Children's home run by Care Perspectives Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2546474 1 Registered provider: Care Perspectives Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children. Children may have mental, emotional or social difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since February 2022 and registered with Ofsted in June 2022. He has an appropriate management qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. All children 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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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 22 January 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2546474 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/01/2024 Full Good 27/02/2023 Full Good 18/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2546474 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Two of the children have lived together at the home for over two years. Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The staff provide care that is tailored to the children’s specific needs, and this is supporting the children to make significant personal progress from their starting points in all areas of their lives. Staff know the children extremely well and provide therapeutically informed care which is consistent, child-focused and nurturing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The registered manager ensures that children are settled and ready to live alongside others before gradually moving other children into the home. This planned and considered process has seen the first child flourish. They have progressed from living on their own in the home as a solo placement to living alongside one, and then a year later, two other children. Successfully sharing communal space and living alongside others is significant progress for all three children. This continues to be a key area of focus and discussion.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

A member of the organisation’s therapeutic team works directly with the staff team. This promotes and supports staff’s understanding of the therapeutic model of care and guides them in meeting the children’s changing needs. All three children are regularly assessed by the clinician and see her for direct work. The nature and focus of this work are led by each of the children. This regular consultation and direct work support the children to learn new skills through the targets set. It also informs and develops the staff team’s practice and builds relationships with, and between, the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are making excellent educational progress. All three children were out of education before moving into the home. The registered manager and staff prioritise the children accessing specialist education that meets their needs, establishing a structured education routine as soon as they move into the home. Two of the children are now successfully in full-time education and are exceeding education targets. One child was waiting for their placing authority to identify a suitable school. The registered manager is closely monitoring and chasing this. In the interim, the child is successfully establishing a new routine. They are leaving the home daily to engage with a tutor, initially on a reduced timetable. This means that the child is developing a healthy pattern of learning while waiting for a school place to be identified.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The two children who are now successfully engaging with full-time education have been supported throughout by staff who go above and beyond expectations. The staff continue to identify if the children are anxious and attend school or college with them when necessary to give them encouragement and advocate on their behalf. These children have experienced positive transitions into a new year group and into college. One child attended their school prom at the end of their school education and is now successfully travelling on their own on public transport to and from college. The other child attended his placing authority’s director’s award ceremony, where he won an award Inspection report for children’s home: 2546474 4 for having a story published in a book that will be kept indefinitely in the national archives of the British Library.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff encourage children to develop and maintain relationships with their families and friends. They listen to parents and include them in their children’s lives. Whenever possible, staff work with children and families to increase their time together. This might be an overnight stay or providing staff support during family visits or out on activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff encourage the children to take part in appropriate community-based activities. For example, they attend a local youth group, go on camping trips and go out cycling with staff. Last year two of the children went on holiday together to Dublin. This was one child’s first experience of flying, which he said he really enjoyed. These activities improve their self-esteem and enable them to enjoy being part of their local community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff are proactive in helping the children to develop life skills that will support their independence as they move towards adulthood. Children learn about budgeting, self- care and travelling by public transport. One child has a trailer for their bike, and cycles to do their food shopping. On other occasions, they will go with one of the other children to shop for food. They are both very proud of being able to cook independently without the help of staff. Staff support the children to develop skills to be responsible for themselves and others. One child has recently done research on bearded dragons, then saved up and purchased one and all the equipment required to care for it. They are serious about the responsibility involved in successfully caring for and feeding it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is welcoming and communal rooms are well decorated. There are ongoing discussions with the children, enabling them to have a say in future plans for redecoration and to encourage them to be proud of the home. Damage to the home is quickly repaired. The manager and staff work closely with the maintenance team to ensure that any restrictions or adaptions to the environment are as domestic in style as possible. For example, attractive radiator covers are being made and fitted throughout the home to prevent radiators from being pulled off the walls. Children’s bedrooms are also personalised to meet the children’s needs.

