Children's home run by Homes2Inspire Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2556340 1 Registered provider: Homes2inspire 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

The home is run by a private company that is owned and operated by a national charity. It provides care for up to two children who may have emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

A manager registered in April 2021 but is not currently at work. Another person is managing the home but is not registered for this home.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection. One child had recently been supported to move into supported accommodation. Both children were spoken to during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 28 February 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2556340 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2024 Full Outstanding 28/02/2023 Full Outstanding 18/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2556340 3

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outstanding

The highly dedicated staff team provides exceptional care. Children have positive experiences and make excellent progress. The staff pride themselves on the positive and stable relationships they have with children. One child has lived at the home for a long period of time and experienced stability. The staff team implements a ‘Mockingbird’ model of care, where the staff and children are supported to develop a support network. This provides opportunities for extended and supportive relationships from others. In addition, this ensures that children benefit from consistency and stable care from adults in the home, who understand their needs very well.

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outstanding

Staff commit to spending lots of quality time with children so know them extremely well. This quality time enables children to experience lots of opportunities that they would otherwise not be able to access. Last summer, children went on an aeroplane and experienced a sunny, fun holiday in another country. The children were fully involved in planning for this holiday, which was their first experience of holidaying abroad. Staff advocate for children to enjoy opportunities that are memorable.

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outstanding

Children are very well supported to develop independence skills that prepare them for adulthood. The staff ensure that this is centred around the specific needs of children. One child has very recently moved out of the home to semi-independent living. The transition planning undertaken by the staff, and in consultation with other key professionals, was meticulous. The child was fully supported, and their move was very positive. The inspector was able to gather their views, as they regularly keep in touch with staff, saying, ‘I would give them 10 out of 10. They have 100% supported me and they have got my back.’ The staff continue to be available for emotional and practical support.

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outstanding

Staff work tirelessly alongside other agencies to promote educational opportunities for children. Despite children having significant challenges with engagement in education, they make exceptional progress from their starting points. For example, one child was supported to secure an education, health and care plan. Staff were tenacious in getting the child back into mainstream education after a long period of alternative provision. This resulted in the child achieving GCSE qualifications. Staff, family and the child celebrated these achievements. It is very evident that the staff and the child were incredibly proud of their success. This culminated in the child enjoying their school prom celebrations.

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outstanding

Staff frequently access mental health services. This has been longstanding support that has led to positive reflections and interventions by staff. Access to this resource also led to a sensory intervention therapy programme for one child and removal of Inspection report for children’s home: 2556340 4 the need for ongoing prescribed medication. Over time, children are supported to reduce the need for medical interventions, and careful reviews are completed to assess children’s individual health needs.

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outstanding

Children’s voices are central to their care and are captured in a variety of creative ways. The importance of children’s participation is recognised by staff. One child is involved in the youth participation group within the organisation. This has led to them being involved in staff recruitment training and completing mini audits for other homes across the organisation. The knowledge and experience of care- experienced children is celebrated and embraced, and they are supported to be involved in the development of service provision while at the same time obtaining invaluable skills and experiences.

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outstanding

Children are supported to rebuild and maintain positive connections with people who matter to them. This is due, in part, to staff understanding of the importance of family connections and helping children to navigate these relationships in a positive way. This is also extended to helping children to safely manage connections online and through social media. A grandparent said, ‘Staff keep me involved and I know what is happening. Where I can, I try to help. They have my granddaughter’s best interests at heart.’

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outstanding

Due to the strength of relationships between staff and children, risks reduce. One child has been successfully supported with the removal of a court directed order. Careful and structured direct work with the child has helped staff and other professionals to be able to build confidence and trust in the child’s ability to keep themselves safe.

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outstanding

Missing-from-care incidents are rare. Children are open with staff about their whereabouts. Any potential risks are known about and mitigated against. There is good communication between the team. In the event of any unauthorised absences, staff are relentless in identifying children’s whereabouts. Staff work with key people in safety planning and including children to help them understand the importance of why they need to know where they are and that they are safe.

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outstanding

Children say that they feel safe. They share concerns about their personal safety with staff. Staff respond by taking action to promote their safety. For instance, on one occasion, a child was supported to report a bullying incident in the community to the police. This was taken seriously, and responded to appropriately. The child was praised for talking to staff about the incident and was supported with direct work around how to manage and reduce against risks in the community. There have been no further reported incidents. Inspection report for children’s home: 2556340 5 Children have not been physically held. This reflects the staff’s ability to manage and understand the needs of each child. Staff devise and implement clear plans to manage children’s behaviour, and children understand their plans. Staff use positive de-escalation skills and the strong relationships that they have with children to

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outstanding

address incidents. Over time, the children develop positive coping skills and become confident in discussing issues with staff.

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outstanding

The process for recruitment and selection of staff is robust and prevents unsuitable adults from working with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s registered manager is away from work. The home is managed by an experienced and skilled manager and deputy manager. They are passionate, confident and ambitious for children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have extensive management monitoring systems in place. The electronic system used at the home enables managers to provide evidence of effective quality assurance, and there is excellent management oversight of the support and care given to children, as well as clear guidance to staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team implements a therapeutic model of care, demonstrated through practice and evidence in their recordings. Experienced staff coach new staff in this nurturing practice. A child said, ‘When I go to bed, staff tell me they love me and I say, “I love you” back. We also have a bedtime routine.’ A staff member spoke about bringing a small token gift back from their holiday to demonstrate to the children that she has remained connected with them while they were away from the home. This careful and sensitive consideration and nurturing care help children to develop strong connections and stable relationships with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are supported with regular and good quality supervisions. There is evidence of reflective practice within supervisions. There is opportunity for further reflection for the team through learning circles, where staff are supported with specific areas of learning. The staff team benefits from a variety of mandatory and additional training. This training is also delivered to help staff meet the specific needs of children in their care. There is a learning culture at the home. Managers take feedback from a variety of sources and reflect and change how they deliver the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some staff have moved from the home, but there remains a core group of staff who provide stability for children, and morale is high. Staff say that they feel very well supported by managers. A staff member said that they had a huge sense of job satisfaction, and could see the difference that they made to children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home promotes a ‘love led’ practice model. There has been a lot of work on reflecting on the language used in the home and in daily recordings. This is linked to a Inspection report for children’s home: 2556340 6 therapeutic model of practice but also ensuring that records are framed positively for children if they choose to access their records in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals speak very highly of the staff and their commitment to the children they care for. A child who is two years away from moving out of the home already has identified professionals involved to carefully prepare for a positive transition plan. One social worker said, ‘It is one of the best homes I have worked with. The child has made exceptional progress and continues to be well supported with preparations for [the child’s] future.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2556340 7

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2556340 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes2inspire Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lumonics House, Valiant Office Suites, Valley Drive, Swift Valley Industrial Estate, Rugby CV21 1TQ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Craig Whitchurch

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Inspector

Beverley Allison, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2556340 9 regulates 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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