Children's home run by Home Comforts Services Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2792482 1 Registered provider: Home Comforts Services Limited

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and offers care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in July 2024. This was the home’s first inspection since registration.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home. They spoke to the inspectors about their experiences living in the home.

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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2792482 2

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they are happy living at this home. They are supported by staff to make progress in all areas of their lives. Staff form positive relationships with children by being open, honest and calm in their responses. This helps children to know that staff care about them.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is large and well furnished. The outside area is spacious, with a well- maintained garden. Children have decorated and personalised their bedrooms to reflect their own tastes. Photos of the children are displayed in the home and the children have developed a strong sense of belonging.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work collaboratively with other professionals. Good communication and information-sharing with schools and other professionals mean that children receive consistent care which helps them to feel settled.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff support children to have relationships with the people who are important to them. Children’s family members are welcomed into the home. Consequently, children have a strong sense of identity and support outside of the home.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to participate in activities they enjoy and to pursue new interests. Staff respect each child’s individuality with activities in the home, as well as supporting them to enjoy shared experiences. This helps children to gain confidence and improve their social skills.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their education. They work closely with education providers to address concerns that children are currently receiving fewer hours of education than their peers. Staff communicate effectively with children’s schools. They are persistent and advocate for children to receive education that meets their needs. However, when children are not accessing education, plans are not clear. This limits opportunities to ensure that children are supported to achieve their full academic potential.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to express their wishes and feelings. This takes place through regular children’s meetings. Children get the opportunity to get together with each other and staff, and to plan activities and celebrate successes.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The routine use of alarms on children’s bedroom doors is regularly reviewed, with agreement for their use from the children’s placing authorities.

p.2

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

Children say they feel safe. Their risks and vulnerabilities are well understood, and their risk plans are individualised and detailed. The children are safeguarded effectively. Inspection report for children's home: 2792482 3 Relationships between staff and children are positive. Staff talk about children with warmth and enthusiasm. However, children’s records are not always written in a way that is helpful to children and do not always detail what action has been taken.

p.2

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

Staff hold important conversations with children about risks they may be exposed to. Staff discuss topics such as substance misuse and child exploitation in factual and child- focused ways. This helps children to develop their understanding and awareness of risks, while also enjoying their independence.

p.3

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

Children have gone missing from this home. Risk management plans show what staff must do if children go missing. This is further strengthened by risk management meetings and links with the police and missing-from-home care coordinators.

p.3

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

Security settings on the home’s internet-enabled devices are not robustly implemented by staff. Managers took swift action to address this to ensure that children are not exposed to content that is not suitable for their age group.

p.3

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

Staff understand the children’s health needs and the children are supported to attend health appointments. Staff educate children on the dangers of smoking and vaping and ensure that children receive clear and consistent messages around smoking cessation and how to make safer choices.

p.3

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

Staff work collaboratively with external professionals and specialist services to safeguard children.

p.3

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

Staff receive training that is tailored to the individual needs of each child, including online safety and coercive control. However, not all training identified to meet children’s needs has been undertaken by staff.

p.3

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

Safer recruitment practices are in place to ensure that only adults who are safe to work with children are employed in the home.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is committed to achieving positive outcomes for children in her care. Staff feel well supported, and the manager is held in high regard by the children, the staff, family members and other professionals. The registered manager provides effective leadership and ensures that the children receive the best possible care.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that children are heard and that their wishes and views are acted on. The manager is supported by the responsible individual. Together, they ensure that there is effective professional challenge. They escalate concerns appropriately to ensure that the children are involved in their care planning and their needs are being met. This enables children to feel listened to and involved in their care. Inspection report for children's home: 2792482 4 The staff team is stable, and this has provided children with consistent care from people who know them well. Staff work positively and proactively together to provide the children with high quality care.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that staff receive regular supervision and have opportunities to reflect after incidents. However, the staff’s induction records lack detail and do not reflect the discussions that take place. This is a missed opportunity to demonstrate the support offered to staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager demonstrates a good understanding of equality and diversity and the importance of children having positive male role models and staff from different cultures.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders continually strive to improve the quality of care provided to children. Internal and external monitoring systems are effective and enable ways to develop the home to be identified at the earliest opportunity. This ensures that there is continuous improvement in the care the team provides. Inspection report for children's home: 2792482 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)) 23 January 2025

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that security settings are in place on the home’s internet enabled devices to prevent streaming of content that is not suitable for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  When children in a home are not participating in education, the registered person should support the children to engage in suitable and structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that staff access appropriate training to meet the needs of the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  Staff should complete records in a way that is helpful to children and write in a non- stigmatising way. This includes records of the child’s day-to-day activities and when

p.5

Recommendations

conversations have taken place with professionals. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

p.5

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: 2792482 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Home Comforts Services Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit F Whiteacres, Cambridge Road, Leicestershire LE8 6ZG

p.6

Inspectors

Michelle Snape, Social Care Inspector Caroline Bertram, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children's home: 2792482 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.

p.6

Inspectors

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.7

Inspectors

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

p.7

Inspectors

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

p.7