Children's Home run by Bethel Children’s Care Ltd in Hertfordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2785784 1 Registered provider: Bethel Children’s Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private company and provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties. One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered in June 2024 at the same time as 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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2785784 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home opened, two children have moved in. One child has since moved on to a provision that was more suited to their needs. One child was present during the inspection and shared their views with the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff help children to settle into the home well. This is despite challenges that the child currently living at the home experienced when they arrived. Staff provide children with a sense of safety and stability, with predictable daily routines. This includes helping the child to have a good sleep routine that enables them to be up in the morning and ready to learn.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff establish good relationships with children and talk about them with empathy and care. Since coming to the home, the child currently living there is talking more and spending more time with staff, both inside and outside the home. They are now starting to enjoy home-cooked meals with staff. This is progress from their starting point.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are supporting the child to make progress with education. Before coming to the home, the child was not in education. The staff encouraged the child to have tutoring at home and helped them to begin mainstream full-time education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand and support the child’s identity and cultural needs. This includes understanding their cultural heritage and finding out about local restaurants and the church that relates to their background. Staff support the child to have products that they have requested to keep their hair and skin healthy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff meet the child’s health needs. This is progress as the child had previously refused medical help. Staff have helped them go to important health appointments and are working with them to help them to attend any that are outstanding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys activities in the community alongside staff. Staff encourage activities that may benefit the child’s emotional and physical health, such as taking them to the gym as part of a weekly routine. The child has started to share their likes and interests, which has led to staff taking them to the zoo and shopping.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to see their families. The parent of the child who moved on from the home said that the communication from the manager was good. Staff helped the child to see their brother and enjoy fun activities. Staff supported this child to have a positive move to their new home.

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

Leaders and managers work with relevant professionals to manage safeguarding incidents. They are proactive in seeking the individual support that children need. A Inspection report for children's home: 2785784 3 child’s social worker was positive about the manager and staff and said that the home is a safe place. They said that staff have good knowledge of the children who go missing from home and know how to manage incidents.

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

Staff understand children’s individual challenges and there are clear plans to reduce risks. Staff show that they follow strategies that keep children safe.

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

The manager ensures that the child is supervised at the level they have been assessed as needing. There is a consistent team of staff that the child is getting to know well. When agency staff are used, the manager ensures that they receive an induction, and they use the same workers to provide consistent care. However, an independent reviewing officer said one child had been frustrated by the high number of agency staff used, so this has had some impact on one child.

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

Staff receive training that helps equip them to respond to the child’s needs, including in child sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation, substance misuse and missing from home. However, not all staff have received restraint training. Although staff have not needed to use restraint, they are not trained to ensure that they could physically intervene if needed.

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

Staff are proactive in helping children when they go missing from the home. This includes having clear missing-from-home procedures and involves following children, searching for them until they return and seeking to understand any harm they may have come to. The manager challenges the local authority if children are not offered an independent return home interview, but this has not been effective.

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

Staff understand the risks that using the internet may pose for children and have strategies in place to help the child keep safe. However, they are not yet helping the child to develop their awareness and understanding of relationships and how to keep safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager was present throughout the inspection. She is working towards the required level 5 qualification. The home is led by a cohesive management team that is committed to the child. Staff said that the management team is always approachable and able to support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows children’s individual needs and strengths well. The manager talks about children with warmth and encourages them to achieve their potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are helped to progress because staff get to know children and ways of working with them well, forming good relationships and helping children to access support. They have clear measures in place to track and encourage individual progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records are child-centred, capturing the child’s voice, particularly in their progress plans, as well as meaningful conversations with children. However, the quality of recording is Inspection report for children's home: 2785784 4 variable. There is some use of institutional language which may feel stigmatising to children should they wish to read their records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager welcomes reflection on learning and development and understands her own strengths and areas for learning to improve children’s experiences. On one occasion, a child could have accessed the home’s records, therefore the manager is considering how to improve the secure storage of children’s records. Inspection report for children's home: 2785784 5

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Statutory requirements

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

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure persistent challenge and, if necessary, escalation to ensure children are offered return home interviews and that information from them is shared with the home. 30 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(vi)(vii)) 30 December 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2785784 6 In particular, ensure staff support the child to develop their understanding and awareness of healthy relationships in the context of their experiences so far.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all children’s case records are stored securely while they remain in the home. In particular, the registered person should consider additional secure storage of children’s records in the upstairs staff office. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that all their staff have been adequately trained in the principles of restraint and any restraint techniques appropriate to the needs of the children the home is set up to care for as defined in the home’s statement of purpose. In particular, ensure that there are always trained staff in the home to carry out a restraint if this was required. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.57)  The registered person should ensure that information about the child is always

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Recommendations

recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. In particular, ensure records are consistently reflective, contain the child’s voice and avoid institutional language. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2785784 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bethel Children’s Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 61a Bridge Street, Kington HR5 3DJ

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Inspector

Carrie Twinn, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2785784 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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