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

Safeguarding the children is a priority. The registered manager and staff understand the importance of safeguarding and are proactive in keeping up to date with relevant training and safeguarding procedures.

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

Staff focus on rewarding the children for positive behaviour and making positive choices. The children’s achievements are celebrated. This helps the children understand how their behaviours impact on themselves and others.

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

Staff use physical restraint appropriately and only as a last resort. The registered manager monitors incidents and the use of physical restraint to identify patterns. Staff help the children to reflect on incidents, helping them to explore their emotions and Inspection report for children’s home: 2546474 5 develop strategies for the next time they feel that way. As a result, incidents at the home are reducing.

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

Staff help the children to be aware of others and have empathy and to show kindness. This is evident in children’s interactions with each other. Children are learning to be understanding towards others, including those with complex needs, and include them in conversations and activities without being prompted to by the staff around them.

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

Although the children have not gone missing from the home, protocols are in place which tell staff what to do should a child go missing. The registered manager has shared this information with the police.

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

There are clear systems in place to ensure the safe administration and storage of medicine. When a medication error did occur, the registered manager conducted a detailed investigation. Areas for learning were identified and actioned.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is led by a dedicated and skilled registered manager. He is a strong advocate for the children and knows the children’s strengths, needs and risks well. He sets high expectations for himself and the staff team. As a result, staff are motivated and committed to excellent care. This is demonstrated by the exceptional progress the children make.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager skilfully uses flexible staffing arrangements that are tailored to meet the needs of the children. These arrangements are regularly reviewed and adjusted as the children progress. For example, when the first child lived on their own in the home as a solo placement, they were subject to a deprivation of liberty order and were supported by two members of staff. The progress made by the child resulted in the deprivation of liberty order being lifted and staffing being reduced. However, more recently, the registered manager has restructured and increased the staff team. This is to meet the specific needs of the child who has recently moved into the home and to reflect that the home is now caring for three children. Changes included the creation of a deputy manager post.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The children benefit from having a diverse team of staff from a variety of backgrounds. The registered manager recognises the staff team’s experience and interests and develops these to improve the quality of care delivered to the children. For example, the deputy manager holds a leadership and management qualification, and seniors also hold or are working towards external and internal leadership and management qualifications. The home is fully staffed, and no agency staff are used to care for the children. This consistent care means that the children have meaningful relationships with people they know well and they trust.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Monthly team meetings and fortnightly clinician-led team around the child meetings give the whole staff team the opportunity to reflect on their practice, discuss the children’s care needs and share ideas. The staff value being able to meet regularly, as this helps Inspection report for children’s home: 2546474 6 them to reflect on the therapeutic model of care and use it in their day-to-day practice to achieve positive outcomes for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff say they feel well supported, valued and respected by the registered manager, clinician and leadership team. Staff receive regular reflective supervision and are encouraged to develop themselves by undertaking additional learning and reading research. All staff have personal development plans, and the registered manager has introduced a performance indicator tool to support the development of the new senior leadership team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are provided with a wide range of training, which is specific and relevant to the children’s needs. The registered manager further promotes a learning environment by upskilling staff through additional workshops delivered by the therapeutic team and responsible individual in team meetings and on training days. Staff talk knowledgeably about the therapeutic model of care and the training. This means that the children are supported by staff who are equipped with the skills and experience they need to deliver good care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Parents and placing authorities commend the registered manager and staff team for their excellent partnership work. The staff speak highly of their colleagues and are proud of the achievements of the children. One member of staff said, ‘The staff team here place a strong emphasis on the children’s emotional well-being and mental health. Staff demonstrate excellent emotional literacy and utilise therapeutic approaches effectively to support the children’s emotional regulation and resilience.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements or recommendations were made following this inspection.

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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: 2546474 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care Perspectives Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 47 Morris Road, Leicester LE2 6BR

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Inspector

Dawn Bennett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2546474 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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