Dreamss

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Dreamss 1 Dreamss Registered provider: Dreamss ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation service is owned and operated by a private provider. The service provides up to nine group living premises that are limited to accommodating looked after children and care leavers, and seven single-occupancy premises.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, the service was providing support for 21 children aged 16 and 17.

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provider

The service manager, who is also the sole director and nominated individual, registered with Ofsted in January 2024.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 20 January 2025 and started that day. The inspectors were on site from 22 to 24 January 2025.

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Outcome

Consistently strong service delivery leads to typically positive experiences and progress for children. Where improvements are needed, leaders and managers take timely and effective action.

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Summary of findings

Children are making good progress. Staff are well trained to understand children’s experiences and respond to their needs. They help children to develop independent living skills and personal resilience in preparation for adulthood.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers are reflective. They adopt a culture of learning to continually improve the services that they offer for children.

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Summary of findings

Managers and staff work collaboratively with other agencies to ensure that children receive the support they require in a timely manner. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Dreamss 2 Children, staff and other professionals speak highly about the impact that the service has on promoting positive outcomes for children and preparing them for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children receive support from a caring and dedicated team of staff who prioritise their progress and safety. Support plans are designed to identify children’s individual starting points and primary needs. Children living in the service have a range of needs, for example some children require enhanced support to meet their social and emotional needs, while others require fine tuning of their independence skills. Staff have a diverse range of skills and this helps to ensure that children make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Support sessions are creative and designed to encourage children’s engagement. For example, a weekly ‘cook and eat’ competition is held across the services. This fun session helps children to learn budgeting, cooking and cleaning skills. For children who require additional nurturing support, staff plan activities such as the cinema, movie night or a meal out where they can spend one-to-one time with the child. Staff use these opportunities to engage children in meaningful conversations about their support. This flexible approach to support sessions ensures that all of the children have the opportunity to learn new skills and reflect on their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children build positive and trusting relationships with staff and managers while living at the service. Children said that staff take time to get to know them and understand what motivates them. They each have a trusted adult in the staff team who they can talk to about their thoughts, feelings or worries. One child said, ‘It really helps that they don’t judge me, just help me.’ For some children, their relationship with staff has been so influential that they have chosen to remain in regular contact several years after they have left the service. Some of these young people now mentor other children living in the service.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are supported to maintain and develop positive relationships with the people who are important to them. Staff and managers work collaboratively with family members to promote positive outcomes for children. When this is not possible, staff take time to support children to understand why, and to help children to process their emotions and feelings about their individual circumstances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff have high aspirations for children’s education, training and employment opportunities. They identify children’s strengths and areas of interest and provide support and encouragement to enrol, study or apply for jobs. One child said, ‘Without the staff I would not be applying for university.’ When children are not engaged in education, training or employment, staff help them to understand the barriers to this. They work with education and training providers to seek alternative opportunities for the children, for example online courses and learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are not consistently involved in the design of their support plans. Two children were unaware that key-worker sessions led to changes in their support Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Dreamss 3 plans and said that they had not received a copy of their support plan. This does not enable children to understand or have ownership of the support they receive. Additionally, for some children, this may hinder their engagement with their support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children receive written information about their rights and entitlements when they first move into their new accommodation. However, staff lack knowledge about the local offer and children’s entitlements. As a result, on some occasions, children have not accessed their entitlements. For example, two children did not have TVs in their bedrooms. They were unable to afford this from their weekly allowance and staff did not inform them about their entitlement to a ‘setting up home’ allowance.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children’s vulnerabilities are identified and understood by staff. Children receive support that is tailored around developing their understanding of risks and how to keep themselves safe. When new risks emerge, staff and managers work effectively with other agencies to develop individualised safety plans to keep children safe. On some occasions, this includes increasing the support available to the children. This fluid and dynamic approach to children’s safety plans supports children to maintain a consistent placement while responding to their immediate needs.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff are attuned to the reasons why children may become upset, and they use their understanding to help children to process, understand and regulate their emotions and feelings. They use de-escalation skills when children are upset, and later follow up with restorative conversations when children are calm. This approach helps children to reflect on their behaviour and learn new coping strategies for the future.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children are supported to access universal health services when they first arrive at the service. When children’s health needs require specialist services, managers and staff make necessary referrals to other agencies. For some children, the manager ensures that sessions with specialist health services, such as substance misuse service and mental health services, are provided from the child’s home. This helps children to overcome barriers that may prevent them from receiving the support they require, as well as helping children to maintain overall good physical and mental health.

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How well children are helped and protected

When children go missing from their home or are absent without authorisation, staff respond with care and curiosity. They use a range of strategies to find children and understand why they have gone missing. They work diligently in line with the multi- agency protocols. For example, staff undertake welfare checks on children in the community. This provides staff with an opportunity to assess the child’s welfare and encourage a safe return home, or, in some instances, to escalate their concerns for children’s safety to the police. Additionally, this demonstrates to children that staff care about their safety and are invested in their safe return.

