Children's home run by Rise Above Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2676421 1 Registered provider: Rise Above Care Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. All the children were spoken to as part of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since September 2023 and is suitably skilled and 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2676421 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/05/2023 Full Good 29/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2676421 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop positive relationships with staff. Children know that the staff care about them and want to support them to be the best versions of themselves. Staff have a strong understanding of the children. As a result, children feel comfortable to speak to them about any worries, with the confidence that staff will listen and help them. One professional said, ‘These key relationships have made a marked improvement in [name of child’s] life. They have opened up to the staff team, especially the manager, more than they have with anyone in their life.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff treat children with unconditional positive regard. Staff value and appreciate the children for who they are, which is demonstrated through their positive interactions with the children. One child said that she likes ‘everything’ about where she lives and would score it a ‘10 out of 10’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in activities that support and develop their interests and talents. One child has a passion for art and has been supported by staff to create a range of paintings, which proudly decorate the walls of the home. Another child has been supported to overcome their fear of heights by going to theme parks with the other children. This helps children to feel a sense of achievement and fosters positive relationships in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to feel valued by documenting each child’s life in creative ways, such as by creating storyboards and memory books with the children. These contain positive narratives written to the children to support their emotional well-being. The children enjoy looking at these when they want to remember fond memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and decorated to a high standard. Children are encouraged to take an active role in styling their bedrooms and other areas of the home in creative ways. Photos of the children adorn the walls of the home, which helps children to feel a sense of security. However, the children’s bedrooms have door alarms to indicate to staff when they have left or entered their rooms. The use of such alarms reduces the domestic feel of the home and impacts the children’s privacy without clear rationale for their use.

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

Children feel safe in the home. Staff understand the children’s risks and their roles in relation to the safeguarding of the children. Staff know the children well and when they are at increased risk of harm. They act promptly to address any concerns. One child’s risks have reduced significantly. One professional said the strength of the child’s relationships with staff have been ‘a massive protective factor in keeping them safe’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2676421 4 Staff speak to children about their risks or things with which they are struggling. These discussions help the children to reflect on what has happened, which helps to support children to understand risks. Furthermore, staff sensitively support children to help them make better choices and learn how to keep themselves safe.

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

Staff rarely need to hold or guide children to keep them safe. Instead, staff use their knowledge of the children and rapport with them to de-escalate situations. This helps to keep the children calmer.

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

Staff use a consequences and rewards system for the children. However, some of the consequences issued are not proportionate for the initial behaviour. Furthermore, consequences given to children do not work to help them to understand and change their behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager understands the children’s needs and how best to support them. This knowledge and understanding are fluent throughout the staff team. Additionally, the registered manager shows ambition and aspirations for the children, and consistently promotes the progress of children. The manager has effective monitoring tools. Children have developed their confidence to achieve their goals, and this can partly be attributed to the passion and support of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager promotes positive relationships in the home, especially within the staff team. Staff speak very highly of the management team and feel supported. Staff say that they feel ‘privileged’ to work in the home. It is evident that staff are proud to work at the home, and their passion for the children is demonstrated throughout all they do.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular supervision sessions and team meetings improve the staff’s knowledge and understanding. They often include scenario questions relating to the children to assess and develop staff’s skills. Feedback about practice is regularly provided to staff alongside any support that may be required to further their development in their role. Staff are appreciative of this feedback and find it to be very useful in their progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is highly reflective of her practice and the development of her staff team. The manager frequently evaluates the functioning of the home and the impact on the children, in order to make positive change. However, this has not been demonstrated in the quality of care reports, with these lacking the manager’s action plan. Inspection report for children’s home: 2676421 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that they report on and evaluate the home’s care and the impact this has on the children living there. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)  The registered person should ensure that any modifications to the environment of the

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Recommendations

home are only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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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: 2676421 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Rise Above Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: International House, 14 King Street, Leeds LS1 2HL

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Inspector

Ladean Wilson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2676421 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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