Children's home run by Invested Childcare Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2584899 1 Registered provider: Invested Childcare 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

This children’s home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2020.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2584899 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/03/2024 Full Outstanding 24/05/2022 Full Good 08/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2584899 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are making significant progress from their individual starting points. Children say that they like living in the home and feel safe. This is because of the outstanding skills of staff members in building positive and meaningful relationships with children. There is a clear ethos in the home which promotes positive interactions. This helps children to feel settled, develop safe and secure relationships and build trust.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are supported to attend education and are making excellent progress. When children do face challenges, staff advocate on their behalf and consider creative ways to support children. When children are unable to engage in a school setting, staff support them with alternative learning opportunities. Professional feedback for one child is that they are making more progress with the support of staff at the home than they did in the school setting. The same child has secured employment in their chosen area of work. The manager and staff are pursuing and advocating for a specialist internship on behalf of the child, which will combine employment and education. Another child has made significant progress in successfully completing their GCSEs and is now enrolled on a full- time college course.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support children with their health needs. This includes regular check-ups and additional health needs such as specialist assessments. When children feel unable to attend their appointments, a staff member will attend on their behalf. This prevents drift and promotes the health needs of children. It helps children to recognise the importance of their health and demonstrates that staff care about them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are supported with an abundance of activities on a weekly basis. Children have been provided with the opportunity to explore new interests and visit new places. This has included trips to other countries, sports events and concerts. This enables children to have new life experiences, discover new cultures, promoting their social skills and independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are regularly consulted with, and this is managed through day-to-day chats and ‘catch-up’ meetings. The manager writes a letter to children, following every professional meeting. This explains to children the outcomes and any decision-making in a child- centred way. Children can access an app on their phone, which supports them to access information and share views. When children find attending meetings or chatting to staff difficult, they can communicate via messages. The manager has developed a code ‘emoji’ that children can use to alert staff, if they need support. This helps to ensure that all children have a voice and are listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

When children move on from the home, they are supported with their transition. Some children have maintained a relationship with the manager and staff. This highlights the significant role the home has played in the lives of children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2584899 4 Children are supported to maintain relationships with their family when it is safe to do so. This helps children to feel valued by staff, and the importance of their family relationships is recognised. When staff feel there are concerns with regard to family time, they will advocate on behalf of the child and ensure that children are well supported.

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

Comprehensive risk assessments and care plans are individualised to the needs of each child. They provide in-depth information and clarity around the individual risks of the children and how they can be managed. This helps to guide staff practice and ensure that children are safer.

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

When concerns arise around children’s behaviours, they are well managed and staff ensure that appropriate safeguarding measures are in place. This includes working in collaboration with partnership agencies. Key-work sessions help to educate children around their risks and support them to learn how to keep themselves safer. Support plans are swifty updated, to ensure that all staff have up-to-date information regarding children.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. When they do, staff respond promptly and appropriately. There are clear plans in place for staff to manage the risks and support the child. Children are offered an independent return home interview and spend time with staff to talk about their experiences, so that staff can be assured of the child’s well- being.

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

Staff are highly skilled and use their expertise to de-escalate situations when children become angry or upset. This means children are rarely held. There has been one occasion where a child was held, which was proportionate and accurately recorded. This action supported the child to express their distress more safely.

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

Positive behaviours are encouraged and recognised frequently. The staff use positive praise daily. This helps children to recognise the progress they are making and feel supported by staff. Children can work towards financial rewards by completing incentives that are specific to their individual needs. This provides encouragement to children and promotes independence.

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

The manager completes safe recruitment checks on staff. This helps to ensure that the staff working with children are safer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has an excellent understanding of the children’s experiences and needs. They promote a culture in the home which is aspirational and they have high ambitions for children. The care provided to children is unique to each child and this is reflected in their support plans and risk assessments. Inspection report for children’s home: 2584899 5 The manager advocates strongly on behalf of children, including speaking up on their behalf so that decisions are made in their best interests. This includes challenging partner agencies to ensure that children have every opportunity to thrive. One example includes an incident involving a child in a school setting. The manager demonstrated strong leadership skills in challenging the appropriateness of how this incident was managed. A further example includes the manager advocating for a child to go on holiday abroad. The manager and the staff made meticulous plans and prepared a

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

comprehensive risk assessment to ensure that the child’s needs were met. This provided an amazing opportunity for the child to experience new cultures and activities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff speak highly about the manager and the support they receive. This is reflected in the regular supervision which takes place. Supervision is reflective in nature and provides opportunities for staff to focus on the children in their care and their own development needs. One staff member shared that it is ‘the most supportive environment they have ever worked in’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have regular access to research-informed learning and support from a clinician. This helps staff to reflect on their practice and the care they are providing to children. This benefits children and is evident in the excellent understanding staff have around children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff development is a strong focus in the home. Mandatory training is completed by all staff, as well as additional training that is individualised to the needs of the home. Feedback from staff is that there are lots of opportunities for development and access to training where it is needed. The organisation has developed a new plan for managers and leaders to be supported in the New Year with development opportunities. This helps to upskill staff and impacts the quality of care they can provide to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is reflective and knows the strengths and areas for development in the home. The manager is open to feedback and will take on board learning to ensure the best-quality care for children. This includes further development in ensuring that all children are more involved in their care planning. The manager and staff use creative ways that will work for the individual children and enable them to share their wishes and feelings. The home is looking towards implementing a technology-based method for children to share their views about their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and staff have built excellent relationships with partnership agencies. This helps to ensure that information is shared with professionals regarding the needs of the children. It also supports a consistent approach for children and the care they receive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2584899 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: 2584899 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Invested Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Acklam Hall, Hall Gardens, Middlesbrough TS5 7BJ

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Inspector

Kerry Chater, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2584899 8 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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