Children's home run by Homes2Inspire Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1254864 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire 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

The home is run by a private company that is owned and operated by a national charity. The home provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. There were three children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2017.

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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: 13 December 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1254864 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/12/2023 Full Outstanding 22/02/2023 Full Outstanding 02/11/2021 Full Good 02/03/2020 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 1254864 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel safe and are making progress in the home. Children form trusted relationships with staff, who are knowledgeable about each child’s needs. One child said they like the staff and, ‘It’s ‘alright here.’ Another child said that they would give the home, ‘9.5 out of 10.’ Children are encouraged to engage in activities. They benefit from new experiences and are supported by staff to enjoy hobbies and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s voice is heard. Children can share their views and they feel listened to by staff. Staff spend time with children and develop trusting relationships. Children feel listened to. They are given feedback on any requests that they make, and their words are recorded in their plans, which are individual to them. The manager spends individual time with children monthly. However, these discussions are not always saved, which means that some case recordings will be missing for a child who comes back to read their files.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have support to make progress in their education. Staff have good communication with professionals to ensure that children are fully supported and can access their learning. When education provision changes, the staff provide learning support until alternative provision is identified. The manager will challenge the education provision if it is not meeting the needs of the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who come to live at the home are welcomed sensitively. The manager and staff plan, where possible, to welcome a child into the home. When children leave the home, there is a planned transition, which reflects the child’s needs. Children develop a sense of belonging and in any moves children are supported by staff who know them. Two children have left the home this year. One child said that they felt able to ‘ring anytime’ and that staff prepared them for moving out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to maintain safe relationships that are important to them. Staff help children to see their family members. One parent said that they feel supported by staff, who help the child to spend time with them. Staff relationships with family members help to support children to understand changes in their family plans and manage their emotions around any changes safely.

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

Children are involved in developing their own plans. Each child has a positive behaviour support plan, which details their identified risks. Strategies are recorded for how staff might respond to best support a child in certain situations. The plans are reviewed after any incidents, and to ensure that they are up to date.

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

Children rarely go missing. Staff are responsive when a child is missing from care, and they follow children’s individual plans to locate and return them safely. When a child is Inspection report for children’s home: 1254864 4 missing from care, staff stay in contact with other professionals and family members. Aside from one incident, staff go out to look for the child. When the child returns home, staff ensure that they are safe and well.

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

Children are not benefiting from an independent return home interview. The manager is not challenging the local authority to ensure that this is completed. This is a lost opportunity to learn from and understand the child. The manager is not able to review and evaluate the information shared by the child from a return home interview. The manager will discuss any missing from care incidents with the child any information which is shared is not recorded effectively, it is missing from the child’s records.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted. Staff are skilled at de-escalation strategies, which means that the use of any physical intervention has not been required. Room searches are completed, if appropriate, to address an identified risk. While staff’s recording of room searches is detailed, there is no regular management oversight of the room searches completed. This is a missed opportunity to reflect and evaluate.

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

Children are monitored by staff throughout the evening. Staff are alerted to a child’s movements by a door alarm sounding if a child leaves their room for any reason. The use of door alarms is not assessed or reviewed to address specific risks for children on an individual basis. In the evenings, children cannot be mobile in the home or use the bathroom without staff being alerted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a permanent manager. The staff team have no vacancies and so provide consistent care to the children. The manager is visible and approachable. Staff said that they felt supported. The manager has built effective relationships with partner agencies. Professionals said that communication is excellent, and children are settled and making progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is effective. Staff are provided with an intensive training course before being able to work in the home. Training is reviewed by the manager and staff progress is tracked to ensure that staff are skilled and knowledgeable in their role. Staff described the training provided as detailed and a good start to working in the home. The manager uses research to increase the team’s knowledge of children’s specific behaviours and to inform the children’s plans as needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision and appraisals. Supervision and regular staff meetings support staff to be reflective practitioners. Supervision tests the knowledge of staff team, identifies the children’s progress, and encourages staff to consider their own areas of development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monthly audit is not effective. Quality assurance checks have not identified missing information in records, and children’s case records are not recording consistently accurate information. The audit reviews performance indicators have not identified the shortfalls in documents, including out-of-date information or missing Inspection report for children’s home: 1254864 5 information shared with the children or the stakeholders. The information gathered in the audit does not support the manager to monitor and review all elements of the care provided. This is a missed opportunity for reflection. Inspection report for children’s home: 1254864 6

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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 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;

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the manager uses the monthly review tool to evaluate documents to ensure they meet the regulation. 6 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child's need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d)) 6 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. 6 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1254864 7 (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children's electronic files are regularly updated so they are current and accurate.

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Recommendations

 The children’s guide should help children to understand how to contact the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  Under regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the

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Recommendations

home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: 1254864 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lumonics House Valiant Office Suites, Valley Drive, Swift Valley Industrial Estate, Rugby, Warwickshire CV21 1TQ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Matthew Earnshaw

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Inspectors

Kate Jackson, Social Care Inspector Lisa Richards, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1254864 9 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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