Children's Home run by Harmony Childcare Residential Homes Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report children's home: 2495967 1 Registered provider: Harmony Childcare residential Homes LTD

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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 owned by a private company and is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2023

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection three children live in the home.

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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: 12 December 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2495967 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/12/2023 Full Good 13/12/2022 Full Good 30/08/2022 Full Inadequate 08/09/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report children's home: 2495967 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from living in a stable home. This enables them to build trusted and secure relationships with staff who are consistent in caring for them. Staff understand children’s experiences and seek their views on things that are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to attend school and college, and children make progress with their learning. One child who did not attend school prior to living in the home now attends college and is making progress towards achieving a qualification in their chosen career. When there are barriers to a child attending school, the manager works well with professionals to understand any difficulties the child may be experiencing and seeks additional support for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A range of social and recreational activities are available to children. Staff encourage their individual interests. For example, one child who supports football, enjoyed a stadium tour and another child attended a concert.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to develop skills that will help prepare them for adulthood. One child who is preparing to leave the home and move to independence helps to purchase food and cook’s meals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to manage their health. They are registered with universal health services and access these when needed. Staff help children to understand the importance of attending routine health checks and speak with children about sexual health and healthy relationships. The manager advocates well for children when they require specialist health assessments and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home and one child has moved in. Their experiences have been positive and they can say goodbye to people who are important to them. The manager advocates for children when plans made by professionals do not consider the child’s views and needs. As a result, one child continues to live in the home for an extended period.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children have good routines that take account of their age. One child is struggling with their sleep routine, this is having an impact on their day. The manager is working with professionals and the child to explore ways to support them with this.

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

Children’s behaviours and risk are understood by staff and have reduced. Children interact well with each other and when there are arguments, they receive good support to help resolve any differences and move on. Inspection report children's home: 2495967 4 Incidents of self-harm are rare. When they do occur, staff respond appropriately, they assess any injuries and provide first aid treatment. Emotional support and reassurance are offered by staff who increase observations of the child until they are reassured that the child’s low mood improves.

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

Children feel safe and can identify people they can speak with if they have concerns or worries. They are supported to take age-appropriate risks. This helps them to develop independence and resilience and learn how to keep themselves safe.

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

Effective recruitment systems are implemented by managers. This reduces the risk of children been cared for by unsuitable individuals.

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

Children are supported to keep in touch with people who are important to them. One child enjoys staying at their friend’s home. Staff communicate with the child’s friend’s parents. However, there is no clear guidance about what staff need to do when the child extends their stay. As a result, on some occasions, the child’s whereabouts has not been confirmed with the responsible adult they are staying with. This does not fully promote the child’s welfare.

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

Physical interventions are used rarely by staff to keep children and staff safe and prevent damage to items. On one occasion, the manager did not evaluate the technique used and the staff and child involved did not have the opportunity to talk about what happened. This is a missed opportunity to learn what worked well and what could be done differently.

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

Staff lock the living room to prevent one child from accessing it during some mealtimes, and to prevent all children accessing it during the night. This is not proportionate and to date has not been kept under review. Managers took this on board during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by leaders and managers, they receive monthly supervision and attend regular team meetings. These meetings provide opportunities for them to reflect on their contribution to the care children receive and agree consistent approaches to supporting children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the responsible individual and registered manager have effective systems in place to monitor children’s experience and progress. Some aspects of this are excellent. For example, the responsible individual regularly consults with children and writes to them about their discussion and the actions she has taken as a result of their feedback. When any of their requests cannot be met, an explanation is provided to help them to understand why. This engagement with children supports the responsible individual to oversee the management of the home and the impact that the quality of care provided has on children’s experiences. Inspection report children's home: 2495967 5 Most staff hold a relevant qualification, one staff member is working towards completing their qualification. The manager ensures that staff receive training relevant to their role and to support them to meet the individual needs of children who live in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers work well with children’s parents and professionals who support children. Communication is good and collaborative working promotes children’s welfare and progress. Inspection report children's home: 2495967 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, 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.

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and any limitation placed on a child's privacy or access to any area of the home's premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 22 January 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should review the use of control, discipline and restraint and the review should provide the opportunity for the staff and child involved to express their feelings about the experience. This will enable reflection and managers to take action to amend practice when needed, to ensure that it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.60)  The registered person must specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is away from the home without permission and how staff should support the child on return to the home. In particular, staff should have clear guidance on verifying children's whereabouts with an appropriate adult when they do not return from planned time with friends. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including quality standards', page 45, paragraph 9.28)

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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 Inspection report children's home: 2495967 7 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 children's home: 2495967 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Harmony Childcare Residential Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Easyflow Ltd, 38e Vanguard Way, Battlefield Enterprise Park, Shrewsbury SY1 3TG

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Inspector

Helen Dunn, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 2495967 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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