Children's home run by Mangrove Care Limited in Newcastle-under-Lyme

Inspection report for children’s home: SC068261 1 SC068261 Registered provider: Mangrove Care Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This private home provides care for up to four children who may have complex social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 8 February 2023.

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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 inadequate

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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: SC068261 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/07/2023 Full Good 02/08/2022 Full Good 10/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 27/07/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC068261 3

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improvement to be good

Three children are currently living in the home and two of them were spoken with as part of this inspection. Since the previous inspection, one child has moved into the home and one child has moved out. All moves in to and out of the home have been well planned. This has helped to reduce the anxiety children may feel around changes to their living arrangements.

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improvement to be good

Children experience warm and caring relationships with staff. The members of the staff team know the children well and provide care that is tailored to their individual needs. Staff strengthen their relationships with children by spending quality time with them doing the things that they enjoy. Children are able to take part in a variety of activities in the home and in the community. Staff maintain their relationships with children even when children leave the home. They offer children ongoing support and guidance. This provides children with a sense of belonging and community.

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improvement to be good

Staff recognise the importance of communicating with children in their preferred way. One child has specific ways of communicating, and staff have created a guide with all of his communication styles to assist anyone who speaks to him. This has improved staff’s communication with this child, and there has been a reduction in incidents for children.

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improvement to be good

Children can share their views regularly during children’s meetings and individual discussions. Staff ensure that they collaborate with children when planning menus and activities. This supports children to feel valued and heard.

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improvement to be good

Children are settled and are making progress, particularly in relation to their emotional well-being. Staff support children to develop skills to manage their emotions, and to access additional support services when needed. This has resulted in a reduction in the number of incidents in the home, and in the children feeling safe and stable.

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improvement to be good

Education is prioritised by staff, and they support children to attend education daily. Two of the children are now attending mainstream school, and one child has been supported to apply to attend college next year. Staff work closely with children’s teachers to support children with their learning. The manager is proactive and advocates well on the children’s behalf to address any difficulties they are having at school.

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improvement to be good

Some areas of the home environment require modernising, maintenance and personalisation. One child’s bedroom is tired and lacks personalisation. This does not provide the chid with a welcoming and homely environment to spend time in. Some areas of the home feel institutionalised due to the number of locked doors, and children’s freedom of movement around the home is being restricted. The garden area is overgrown and requires attention to make it a space that is appealing for children to play safely in. Inspection report for children’s home: SC068261 4

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improvement to be good

Staff know the children well and understand the risks, triggers and behaviours they present with. As a result, the staff are able to manage children’s risks and keep them safe. Safeguarding incidents are recorded clearly with details of what actions were taken to ensure the safety of children. There is clear management oversight of records, although, on some occasions, inaccuracies in records have not been identified.

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improvement to be good

Physical interventions have not been used during this inspection period. Staff know the children well and are able to de-escalate situations without the use of physical interventions. Two children stated they felt happy and safe in the care of the staff.

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improvement to be good

The members of the management team are aware of the risks to children from online activities. Each child has an individual internet router to ensure that their internet access can be controlled and monitored appropriately. Therefore, the risks to children while online are minimised.

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improvement to be good

Any concerns in relation to children’s safety and well-being are shared with the professional network promptly and plans are put in place quickly to keep children safe. Communication with the professionals involved in the children’s lives is strong. All professionals spoken to shared that they are kept well informed of what is happening in the day-to-day life of the children and any areas of concern.

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improvement to be good

Children receive proportionate and age-appropriate consequences and rewards for their behaviour and achievements. This has helped to reduce incidents and improve children’s behaviours. However, records are not always clear in relation to the behaviour that resulted in consequences being implemented, and children’s views on the incidents are not always well recorded. Management oversight of records is visible but does not always extend to the querying of these discrepancies in the records. This limits the learning that can be gained from such incidents.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to spend time with their families and people who are important to them. In addition, staff have positive relationships with the people who are important to children. This assists staff in being able to make arrangements for children to spend time with them. The families and friends of the children speak positively about the way staff communicate with them and how they have supported maintaining family relationships.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not actioned requirements within the fire risk assessment in a timely manner. As a result, actions to improve the fire safety of the home have been delayed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager is committed, reflective and caring. She understands the children’s individual needs and advocates well for them to ensure that they achieve the best Inspection report for children’s home: SC068261 5 possible outcomes. The manager is visibly present in the home and ensures that she is available to staff and children when needed. The manager is supported by a proactive deputy manager who works collaboratively alongside the manager to support and guide the staff and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff team is made up of mostly long-standing members of staff. This provides children with stability and consistency. The manager ensures that staff receive regular training which also includes training that is specific to the children they are caring for. This ensures that children receive individualised care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive regular supervision sessions, which are reflective and well recorded. Supervision sessions and monthly team meetings provide staff with an opportunity to reflect on the care provided to children, and to discuss changes and improvements that can be made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Recruitment checks in relation to identifying and exploring gaps in employment history have not been completed in full for two members of staff. This does not demonstrate that all staff have been safely recruited to care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management oversight is significantly lacking in some areas of the home. Maintenance tasks around the home and fire safety risk assessments have not been actioned in a timely manner, due to a lack of management oversight. This has negatively impacted on the quality and safety of the home environment. Managers have put in place interim measures to address the immediate safety concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual is physically present in the home, but his oversight is not visible within recordings. This lack of oversight has resulted in shortfalls by the registered manager not being identified and addressed promptly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The financial stability of the organisation is uncertain, and the manager and responsible individual have differing views in relation to the organisation’s financial stability. The home’s financial situation is having an impact on its ability to address the concerns regarding the home environment and fire safety issues. Inspection report for children’s home: SC068261 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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

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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; and

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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.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers having oversight of practice in the home, including ensuring that actions within the fire risk assessment are completed within timescales. In addition, the responsible individual has sufficient effective oversight of the home. 24 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must carry on the children’s home in such manner as is likely to ensure that the home will be financially viable for the purpose of achieving the aims and objectives set out in the statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that adequate financial records are maintained and kept up to date in respect of the home; and 24 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC068261 7 supply a copy of the financial records and most recent accounts to HMCI at HMCI’s request.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide HMCI with such information as HMCI may require for the purpose of considering the financial viability of the home, including—

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Requirement Due date

the annual accounts of the home certified by an accountant;

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Requirement Due date

a reference from a bank expressing an opinion as to the registered provider’s financial standing; and

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Requirement Due date

information as to the financing, and financial resources, of the home and the registered provider.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 47 (1) (2) (a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager and the responsible individual identifying a lack of funds as a reason for not actioning fire safety tasks and maintenance tasks around the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must give notice in writing to HMCI, as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so, if any of the following events take place or are expected by the registered person to take place—

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Requirement Due date

any change of director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the organisation, and

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Requirement Due date

any change in the identity of the responsible individual. (Regulation 49 (1)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the responsible individual not informing Ofsted of the change in director of the organisation. 24 January 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should maintain good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. This specifically relates to the employment history of staff not being explored in full. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report for children’s home: SC068261 8 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: SC068261 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Mangrove Care Limited

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Inspectors

Menaka De Silva, Social Care Inspector Nateisha Cardoza-Evans, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC068261 10 regulates 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.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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