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How well children are helped and protected

Safeguarding incidents and allegations are managed effectively by the leaders and managers. Information is shared promptly with relevant agencies to ensure that a co-ordinated response is conducted. On occasions where the manager has been Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Dreamss 4 asked to undertake an internal investigation, she has done so with transparency and clarity in a timely manner. As a result, appropriate action has been taken to safeguard children from harm.

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How well children are helped and protected

Accommodation is designed, furnished and decorated to a good standard. However, in some premises, restrictions are in place such as kitchens and lounges being locked at midnight. The restrictions are no longer relevant to the cohort of children in the premises. Managers and staff have failed to identify this and make necessary changes. For one child who has insomnia, this negatively impacts on her experience of living in the service.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children’s support plans do not consistently reflect up-to-date information. For example, one child’s plan did not reflect recent changes to their court conditions. Managers and staff were aware of the new conditions and, as a result, ensured that the child was adhering to the conditions.

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How well children are helped and protected

Recruitment checks, specifically references, are not adequately sourced to ensure that all staff are safe and suitable to work with children. For example, some references are received and accepted from friends and neighbours. This does not provide the manager with a sufficient understanding about the candidates’ previous or current employment circumstances.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers create a culture that places children’s safety and support needs at the centre of the service. They ensure that staff’s values and vision are aligned with the ethos of the organisation. When these do not align, leaders and managers confidently challenge staff members.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff receive effective support, learning and development in order to carry out their roles. They report that leaders and managers are present, available and responsive to the operational needs of the service. Staff understand their duties and responsibilities and are held accountable for their actions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Professionals speak highly about the support that children receive, and leaders and managers work collaboratively with other agencies. When agencies do not respond to children’s needs, leaders and managers offer appropriate challenge. This helps children to feel a sense of belonging. One child said, ‘They are there to fight your corner and make sure you get what you’re entitled to.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers ensure that the workforce is consistently well resourced. For example, when staff shortages arise, they make decisions that minimise the impact of these shortages on the children, such as temporarily closing a group living service. This ensures that children receive continuity of support from staff members who are familiar and part of the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers work reflectively. They use learning from serious incidents, complaints and feedback to inform the service offer. Additionally, staff supervision Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Dreamss 5 provides a platform where staff are encouraged to consider their strengths and areas for development. Actions from these reviews inform future practice in the service. However, the registered service manager, who is also the sole director and the nominated individual, receives supervision from a family member and, on some occasions, an employee within the human resources department. This arrangement does not provide the manager with sufficient support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered manager does not consistently report all serious notifiable incidents to Ofsted. This is specifically relating to two areas: when children require medical attention, and when children have been assessed as being at risk of exploitation. Although, in these instances, appropriate actions were taken to protect children from harm, this shortfall means that Ofsted was unable to assess these actions in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered manager has not carried out a quality-of-service review within the expected time frame. She was unfamiliar with this requirement of the regulations. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Dreamss 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including 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 supported accommodation undertaking that puts children first and prioritises their wellbeing and development.

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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

where relevant, their entitlements as a care leaver, and

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Requirement Due date

where necessary, support each child to access those entitlements. (Regulation 4 (1) (2)(h)(iv)) 24 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The support standard is that children receive individual and tailored support that meets their needs.

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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

ensure that plans for support are based on initial referral information, are meaningful and are created in full consultation with the child, taking account of relevant plans for the child;

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Requirement Due date

keep the child’s support under review, taking into consideration the plans for support, and relevant plans, to ensure that the child’s needs continue to be met and that the child is kept safe. (Regulation 7 (1) (2)(b)(c)) 24 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify the CIECSS and any relevant person without delay if— 24 March 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Dreamss 7 a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation or child criminal exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry). (Regulation 27 (3)(a)(d)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain a system for monitoring and improving the quality of support provided by the supported accommodation undertaking by completing a review ("a quality of support review") at least once every six months, which must take into account—

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Requirement Due date

the views of children, including any feedback and complaints received;

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Requirement Due date

feedback from individual children on the impact the supported accommodation has had on the child’s life, especially regarding how well prepared the child felt for transition into supported accommodation and how well prepared the child feels for transition out of supported accommodation;

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Requirement Due date

feedback from each child’s accommodating authority, staff and any relevant persons;

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Requirement Due date

any relevant research and developments in relation to the way in which the needs of children are best met.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of support review, the registered person must produce a written report setting out the actions the registered person intends to take as a result of that quality of support review.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide a copy of the review report to the CIECSS within 28 days beginning with the day on which the report is completed, and make a copy of it available on request to each child’s accommodating authority. (Regulation 32 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d) (2) (3)) 24 March 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Dreamss 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children can access all shared areas of the setting unless there are specific reasons why this would not be the case. In particular, it is not expected that staff would impose limits on privacy and access, unless confronted with an exceptional circumstance that means these limits are needed temporarily to safeguard children. Any decisions to limit children’s access should be short term and made only where this is intended to safeguard the welfare of children or any other person. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 29)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Dreamss 9

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: 25 Grove Terrace, Bradford BD7 1AU

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Cecelia Russell

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Inspectors

Beth Forster, Social Care Inspector Eileen Bultitude, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Dreamss 10 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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