Children's home run by Headway Adolescent Resources Limited in Monmouthshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 1 SC447768 Registered provider: Headway Adolescent Resources 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 operated home provides care for up to three children. The home is registered with Ofsted to provide care for children who have experienced social and emotional difficulties and/or have additional learning needs.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2018.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2024 Full Good 23/01/2023 Full Good 18/01/2022 Full Good 22/10/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children were enjoying their half-term holidays at the time of the inspection. The inspectors spent time with all three children, who showed them their rooms and shared their views on what it is like living here.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between children and adults are positive. Both sides talk warmly about each other and they laugh and joke together. Children speak highly of their experiences. For example, one child said he loves living here; he thinks ‘it’s great’. Another child said that one adult is ‘amazing and so good’ and they have someone they can talk to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have built strong relationship with the children’s families. Families value the support they receive and one parent said that their child was ‘making fantastic progress’ and they ‘couldn’t fault the home’. Children are supported to develop and maintain their relationships with their family members. This is an ambition of the manager, who works hard to develop stronger working relationships with those people who are important to the children. Professionals were happy with the support they receive from the home and they said that communication is a strength.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to make healthy lifestyle choices. Children have been helped to seek healthcare support from external services and to engage in their appointments. This has helped one child to stop smoking tobacco. Managers and staff ensure referrals to specialist services are made; however, they lack tenacity to follow these up and escalate when children experience delays with appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child’s school attendance has increased significantly since living in the home. Other children have continued to make steady progress in school and their attendance has remained high. The registered manager collaborates closely with educational professionals and planning for the new academic year is already under way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy visiting museums, canoeing, escape rooms and mini golf. Photos of them having fun on their summer holiday to Devon are on display throughout the home. Special occasions are celebrated with cake, meals out and birthday parties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children’s identity. They are supported to spend time with their friends, who come for dinner and are welcomed into the home. The children get along well with each other and respect each other, but they do not choose to spend time together as they have different interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms are personalised and they have their belongings around them. The home environment is mostly warm and homely, although some areas are looking tired and need updating. The ground floor space requires suitable furniture so that it meets the needs of the children using it. Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 4 Making sure that children are ready for adulthood is a focus of the home and a new programme to support children is being introduced by the registered manager. Staff work with professionals so that an individualised realistic plan for each child is in place. If the child is not ready for the next steps, the plan is reviewed and adjusted.

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

Children feel safe in this home. Staff help children talk about any worries they might have. If a safeguarding concern were identified, staff would report this to the relevant professionals to make sure that children were protected. Children said that they feel listened to and their views are taken seriously and are acted upon.

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

Children’s plans are individualised and they reflect the support they need. Staff are consistent with the children, which makes them feel secure.

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

Restraint has not been used in the home since August 2023. Staff understand why and when restraint may be used. They use de-escalating and calming techniques alongside their positive relationships and humour with the children to manage any upsets that might occur.

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

Staff value the input they receive from the home’s psychology service. Bereavement training was given to all staff so they felt confident in supporting the children after a member of staff passed away recently. Staff are consistently recording meaningful conversations with the children so that any risks can be understood and managed effectively.

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

Staff are confident in recognising the risks to children and have been focusing on completing online safety and healthy relationship work. This enables the children to make informed decisions and keep themselves safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is respected by staff and one person commented that they feel lucky to work with a management team that is so ‘dedicated and focused on children and their well-being and development.’ Staff said that they feel able to speak their minds and that they feel listened to. Children choose to spend time with the registered manager and they have one-to-one quality time together.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Before children move into the home, the registered manager carefully considers their needs and risks alongside the other children living in the home. Additionally, managers assess whether they believe staff are able to meet children’s needs and can help them to keep safe. Relevant training is provided if potential vulnerabilities are identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has aspirations for the children to achieve further and to integrate more widely in their community through volunteering and part-time jobs, but this has not been fully developed yet. Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 5 Staff feel supported by the management team and they have regular supervision, which is of a good standard. It is reflective and looks at staff members’ own personal and development needs. Supervision gives staff the opportunity to discuss the children’s needs, development and progress made. New staff receive a robust induction and have been given time to complete online training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff value team meetings and they appreciate the support and knowledge that they receive from the psychology service. This gives them the confidence to change their practice and enables the staff team to meet the needs of the children using a consistent approach. Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they are proactively advocating for a child and are forceful in their challenge to the relevant person so that a child’s health needs are met in line with their healthcare plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.4)  The registered person should ensure that children are provided with a home environment that is in a good state of repair to make it comfortable for children to live in. In particular, the bathrooms and some of the communal areas should be brought up to standard. The ground floor space should be suitably furnished so that it meets the children’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 7, paragraph 3.7)

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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: SC447768 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Headway Adolescent Resources Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove B60 4AD

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Inspectors

Karen Hallam, Social Care Inspector Nicola Lownds, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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