Children's home run by Excel Residential Care Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2727237 1 Registered provider: Excel Residential Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a small private company. It was registered in May 2023 and provides care for one child who has been affected by adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2023 and is suitably qualified.

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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

Date of last inspection: 16 January 2024

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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: 2727237 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/01/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2727237 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home, who was present and spoken to. Since the previous inspection, one child has moved in and one child has left the home. This inspection focused on the progress and experiences of both children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to make progress and have positive experiences in this home. They develop positive relationships and provide consistency and stability for children. One child lived in the home for 18 months and made good progress in the important areas of their life. The child currently living in the home said that ‘staff are fabulous’ and that they rated their experience of living in the home as ‘100 out of 10’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s transitions in and out of the home are managed sensitively and effectively. This is because the registered manager assesses their needs, maintains good communication with parents and professionals and involves children in the process. As a result, children feel reassured at important times in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff meet children’s health needs well. They ensure that children attend health appointments and receive support which is specific to their individual needs. Medication is stored and administered safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make a complaint and raise concerns in the home. When complaints have been made, the registered manager has responded both efficiently and effectively to resolve the issues. Consequently, children feel valued and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote the importance of equality and diversity very well. They complete good quality key-work sessions with children to educate them. One child has made good progress in relation to their understanding of discrimination, and they have learned to respect other people’s cultures and identities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to engage with their education and to overcome any barriers to their learning. Staff and the registered manager work closely with education professionals to keep children motivated. As a result, children make progress from their starting points and are provided with opportunities to learn.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to create a homely environment for children. The bedroom of the child now living in the home was nicely decorated, and they spoke positively about being involved in personalising it. In contrast, some areas of the home need redecorating and refurbishing.

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

Staff and leaders have a good understanding of safeguarding thresholds and processes. They understand their responsibilities and the action they need to take to keep children Inspection report for children's home: 2727237 4 safe. In addition, the registered manager uses team meetings to upskill staff and refresh their knowledge. These systems help to reassure children that staff care about their welfare.

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

The child living in the home said that they feel safe. Staff work therapeutically and restoratively with children to de-escalate serious incidents. As a result, significant incidents with children have reduced and they have become safer. Negative consequences used with children are rare. However, staff do not consistently record the effectiveness of the consequences that they do use with children.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. During incidents with one child, staff followed the child’s plans and worked effectively with the relevant professionals to return the child to the home. However, staff do not always accurately record the safeguarding action they have taken in children’s incident records.

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

Systems in place to safeguard children at risk of exploitation are good. Staff and the registered manager attend regular multi-agency meetings and share information with the relevant professionals. They ensure that all actions and safeguarding strategies recommended are used to reduce children’s risks.

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

Staff implement effective systems to ensure that children can access the internet safely and appropriately. When required, staff carry out checks of children’s internet-enabled devices. The monitoring of children’s devices is agreed in advance with their social workers. These systems reassure children and ensure that they can use the internet safely.

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

The registered manager’s approach to notifying Ofsted of significant incidents involving children is inconsistent. On many occasions, she has notified Ofsted of serious incidents and provided regular updates. However, following some incidents, she has failed to notify Ofsted in a timely manner. Consequently, Ofsted is not always able to ensure that appropriate action is taken to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified and child-focused registered manager. She is well supported by the home’s manager and deputy manager. Together, they form a leadership team which has good oversight of the home, and they represent children’s wishes and feelings effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A significant strength of the home is the committed staff team. Staff feel valued and described how the management team support them in their work. As a result, children have positive experiences of being cared for by staff who feel confident and secure in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a passion for coaching and developing staff in their roles. Staff complete a comprehensive range of training and development courses which are relevant to the needs of the children. When new staff join the team, there is a thorough Inspection report for children's home: 2727237 5 and well-supported induction programme. These systems ensure that staff and leaders are suitably skilled to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager’s oversight of the home is good. There is ongoing internal and external monitoring of the care provided and she holds frequent reflective discussions in team meetings, supervision sessions and appraisals. In addition, the registered manager ensures that there are safe recruitment practices in place for vetting new staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team builds collaborative working relationships with partner agencies. This helps to ensure that children receive a strong multi-agency response to meet their specific needs. One professional said, ‘[Name of child] looks the healthiest and happiest she has in the last 18 months’ since living in the home. Another professional said they have ‘nothing but good things to say about the home and the manager’. Inspection report for children's home: 2727237 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of its children. In particular, the registered person should ensure that all areas of the home are furnished and maintained appropriately. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. This relates to the recording in children’s incident records of safeguarding action taken by staff and when recording the effectiveness of any consequences used with children in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that they notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a

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Recommendations

child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious. This also relates to when police have been called out to manage incidents in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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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: 2727237 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Excel Residential Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5 Rockside, Mow Cop, Stoke-on-Trent ST7 4PG

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Ariana Carreon-Palmer

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Inspector

Dean Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2727237 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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