Children's home run by Nottinghamshire County Council

Inspection report for children’s home: SC044291 1 SC044291 Registered provider: Nottinghamshire County Council

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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 home is run by Nottinghamshire County Council. It offers care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2024.

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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: SC044291 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2024 Full Good 22/11/2022 Full Good 04/08/2021 Full Outstanding 28/05/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC044291 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive and supportive relationships with staff and managers. Staff know children’s needs well, therefore promoting their welfare, development and progress. Children have many positive experiences, including attending football games, ice hockey training and boxing events.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to complain and are provided with this information when moving into the home. The children are frequently reminded how to use this process should they need to. When children do complain this is thoroughly investigated. Children receive a detailed response from the manager and when appropriate participate in mediation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All three children attend education provisions. They are all making progress, with staff offering high levels of support and encouragement around attendance. There is clear communication with all education settings which supports ongoing changes to timetables and supports children to receive the most effective provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a detailed independence planning programme for children. This identifies each individual child’s needs and strengths. Where children are unhappy with the identified next steps, staff support the sharing of information with external professionals to make their wishes known. There is detailed planning and preparation with and for all children moving into and out of the home. The views of children are always considered.

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

All risks for each child are clearly understood by staff. There are detailed plans for staff to follow to make sure all children receive good care. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed, and the children are part of the creation of these.

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

When children go missing, there are coordinated plans in place to support their safe return. Children always receive supportive conversations when they return home. Staff always escalate concerns when a child is missing to ensure relevant professionals and agencies are aware.

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

There is a stable staff team working in the home, providing the children with stability and consistency. When a new staff member is recruited, this is through a detailed safer recruitment process with senior oversight.

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

Praise is used in the home and achievements that the children make are clearly recorded and recognised. When the children display behaviours which are not seen as positive, they are always spoken with to explore the reasons for this. Consequences are used at times. These are not frequent and when they are used they are deemed proportionate. Clear records of decision-making and manager oversight are present. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044291 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has strong relationships with external professionals, and there is clear evidence of challenge should she feel that the children’s needs are not being met or at the centre of decision-making. The manager has a clear understanding of the need for positive relationships within the local community. This includes neighbours and local professionals, such as the police.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good knowledge of the needs of the children in the home. The manager and deputy manager share the workload, ensuring that all areas of the home have clear oversight. There is effective review and monitoring by both the manager and deputy manager. Auditing is effective and where areas of improvement are required, this is delegated to relevant team members. However, the manager does not always submit the relevant reports to the regulator and placing authorities in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professional supervision takes place frequently and is detailed and reflective. The focus of the supervision agenda is the progress, development and needs of the children. Supervision discussions are used to support learning and development for the workforce. Clear action plans are implemented alongside targets for training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly. Managers use external professionals and resources to support the learning and development of the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has clear focus on the environment and ensures this is maintained to a high standard, meeting the continually changing needs of the children. Any damage is quickly repaired, maintaining a homely feel. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044291 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. The processes the registered person puts in place to enable such a review to take place should allow for a report to be generated at least once every six months. The generated report should be sent to Ofsted and the placing local authority of all children in the home who are looked-after children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.3)

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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: SC044291 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider : Nottinghamshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: West Bridgford House, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG2 7UN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jennifer Whiston

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Inspector

Rachel Moore, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC044291 7 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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