Children's home run by Protea Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2502918 1 Registered provider: Protea Care 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 is a privately run home that can care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties. There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection. Both children were spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a registered manager who was appointed in November 2022.

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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: 5 December 2023

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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: 2502918 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/12/2023 Full Good 04/01/2023 Full Good 06/07/2021 Full Good 12/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2502918 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is inviting and has a homely feel throughout. There are photos of the children highlighting positive memories the children have shared with staff. This includes photos of holidays and day trips. The children’s school photos are also proudly on show in the living room. There are books and board games in the home which the children enjoy using. There is a basketball hoop in the garden enjoyed by the children. There is also a den, which is another area for the children to relax. The children’s bedrooms are individualised and reflect the interests of each individual child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children trust staff in the home and have formed strong relationships with them. Staff understand the needs of the children and both children have made progress regulating difficult emotions. Staff have supported children to have a good relationship with one another. One parent likened the children to siblings, further saying that they have a ‘good bond which helps them to settle’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children have education plans in place that meet their needs. Staff have supported one child in gaining a health diagnosis. This has helped the school to better understand the child’s needs. This is leading to improved outcomes with regards to education for this child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care planning is detailed, and staff understand the individual needs of each child and how to respond. Children benefit from having their own child-friendly care plan, which is engaging. The care plans include photos, pictures and colourful text that includes key information about the child, including their wishes and feelings. This shows that children are consulted in their care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to by staff. They are confident in sharing their views and see actions from doing so. Children share with staff what activities they would like to do during the week and what foods they would like to eat. This is then included within their planning. The children are comfortable to share their views about any changes they would like to happen in the home. They recently shared they would like a later bedtime, for example. This was considered, and changes have been made to routines to accommodate this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy activities such as football, rugby, theatre school and swimming. This gives children the opportunity to explore their interests and build new skills. This has supported the children’s physical and emotional development. It has also provided opportunities for children to become involved in the local community.

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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2502918 4 The manager follows appropriate policies to ensure that children are safe. This includes being mindful of emerging risks for children such as criminal exploitation and child sexual exploitation.

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

Children are helped to develop their independence skills that are appropriate to the child’s age and stage of development. This includes helping children plan their daily routines. This promotes children’s sense of responsibility.

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

The children have incentive charts that support them to keep on track with daily routines. They respond well to this. The children also receive positive praise cards to let them know when they are doing well. This gives children a sense of achievement and boosts their self-esteem.

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

Staff are confident in responding when children are absent from home or go missing. Staff are proactive in ensuring that they are actively looking for the child and alerting relevant agencies.

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

Door alarms are used on the children’s bedrooms. This practice is not currently under regular review to assess whether this is still required. There is no review that details the rationale for the continuing use of the door alarms.

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

Staff are trained in physical intervention and will use this when justified to ensure children and staff are safe. The recordings do not give a clear account of which staff member held the child, where and for how long each hold lasted. This makes it difficult to have full oversight of these incidents.

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

Some language in the home is institutionalised. This takes away from the homely environment that is being developed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong leader. She is experienced and well established. The children enjoy spending time with her. She is a positive role model to them. The manager is attuned to the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported in their role by the manager. This includes receiving regular supervision, which is purposeful and reflective. Team meetings take place regularly and often provide an invaluable learning opportunity for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager responded to a concern about online grooming risks by devising a presentation that was shared in a team meeting. This was informative and included research and statistics about children in care. This supported staff to be more confident in responding to these risks. Inspection report for children’s home: 2502918 5 The manager knows the strengths within her team. There are several ‘champions’ in the home. These include equality champions, who share lots of information with the children to raise awareness of diversity and equality. The children recently learned about International Women’s Day, for example. This helps to shape children’s personal development and become more respectful and empathetic.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Stakeholder feedback is positive. The manager has developed positive relationships with key people for the children. This helps to plan and put in place the right support for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2502918 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the use of door alarms is regularly reviewed and justification for the continued use of door alarms is clear within the children’s planning. The registered person should ensure that the language used in the home promotes a family unit community as far as possible to support with creating a homely environment, which is outlined within the statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that there is a description of any holds used during physical restraint. This includes where the adult held the child, so that this is clear for the reader to review. This must also include how long each hold lasts. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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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: 2502918 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Protea Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Howard Roth & Co, 317 Horn Lane, London W3 0BU

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Inspector

Becky Thompson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2502918 8 and inspects 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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