Children's Home run by Anchor Care and Education Ltd in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2637127 1 Registered provider: Anchor Care and Education Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is qualified and registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this 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: 2637127 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/08/2023 Full Good 10/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/07/2022 Full Inadequate 15/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2637127 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children living in the home were spoken to during the inspection and their views were considered by the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and settled. The manager has recently made some positive improvements to the environment, including new furniture and decoration, which provides a more homely environment. Children are encouraged and supported to contribute their ideas regarding the home’s decor and furnishings and how they would like areas in the home to be used. For example, following consultation with the children, there are plans for a games and cinema room. This supports children to invest in and be proud of their home. Children said they like their bedrooms and are helped to personalise them according to their individual preferences. There is a large garden with plans to develop this further in line with children’s wishes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff understand children’s experiences, care and support needs. They use this information to get to know the children and establish good relationships. As a result, staff understand the children’s likes, dislikes, hobbies and interests. The interactions between staff and children are warm and affectionate. Children said they like staff and identified those who they can talk to and confide in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good arrangements are in place to support children’s emotional and psychological well- being. Managers and staff have regular access to a psychotherapist to develop their understanding of the children’s needs and identify strategies to support children’s emotional well-being and mental health needs. Children are also supported to access external specialist services where needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The group of staff is diverse. They provide good opportunities for children to understand, explore and celebrate their ethnicity, culture and identity. Children are in good physical health and staff support them to engage with routine health appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaging with education. The manager is a strong advocate in ensuring that children receive the support they need to achieve and make progress. For example, one older child has ambitions to be a vehicle mechanic. This is being supported through extra tuition in mathematics and English to help them to attain the required qualifications. Another child, who recently moved to the home, is enrolled at a local school. The planning for how children’s educational needs are to be met is carried out in collaboration with partner agencies, the placing local authority and local safeguarding partners to ensure that the school can meet their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Arrangements are in place to help children maintain their relationships with their family. Managers and staff provide practical support by taking children to see their families and inviting siblings to visit and stay over. Additionally, the staff support children to build and develop peer friendships while engaging in enjoyable activities. Inspection report for children’s home: 2637127 4

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

Children’s needs, vulnerabilities and risks are well known and understood by managers and staff. This knowledge is used to ensure that children’s risk assessments and support plans are fully up to date and accurate. Children’s plans are further supported by the organisation’s own pathway documents, which are used to good effect to identify children’s starting points, strengths, areas for development and any barriers they may face. Consequently, children have clear plans that they are supported to understand and contribute to.

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

Managers and staff use a variety of methods to encourage and support children to express their views, wishes and feelings. Children’s requests are listened to and actioned quickly where possible. For example, one older child’s request for an item for their bedroom was quickly responded to by staff.

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

The manager has developed good relationships with key external partner agencies, such as safeguarding agencies and more-specialist services. External professionals say that there are good working relationships and effective communication with the manager and staff. One professional commented that they are impressed with the care and support a child has received in the short time they have been living in the home.

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

Children are supported to manage their behaviour through staff using positive rewards to promote good behaviour. Staff use their knowledge of children to intervene quickly to support them when they are unable to manage strong emotions. They use distraction and de-escalation to support children and avert having to hold them. Children are helped to understand the impact of their behaviours on their peers and supported to develop positive relationships through shared activities and interests.

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

The manager maintains good oversight of any concerning incidents. The staff are trained and understand their responsibilities to safeguard children. The manager has good monitoring and review systems in place to identify patterns in children’s behaviour. She advocated for a change to the frequency of one child’s family time. As a result, the level of missing-from-home incidents and absences from the home for one child has decreased.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is very committed to helping children to make progress, staff, and the overall development of the home. She is an ambitious and strong advocate in ensuring that children receive the care and support they need to meet their needs. The manager is confident in challenging partner agencies when she feels that children are not receiving the support they require.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with good, regular and individual supervision. Team meetings take place regularly. These forums provide staff with opportunities for support, guidance and training. The staff receive help with their emotional well-being through the support of Inspection report for children’s home: 2637127 5 the manager and access to a psychotherapist. Staff say they feel valued and supported in their role and enjoy working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is proactive and acts promptly when responding to any shortfalls in staff practice and performance. For example, swift action was taken following an error being identified with the administration of medication to a child. The manager ensured that this was addressed with all staff and implemented a more robust system following a lessons learned exercise and review.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are good systems in place to ensure the safe recruitment of staff coming to work at the home. Their continued suitability is regularly reviewed, as are any personal relationships between staff. Action is taken to ensure that staff in personal relationships do not work directly with each other, and risk assessments are carried out.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good support network and is supported by an equally committed responsible individual. They work together to ensure that children are well cared for, protected and provided with opportunities to develop and make progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2637127 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that medicines are administered in line with a medically approved protocol. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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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: 2637127 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Anchor Care and Education Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Saxon House, Moseleys Farm Business Centre, Fornham All Saints, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP28 6JY

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Inspector

Angela Duffus-Palmer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2637127 8 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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