Children's Home run by Juventas Services in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2668575 1 Registered provider: Juventas Services

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in December 2021, providing care for up to four children who have experienced significant trauma. It is one of a small group of privately owned homes run by an independent provider.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since October 2024 and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 14 November 2023

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2668575 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/11/2023 Full Good 05/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2668575 3

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improvement to be good

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home. Since the last inspection two children have moved into the home, and two have moved out. The children were seen during the inspection, and one child was spoken with.

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improvement to be good

There had been some damage to a child’s bedroom which had been repaired, however, the room has not been painted. This detracts from the homely environment. The rest of the home is well furnished. Children have been helped to personalise their bedrooms.

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improvement to be good

Children attend and participate in education. One child has a part-time job, and another is very keen to learn to drive. The home has paid for some of his lessons. However, this progress is not evidenced well by staff. It is not clear how staff develop children’s independence and what impact their support has had on children’s preparation for adulthood.

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improvement to be good

Children’s views, wishes and feelings are not routinely considered. Children do not contribute to their plans or decisions made about the home. One child said that they do not always feel confident that their wishes and feelings are listened to. The kitchen is locked overnight, restricting children’s access. The children did not understand why the measure was in place. The staff do not always understand the importance of listening to, involving and responding to the children. This issue was raised at the last inspection and has not been addressed.

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improvement to be good

Last year, children were invited to an awards ceremony and presented with certificates for their achievements in education. However, the staff do not always recognise achievements with children, and this does not ensure children’s accomplishments are acknowledged.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not keep memorabilia to help children reflect on their experiences. This does not help children to recognise and reflect on important events. The children do have positive experiences and were taken on holiday last year.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to maintain family relationships. One parent said that the staff travelled some distance so the child could spend time with family. This helped the child to prepare to move closer to their relatives.

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

The children have complex needs and vulnerabilities. These include risks of exploitation and missing from home and difficulties forming appropriate relationships. Inspection report for children's home: 2668575 4 Since the last inspection, staff have not used physical interventions with children. Staff have helped children understand their risks and adopt positive behaviours.

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

Significant incidents have been managed well. Staff understand risk and how to help children remain safe. Staff use sensitive and child-centred approaches to help children understand their responses to difficult situations. This helps children develop skills to manage their safety. Overall, since moving to the home, children are safer.

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

Children’s professionals gave positive feedback about how staff identify and help manage risk. This approach has helped to keep children safe.

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

There have been few missing-from-home incidents. Staff manage incidents well. They search for children, are curious as to where children have been and help them understand why they went missing. Staff liaise with external professionals to ensure ongoing support for children. This helps children feel safe.

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

Children are not always supported by staff to manage the impact of significant life events. One child did not receive help to explore a bereavement. This meant the child was not able to identify helpful ways to manage this life event or their feelings around this.

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

Staff have used consequences with children as part of a wider approach to behaviour management. They have been effective in supporting children change their approach to managing their own well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager was away during the inspection. The responsible individual and deputy manager were present throughout. The characteristics of good leadership and management are not yet in place at this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not routinely check that staff have read and understood children’s plans. This means staff are not consistent in their approaches to children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The team is relatively new. Three staff are qualified, and one staff member has not completed their qualification within the required timescales. Leaders and managers were not aware of this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home uses agency staff to support the rota. Leaders and managers are in the process of recruiting staff to reduce the reliance on agency staff. One agency staff member’s file did not hold up-to-date information to provide assurance of their suitability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Records are not routinely read by leaders and managers. This has meant opportunities to give children further support have been missed. There is a lack of monitoring, analysis and evaluation by leaders and managers to support improvements. The requirement Inspection report for children's home: 2668575 5 made at the last inspection in reference to establishing a monitoring system has been restated. One recommendation has not been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

One complaint has been made by a child since the last inspection. The complaint was responded to briefly by the manager. This was not followed up to ensure the child was happy with the outcome.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff said that they felt well supported by the manager and deputy. Staff said they have made progress under the leadership of the current managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The responsible individual has a good understanding of the children’s needs and risks. He has taken timely action in response to significant concerns. Inspection report for children's home: 2668575 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 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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received;

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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)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 30 April 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2668575 7 The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 30 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. 30 April 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2668575 8 For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”);

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(b)(d) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it;

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Requirement Due date

and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5)) 28 August 2025

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Recommendations

Inspection report for children's home: 2668575 9  The registered person should ensure restrictions on privacy and access are only put in place to safeguard each child in the home. Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. 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 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure staff keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of the time spent living at the home and help them record significant life events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)  The registered person should ensure children’s bedrooms are decorated, to maintain a

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Recommendations

homely, nurturing and supportive environment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2668575 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Haines Watts Chartered Accountants Ltd, Yare House, 62-64 Thorpe Road, Norwich NR1 1RY

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Inspector

Lexi Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2668575 11 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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