Children's home run by Budwood Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2645199 1 Registered provider: Budwood 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 operated by a private provider. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social or emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2021.

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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: 6 February 2024

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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: 2645199 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/02/2024 Full Outstanding 25/01/2023 Full Good 01/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2645199 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Inspectors met both children who live in the home, with one sharing their views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The voice of children and their views are central to care in this home. The manager is passionate about empowering children to be active participants in their lives. She challenges other professionals to do the same. Staff seek children’s views and opinions through regular house meetings and conversations. Children’s involvement in their own care planning is encouraged. Children’s views are reflected in their care plans, and they contribute to their own safety plans. Staff support children to identify aspirations for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff enjoy spending time with children, and they benefit from the strong relationships formed. They use this time to encourage the children to make healthy choices, to work towards their goals, and to have fun. Children enjoy a range of activities, which they help to plan every week. They choose to go for walks in the local area, go shopping, swimming and visit theme parks and museums. Staff capture memories for children, mainly through photos. There is not always detail accompanying these memories, limiting their future relevance for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand how children make progress, and recognise the achievements they make, whether large or small. Staff understand that one child needs support to achieve tasks. They do this by breaking it down into manageable steps. Staff are proud of what children achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children have had experience of disrupted education. Since moving to the home, every attempt has been made to ensure that there is support in place and that the right provision is identified. This is with mixed success. For one child, there has been a gradual plan in place to develop the child’s relationships with an education provider. For the other child, the manager has worked closely with the professional network in order to try to secure a suitable option.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a welcoming environment. Children’s bedrooms reflect their personal tastes and interests. However, there are some areas of the home that children do not have access to. It is not clear how this is kept under review in relation to the children’s current needs and risks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s experiences and how this has shaped their identity. For one child, there is a good understanding of their family dynamics and culture, and how this influences the child’s responses in certain situations. Inspection report for children’s home: 2645199 4

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

Staff support children to feel increasingly safe in the home. Children benefit from positive relationships with staff, which helps them to talk about and share their experiences. Staff have conversations with children which help to improve their safety and understanding, such as around vaping, sexual health, or risks from going missing. Staff understand how to support children with their emotional health, and they work well with other agencies to create shared plans to address recurring concerns.

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

Staff understand the relationships between children in the home and when to offer additional support. When one child was bullied by the other, they took action to ensure safety and to promote positive relationships. Behaviour in the home is well managed. Staff contribute to clear support plans which help them to provide children with consistent support. Staff have given consequences to two children, one of whom has now moved out. While the manager does review the effectiveness of the use of consequences, it is not always clear how this has been linked to the impact on the children. For one child, it is not clear how repeated deductions of money were effective, or why the use of the same consequence continued with no change in behaviour.

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

Children in this home have been reported missing to the police on 83 occasions. There have been further incidents when the children have been away from the home in an unplanned way, but their location is known. Staff work collaboratively with children and the wider professional networks to reduce instances of children going missing from the home. When children go missing, staff take effective action to search for them. For one child, there has been a significant reduction in them going missing from the home. The most recent improvements coincide with positive work completed by staff to support a general change in friendships and lifestyle linked to other factors in their life.

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

Safeguarding concerns are identified and understood by staff. The manager shares concerns with other professionals and takes action to support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced manager leads the home. She is ambitious for the children and has high expectations for staff and the support they can provide children to help them achieve. The manager understands the home’s strengths and areas for development well and seeks to continually improve the service. The manager has strong oversight of care in the home. The manager has responded positively to staffing changes, managing the integration of new workers into the home, and minimising the impact on children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about the support they receive. Staff speak about being part of a team, all working towards improving outcomes for children. Staff training is comprehensive and tailored to the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. The manager ensures that this is a reflective space to understand relationships and practice. This includes exploring with them the impact of Inspection report for children’s home: 2645199 5 the group reflective supervision sessions on their practice. Team meetings provide a further place for staff to discuss children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager fosters strong working relationships with professionals. She understands the responsibilities of other professionals and challenges other organisations when this is not provided to children. Professionals say communication is a particular strength of staff in the home. When new professionals become involved, staff share their knowledge of children to help others build effective relationships. Inspection report for children’s home: 2645199 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure it is clear how the effectiveness of consequences used in the home are reviewed over a period of time. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure the accessibility of locked rooms in the home is regularly reviewed in line with children’s assessed needs and risks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure children’s memory books contain relevant details to ensure they are a lasting and meaningful memory of their time in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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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: 2645199 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4AD

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Inspectors

Clare Nixson, Social Care Inspector Sally Shakespeare, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2645199 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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