Children's Home run by Strive and Succeed Ltd in Luton

Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 1 Registered provider: Strive and Succeed 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 privately run home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was in post when the home was registered with Ofsted in May 2024. This is the first inspection since the home was registered.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home was registered, six children have moved in, and two children have moved out. At the time of the inspection, four children were living at the home. All children were spoken to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress. Staff build trusting and open relationships with children. Staff enjoy spending time with children, and as a result, children value the staff and benefit from spending time with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and comfortable. There are chalk walls in communal areas which give the children freedom to express their creativity. The atmosphere is relaxed and fun. Children play games with staff and their enjoyment and laughter can be heard around the home. The staff have created a daily ritual of making homemade fresh juice. During the inspection, one child created their own recipe and took pride in serving this. The staff appreciate the children and their contributions to children’s lives are meaningful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children see people who are important to them. For one child, this involves a considerable commitment to regular long-distance travel.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide a wide variety of activities. Children enjoy trips to arcades and bowling. There is a focus on wholesome activities, such as trips to the park and games in the garden. Staff capture these activities in photos that are collated into memory books. This provides visual childhood memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met. Records show when children have attended medical appointments, and that any medication is stored securely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children have made excellent educational progress. Children who have been out of school for long periods of time are now accessing formal learning opportunities. Two children were seen proudly wearing their school clothes. Another child has moved up a curriculum level. This uptake in education improves children’s life chances and self- esteem. Despite this, one child’s educational progress is mixed. The child can often spend days in bed. Managers and staff have worked collaboratively with education partners to plan for the child. There are formal learning opportunities available, but the child is currently refusing to attend. Staff are providing learning at the home, but there is no clear planning for this. There is also no clear evidence of what learning the child has completed and what they are attaining. This means there is no way to evaluate their progress effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to formal mental health support and all children have regular sessions with the home’s therapist. However, strategies suggested by the therapist are not always assimilated into risk assessments and staff do not always work therapeutically with children. Some staff have not been trained to use the prescribed therapeutic model. Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 3 This has meant that on occasions when children have talked to staff about their mental health, the response from staff has not always acknowledged the child’s feelings in a trauma-informed way. This is not in alignment with the service described in the home’s statement of purpose.

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

Children are safer since moving to the home. In a previous home, one child was regularly missing from home and struggled with relationships. This has significantly improved. Another child’s missing-from-home episodes have greatly reduced. Staff have positive and respectful relationships with children. These have helped children accept that staff make decisions to keep them safe. Serious incidents are infrequent and there have been no physical interventions since the home opened.

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

Staff encourage positive behaviour using rewards and praise. Staff notice the day-to-day achievements that children make. This is written in individual books for the children to read. This shows the children that they are valued by staff.

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

Managers thoroughly assess whether new children can live alongside children already living at the home and the resources they might need. This ensures that children are compatible to live communally.

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

Safe recruitment of staff means that only appropriate adults are able to work at the home.

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

Children’s risk assessments are not always followed. On one occasion, staff did not provide adequate supervision of a child. This meant a child who is at high risk of going missing from home and gang affiliation was able to the leave the home for 10 days. During that time, the child was at significant risk. Following this incident, the child has been advised by their social worker that any further incidents could compromise their immigration status. They have not been missing from the home since. Since this incident, risk assessments are clearer, and the manager has ensured that staff are fully aware of the risks to the child.

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

Risk assessments do not include clear therapeutic strategies to be used when children are experiencing crisis. A child has a punchbag in the garden to use when they are angry. When the child is angry, they have not used this; instead, they have damaged their room. There is no helpful script to support staff with what to say to the child that better acknowledges the child’s feelings and how to de-escalate them. This resulted in significant damage being caused to the child’s bedroom and the house and the police being called. The staff have discussed a large financial consequence, which managers note will never be paid off. This is unhelpful for the child and does not support them to understand or manage their emotions. Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She is aspirational for the children. She has a clear understanding of the strengths of the home and the areas that require development. The manager requires that all staff share the same ambitious vision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring of the home is effective and as a result, she has a detailed understanding of the children’s needs. There is an in-depth development plan to further provide staff with continuous learning. During the inspection, managers demonstrated a commitment to improving documents and therapeutic working to ensure that children receive the very best care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager communicates regularly with children’s social workers, resulting in a high level of collaboration. This demonstrates a culture of openness, ensuring that children benefit from thoughtful, joined-up working. Feedback from professionals is highly positive, with an emphasis on the progress that children have made at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoken to enjoy the community feel of the home and feel highly supported by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some of the staff team are not trained in the chosen therapeutic model. When staff have had training, supervision sessions and team meetings do not yet have a big enough focus on how the model needs to be assimilated into children plans and staff practice to ensure that staff provide the service as detailed in the home’s statement of purpose. Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 5

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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 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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

 staff provide care that aligns with the therapeutic interventions detailed in the home’s statement of purpose  staff are trained in, and understand the chosen model  staff respond to children using the model described and make appropriate records  poor staff practice is identified by leaders and managers and that staff are supported to make improvements  risk assessments provide clear instructions to staff about how to respond to children. 15 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 6 The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

 children who are not in education have an alternative, structured learning plan  there is a record of children’s learning and how this links to their achievements and progress. 15 March 2025

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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: 2777558 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Strive and Succeed Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C/O JP Accountancy, Phoenix House, Rosslyn Crescent, Harrow HA1 2SP

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Inspector

Hannah Phillips, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 8 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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