Children's Home run by Hygge Care Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 1220887 1 Registered provider: Hygge Care Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children's home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to three children who have experienced trauma, with a view to moving them on to a foster home. At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home. All children were spoken with during the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children's home

A suitably qualified and experienced manager is in post.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1220887 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/05/2023 Full Good 09/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/08/2022 Full Inadequate 22/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: 1220887 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a welcoming place for children to spend time and has a family atmosphere. Children's bedrooms are personalised. Throughout the home, children's experiences and achievements are celebrated in photos and certificates on display. Children choose which photos and certificates are displayed, contributing to their pride in the home, and their sense of well-being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children like living in the home. They feel that staff support their important relationships, listen to them, and help them to do the things they want to do. One child scored the home as ‘11 out of 10’. They said, 'It is great living here. If you lived here, you would see what I mean.'

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are therapeutic and nurturing in their approach to children. Because of this, both children are making significant progress from their starting points. Both children are better able to regulate their emotions. They now eat a healthier diet. One child, who was not in education, now has 100% attendance.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Other professionals are extremely complimentary about the care that children receive. A professional from a child’s school described the progress a child has made as 'incredible', with another saying, 'I cannot praise the home enough. The change is unbelievable.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff hold children at the centre of all they do. Staff and the clinical team discuss children’s progress in regular team meetings. Clinicians support staff with strategies to manage children’s emotions and complex behaviours. Because of this, staff have a good understanding of the children and are better able to help them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do a range of activities that are enriching, teach them new skills, build their self-esteem and confidence, and have participation in their local community. For example, one child raised a significant amount of money by donating her hair to a foundation, and another is doing a sponsored run to raise money for charity. They enjoy going to guides, learning martial arts, reading, cycling and learning to swim. One child regularly organises parties, to which she invites her friends and children from one of the provider’s other homes. Participating in hobbies and interests builds positive memories for children and adds to their life stories.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children leave the home, staff prepare them for their moves and celebrate their time at the home. Since the last inspection, three children have moved out in a planned way. Children continue to stay in touch, showing them that they have adults in their life who care about them. Inspection report for children's home: 1220887 4

p.3

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

Children feel safe and can identify adults who they can talk to if they are worried or upset. Children know how to complain, but due to the number of ways they can shape the care they receive, there have been no complaints made since the last inspection.

p.4

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

Since the last inspection, one child has made an allegation against an adult in the home. This was taken seriously by the manager. The appropriate professionals were involved, and measures were taken to keep children safe while an investigation was completed.

p.4

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

Because children feel safe and listened to, they rarely go missing from the home. Since the last inspection, there have only been two occasions of a child going missing. On those occasions, staff followed the child’s plans, working with safeguarding agencies to ensure that the child returned home safely and quickly. Following each incident, the child was spoken with in order to get an understanding of what happened and how to keep them safe in the future.

p.4

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

Staff have meaningful conversations with children. They work with children to help them understand risk and to make safer choices. Children are helped to learn new skills that support them to be independent. Some of that work is supported by research, ensuring that children receive help that is well informed.

p.4

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

When children's behaviour places them or others at risk, staff intervene by holding the child to keep everyone safe. This is used as a last resort. Staff work with children afterwards to better understand the behaviour, and to try to avoid the need to hold children in the future. This has helped to reduce the number of times that children are having to be held.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to the children he cares for. He wants the best for them and for his staff team. He ensures that staff are well supported through regular supervision, reflection and training. There is a clear induction pathway, and the training supports staff to understand children's behaviours and better meet their needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel very supported by their manager and talk about a positive culture that he has built. One member of staff said, ‘I firmly believe that this positive environment is largely attributed to the home manager. He dedicates significant time to both the staff and the children, consistently going above and beyond to ensure their happiness and support.’ Another wrote, ‘He is an amazing manager. He has so much experience, which he shares with us in team meetings and at supervision. I always feel supported and heard, and he is always on hand to help and answer questions.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has formed positive relationships with a range of agencies, including education departments and social workers. This helps the manager to have a coordinated approach so that the children’s needs are met. Education professionals and social workers are extremely positive about the care the children receive. They say that Inspection report for children's home: 1220887 5 communication from the manager and staff is ‘a real strength’. One professional said, 'The home is one of the best we have worked with. Communication is very good.'

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that children are protected by the organisation’s recruitment practices. Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures promote the safety of children by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

For one child who is no longer living in the home, the manager failed to challenge professionals and raise his concerns about the home’s abilities to meet that child’s needs, in a timely manner. This led to delay and instability for that child. In future, the manager should only accept placements for children when they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child's assessed needs. Similarly, if it becomes apparent that the manager and staff cannot meet the child’s needs, the manager should voice their concerns and challenge professionals to prevent delay in meeting a child’s needs. Inspection report for children's home: 1220887 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children when they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child's assessed needs as recorded in the child's relevant plans. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 56, paragraph 11.4)

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should challenge the placing authority or another relevant person when they do not provide the input and services needed to meet a child's needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 12, paragraph 2.8)

p.6

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: 1220887 7

p.6

Children's home details

Registered provider address: Grosvenor House, 11 St Pauls Square, Birmingham, West Midlands B3 1RB

p.7

Inspector

John Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1220887 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8