Children's home run by James Kids Home Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2547637 1 Registered provider: James Kids Home Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home provides medium to long-term care for up to three children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2019. At the time of the inspection, there were two children 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: 2547637 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/05/2023 Full Good 20/07/2022 Full Good 10/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2547637 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled and happy, with their personalities shining throughout the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. Children who have complex needs benefit from having caring staff who know them well and are attuned to their individual needs. Care is taken to ensure children’s day-to-day routines are consistent and that children are aware of what will be happening throughout the day. This promotes a sense of stability and well-being for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and emotional needs are promoted, and therapeutic support is provided when needed. One child is receiving play therapy following a bereavement. Staff ensure that children who experience barriers to accessing healthcare are sensitively supported. For example, one child has anxiety when attending the dentist. The staff have secured specialist support to help the child to overcome their fear.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A strength of this home is their focus on supporting children to develop their independence and self-care skills. Children benefit from key-worker sessions that support them in learning practical life skills. As a result, children steadily increase in confidence and undertake self-care tasks and life skills with support. One child loves cooking and is encouraged to cook on a regular basis. Another child has been supported to learn how to use cutlery. Each achievement is celebrated with rewards, and this has resulted in the children making steady progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans are detailed and support staff to understand the needs of children in their care. A strength of these plans is that children’s non-verbal cues are detailed in their plans. Staff are observant and professionally curious about how children communicate. Care plans are updated when new non-verbal cues are noted. This supports staff in attuning to children’s wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children form positive relationships with staff. Staff use a variety of methods to gather children’s views and share information with children. For example, pictorial templates are used during children’s meetings. This helps to enhance children’s participation so that they can make choices about their activities and routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy access to a wide range of indoor and community activities. An activities coordinator works in the home to ensure that care and attention are given to planning activities that support children’s learning and enjoyment. Activities include cooking, trips to the cinema and attending inflatable fun centres. Care is also taken to ensure that children who like solitary activities can engage in these activities, while engaging in more social activities is managed at a pace that is comfortable for them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2547637 4 Staff share children’s progress with their parents when this is appropriate. One parent said they were happy with the progress their child had made since living at the home and that staff informed them of their child’s progress.

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

Children are safe in this home. When incidents occur, they are managed well. Staff have good relationships with the children and understand when they are distressed and how to support them.

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

Behaviour support plans are detailed and have effective strategies in place. Leaders and managers ensure that staff receive a debrief following an incident. This provides a safe space for staff to reflect on their practice and apply learning.

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

Children are supported to express their wishes and feelings following incidents and helped to learn how to make positive choices. The use of incentives has been effective in supporting children to make positive choices. As a result of these incentives, there has been a reduction in incidents.

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

Staff rarely use physical restraint. However, when required, restraint is used appropriately to ensure that children do not harm themselves or others.

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

Risk assessments are detailed and individualised and support staff in keeping children safe. Risk assessments are regularly updated following incidents. The strategies to mitigate risks are followed by managers and staff effectively.

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

The local area assessment includes up-to-date information, and managers have consulted with partner agencies in the development of safety planning for children in the home. There are appropriate plans in place to mitigate the risks from the local area to children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have high aspirations for the children in their care. The registered manager ensures there are effective quality assurance systems in place that inform them about staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are well attended and support staff in understanding what is good practice and the importance of staying child focused.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a stable team of staff who know the children well. A deputy manager has recently been appointed who supports the development of the staff team and is very experienced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision and appraisals of staff are thorough and reflective. Staff are supported to develop professionally, and consequently, most of the staff team are very experienced Inspection report for children’s home: 2547637 5 and have progressed to more senior roles. Staff find the registered manager incredibly supportive and benefit from their experience. Staff feel they are well supported in the team and that the home has a family atmosphere, which supports the cohesiveness of the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The training offer to staff is comprehensive and in line with the needs of the children in their care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2547637 6

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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: 2547637 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: James Kids Home Ltd

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Inspector

Angela Reid, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2547637 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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