St Matthews Business Centre, Duddeston Manor Road, Birmingham B7 4LZ

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Inspectors

Amy Richards, Social Care Inspector John Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1257202 7 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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