Children's home run by Closer 2 Home Limited

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2675297 1 Registered provider: Closer 2 Home 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 is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably experienced and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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This monitoring visit

On 8 January 2025, a full inspection was carried out at the home. The inspector found serious and widespread shortfalls in leadership and management practice, and the home was judged as inadequate. Compliance notices were raised under Regulation 11 (the positive relationships standard) and Regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard).

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This monitoring visit

The purpose of this visit was to assess the provider’s adherence to the compliance notices. The inspector found that while some improvements have been made, further work is needed to address the shortfalls identified at the full inspection.

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This monitoring visit

Relationships between staff have improved. Leaders and managers have supported them in understanding the importance of maintaining professional boundaries and that any discord between them has a negative impact on the children.

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This monitoring visit

Nevertheless, children have not been helped to understand that they should not have been involved in the discord between staff, nor have they been reassured that staff have reflected on what happened and will ensure that it does not happen again. There are some difficulties in the relationship between a child and staff member. The reasons for this are not fully understood and addressed. This continues to affect children’s experiences in the home and prevents them from building positive, respectful relationships with all staff. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2675297 2 The home environment has improved, and children now have essential items in their bedrooms. Permanent staff have been recruited. This has led to a reduction in the use of agency staff and will help to improve the consistency of care children receive moving forward. Safer recruitment practices have improved, which helps ensure that

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This monitoring visit

new staff coming to work at the home are suitable to work with children.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not yet have all the necessary skills to help and support children who are at risk of harm. This specifically relates to children’s internet access and helping them understand how to stay safe online. Managers have not liaised effectively with partner agencies to reduce potential risks associated with returning mobile phones to children. Furthermore, managers did not notify the regulator of a significant incident involving a child, and a further notification was not received in a timely manner. This reduces the opportunity for external oversight.

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This monitoring visit

Monitoring activity is not consistently effective to identify and address shortfalls in the quality of care provided to children. In addition, when shortfalls occur, leaders and managers do not take opportunities to reflect and learn to improve the quality of care provided to children.

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This monitoring visit

The home continues to use alarms on all the children’s bedroom doors. Managers have made some enquiries and understand that these alarms can be isolated to individual bedrooms. However, they have not on this to ensure that door alarms are only used when necessary to safeguard individual children.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have not made links with a child who moved out of the home at short notice and was living with a family member. As a result, there have been missed opportunities to help the child understand what happened and bid farewell to people they may have wanted to say goodbye to. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2675297 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/01/2025 Full Inadequate 25/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2675297 4

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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 with the given timescales.

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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

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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)) 22 April 2025

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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

promotes their welfare. 22 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2675297 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that plans are in place to adequately prepare children for moving on from the home. 22 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised;

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager should review door alarms used in the home and ensure that they are necessary, proportionate and only used for the purposes of safeguarding children. 22 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2675297 6 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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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)(a)(e)) 22 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject of a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2675297 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Closer 2 Home Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Newington Close, Coventry CV6 1PQ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Howard Woolfenden

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Inspector

Charlotte Love, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2675297 8 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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