Children's Home run by Children To Prosper Limited in Milton Keynes

Inspection report for children's home: 2740871 1 Registered provider: Children to Prosper 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 provides care for one child aged between seven and 17 years old who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted on 5 September 2023. The registered manager has been in post since September 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has recently appointed a responsible individual. Ofsted is yet to check if this person has the relevant capacity, experience and skills to carry out the role.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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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: 27 February 2024

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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: 2740871 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2740871 3

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improvement to be good

Significant shortfalls in leadership and management have had a negative impact on the overall experiences and progress of children and their help and protection.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, two children have lived at the home. Their experiences have been variable. One child moved in without clear plans for the staff to follow regarding their mental health needs. The child’s plans did not contain details of how to support her when she was feeling distressed. As a result, the staff response was inconsistent, and the child became further destabilised. The child moved out after four months.

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improvement to be good

One child has lived at the home for nine months and has made some progress in that time. There is a stable and consistent staff team, and some staff have been able to develop positive relationships with the child to ensure that he can be safer. Missing-from- home episodes have significantly reduced and some aspects of his behaviour and emotional well-being have improved.

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improvement to be good

Staff are committed to working with the child and provide positive experiences and activities for him, including going to ice hockey and ice skating, which he very much enjoys. However, the child is not in formal education, and informal learning is not always prioritised. The placing authority has arranged home tutoring. However, the staff sometimes cancel sessions when they cannot get the child out of bed. This has led the child to develop unhealthy sleep routines.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not always able to help the child to access medical appointments, and as a result they do not fully understand the child’s health needs. Sometimes, the child smokes cigarettes and uses illegal drugs. The staff response at these times is inconsistent and staff have not been able to understand how he obtains these items.

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improvement to be good

The home is well maintained and decorated to a good standard, with photos of the child and his family displayed throughout. Staff support the child to ensure that his bedroom is kept tidy, and damaged items are replaced quickly. Staff help the child to spend time with his family and other people who are important to him.

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improvement to be good

Most staff understand the whistle-blowing procedure and raise concerns appropriately. Over the last year, staff have raised concerns about the practice of several members of staff. The manager investigated these concerns and staff were subsequently dismissed. However, the manager failed to inform or seek guidance from the local authority designated officer (LADO) and did not notify Ofsted. This limits external oversight of these incidents. Inspection report for children's home: 2740871 4 The manager and staff do not fully understand the child’s vulnerabilities or the risk of exploitation. Risk assessments do not sufficiently detail what steps to take when the child is distressed or the risk of the child going missing from home.

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improvement to be good

When the child goes missing from home, staff take some action to locate him and seek to return him home safely. The child was going missing very frequently when he first moved to the home. These incidents have reduced significantly, partly as a result of the positive relationships that he has developed with some staff. This has helped the child to become safer and has meant that other restrictions have been able to be reduced. The child’s social worker is positive about how staff supported him during this period.

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improvement to be good

However, the manager does not always sufficiently analyse missing-from-home incidents and does not accurately assess the risk of exploitation or work proactively with other agencies to consider this.

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improvement to be good

Appropriate policies are in place to ensure that the child is protected from online risks. Despite this, the child continues to access some inappropriate websites. Staff monitor this and are aware of the child’s activity. However, there is not always sufficient challenge, learning or consequences in response. As a result, the child is not supported to understand potential risks and the manager and staff do not always understand the impact that the child’s online activity is having on him.

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improvement to be good

Staff take some steps to support the child’s emotional well-being. As a result, there have been improvements in the child’s behaviour and his ability to manage his emotions. Consequently, there has been no use of restrictive intervention for some time. The child is rightly positive about this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager is not aware of the strengths and weakness of the staff team. He has been ineffective in recognising areas for staff development or ensuring that these are addressed. The manager has poor oversight of the home and does not always work proactively with other professionals working with the child. The manager does not liaise with the LADO or notify Ofsted when serious concerns about staff conduct are raised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Support to the manager and oversight of his practice are not good enough. The manager’s supervisions sessions are not recorded consistently, and actions are not followed up.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The child’s records are not up to date. Incident reports do not provide an accurate record of events. Records of incidents when the child has been missing from home lack detail and the involvement of the police is not always clearly recorded. These shortfalls lead to a lack of helpful analysis and poor-quality risk assessments.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children’s records are kept electronically. However, they are not in one place and are not easily available to be viewed. Some key documents are not kept on the provider’s Inspection report for children's home: 2740871 5 electronic system and are held in the manager’s email account. This means that staff cannot access up-to-date documents when needed, reducing their understanding of the child’s needs and risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager’s oversight and monitoring of the home are poor. He has not completed formal reviews of the quality of care or identified the weaknesses found at this inspection. Consequently, the home is not offering the quality of care outlined in its statement of purpose. Inspection report for children's home: 2740871 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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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

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)(e)(f)(h)) 20 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that staff— 20 April 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2740871 7 assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; 20 April 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2740871 8 promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if –

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(e)) 20 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 20 April 2025

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

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

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a 20 April 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2740871 9 result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2740871 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Children to Prosper Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 71 Knowl Piece, Wilbury Way, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG4 0TY

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Inspector

Shaheda Dhandia, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2740871 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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