Children's home run by Casaegis Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2595123 1 Registered provider: Casaegis 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 home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home. Both were spoken to during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following the last inspection, Ofsted issued a compliance notice in respect of regulation 12, the help and protection standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. A monitoring visit was carried out on 1 October 2024, and the notices were lifted, having been deemed as met Inspection report for children’s home: 2595123 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/08/2024 Full Inadequate 28/11/2023 Full Good 01/11/2022 Full Good 15/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2595123 3

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improvement to be good

Children live in a warm and homely environment. There are photos of the children on display, which reflect the children’s individual interests and things they enjoy. Children’s views are taken into account about the decoration of their home.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they like living in the home and feel safe. Children feel this way because they have consistent and positive relationships with the staff who care for them. Children identify the manager as someone who they can speak to.

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improvement to be good

Children are making good progress with education. One child is now attending an education provision, following a long period out of education, this is due to a plan being implemented that meets their identified educational needs. Staff are proactive in communicating with education providers. Staff are ambitious for the children’s futures.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not always consistent with boundaries for the children. This has been highlighted by management as an area for improvement. Often, the focus is on the child’s behaviour rather than supporting the child to develop skills and strategies to manage their own conflict. This approach from staff can lead to children feeling blamed for their behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to have safe and meaningful relationships with those who are most important to them. This allows children to maintain important relationships.

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improvement to be good

Children are provided with the space to talk about their wishes and feelings. Sessions are held following incidents to support and help children to develop better strategies to manage their feelings. This allows children to reflect on incidents. Staff reassure children and provide positive praise. This supports children to feel listened to and that their feelings are valid.

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improvement to be good

When restraint has been used, it has been proportionate, appropriate and for a minimal amount of time. Records describing incidents of restraint are clear. However, oversight by the manager is not reflective and does not evaluate the appropriateness of the method used. While children are spoken to after restraint, the focus is on the child’s behaviour, and triggers are not considered or how the restraint made the child feel. This is an area for development.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand and follow procedures for responding to concerns about the safety of a child. Allegations or suspicion of harm are acted on quickly and sensitively. This allows children to be protected from harm. However, a notification regarding harm to a child Inspection report for children’s home: 2595123 4 was not shared with Ofsted. Despite this, immediate action was taken, and all other agencies were informed.

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improvement to be good

Children cannot access all areas of their home freely. Limitations placed on areas of the home are not reviewed regularly. This restricts children being able to freely access areas of their home, which creates an institutionalised environment. Staffing ratios for one child are not being regularly reviewed alongside the local authority. At times, the agreed staffing levels are not being followed. This leaves the child and staff in a vulnerable position.

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improvement to be good

Children’s individual safety plans provide staff with clear guidance on how to best support the children. These are updated when needed. This ensures that the correct information is readily available to staff.

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improvement to be good

Consequences and sanctions are not always effective, such as the removal of children’s gaming devices. Reviews are not happening to consider alternative measures to best support children. This has been highlighted as an area for development by the responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is supported by a newly appointed responsible individual. The management team is able to acknowledge areas for development and has plans in place to address these. These plans are starting to be embedded into staff care practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The quality of care report does not provide reflection or evaluation of the care provided. Children’s progress is not reviewed. Feedback for the report was not obtained from one child or external people, such as the child’s family and the local authority. This does not support the manager to identify areas of good practice, or areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

When the manager has been involved in conversations with children of a sensitive nature or regarding potential safeguarding matters, these have not been overseen by an independent person. This does not provide independent oversight to ensure that all actions have been taken. This is an area for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Not all staff have completed the required training. This has not been challenged by the manager with staff appropriately through supervision when it has been highlighted. This creates shortfalls in staff’s knowledge and skills to support the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff benefit from effective and reflective supervision. This allows staff to reflect on their practice and how best to support the children. Safeguarding concerns are regularly discussed both within individual supervision and group meetings. When there have been ongoing concerns, open discussions have been held on how to change practice to ensure that the best care is provided to the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2595123 5 The manager has developed strong links with the local authority and key external agencies. This contributes to a network of continued support for the children. External professionals speak highly of the manager and their communication. Inspection report for children’s home: 2595123 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(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for the children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed;

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parent, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5)) 4 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2595123 7 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; and

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that all staff complete the necessary training in order to meet the needs of the children. 4 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

is instigated; or 4 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2595123 8 concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

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; is necessary and proportionate;

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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 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person reviewing the need for doors being locked, and the staffing ratio for the children. 4 March 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and the above principles as set out in 9.35 are respected. The registered person’s oversight should include if the restraint was appropriate and proportionate and an evaluation of its effectiveness. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. The registered person should ensure that information from independent monitoring is reviewed and satisfactory. When the Inspection report for children’s home: 2595123 9 registered person has been involved in incidents, independent scrutiny should be from the responsible individual. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 2595123 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 84 Wigston Road, Oadby, Leicestershire LE2 5QD

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Inspector

Jess Baines, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2595123 11 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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