Children's Home run by T-Junction Children’s Services in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2495951 1 Registered provider: T-Junction Children’s Services 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

This home is owned by a private provider. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of inspection. These children contributed to the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2023.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2495951 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/04/2024 Full Inadequate 23/05/2023 Full Good 28/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2495951 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff care for children in a warm, comfortable and well-presented home. There is space inside and outside for children to play. Children enjoy spending time together and with the staff. The home is full of chatter and laughter between children, the staff and the managers who look after them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have developed positive relationships with managers and established staff members. Children are being supported to build relationships with newer staff. Staff listen to children and help them to express their views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff carefully plan any new admissions to the home. Children who have moved in have been able to visit the home and have a sleepover before they move in. Staff have meaningful discussions with children already living in the home before a new admission. This effective preparation helps children to feel welcomed and to settle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with people who are important to them. Children enjoy spending time with their friends, who visit them at the home. The manager advocates on behalf of children when family time arrangements need to be adjusted to better meet children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in activities in and outside the home. This includes sporting activities, attending clubs with peers and going on holidays. This helps to boost children’s self- esteem and emotional health. It also enables children to make friends in their local community. One child takes part in fundraising activities for causes they have chosen, and staff proudly celebrated their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand and promote children’s physical and emotional health. Children have access to services that help to ensure that their individual needs are met. Staff support children to lead a healthy lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff and managers understand the importance of education and learning for children, and staff support them with their learning. As a result, one child is now able to engage with more education at school each day than they did previously. This is significant progress for them. One child does not yet have access to sufficient education. While the manager has advocated on behalf of the child with external agencies to address this, this is yet to be resolved.

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

Managers and staff who have worked at the home for some time have positive relationships with each of the children. They know them well. They promptly identify when children may be struggling, and they provide them with additional support to Inspection report for children’s home: 2495951 4 prevent incidents from escalating. This has helped to reduce the number of significant incidents in the home over time.

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

Children have individualised and detailed support plans, which staff regularly update. Staff understand each child’s vulnerabilities and know how to support them to keep them safer. Detailed and reflective management oversight of children’s plans informs care planning when risks either increase or decrease.

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

Staff and managers communicate well with external agencies to understand and respond to any identified risks for children. The manager ensures that when new children move into the home the staff receive training to help them manage risks and meet children’s identified needs. The manager also carefully considers the compatibility of the children to help ensure that children can live safely together.

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

When the staff have used physical intervention, this has been appropriate and proportionate. Managers speak to children and staff after any physical intervention, to fully understand what has happened and consider any learning to strengthen responses moving forward. Staff record incidents in a sensitive and child-focused way.

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

All staff are trained in first aid and in the administration of medication. On one occasion, an error in administering medication to a child was quickly recognised. Managers took appropriate action to ensure the child’s safety and make practice more robust going forward.

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

Staff are recruited safely, and the manager understands and follows safer recruitment and vetting procedures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced and committed management team has high aspirations for children. They and their responsible individual are very reflective and have learned from previous shortfalls. This has had a positive impact on the quality of practice and the experiences of children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is effective. External professionals and family members spoken to during the inspection complimented the management team for their commitment to children, their good levels of communication and how the staff care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the support they receive from managers at every level. Staff have a thorough induction into the home. All staff take part in training that is relevant to the children’s needs. Staff have regular one-to-one supervision, which is reflective and supportive of staff development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has identified challenges with staff retention. They understand the potential effects that this can have on the quality and consistency of care, team morale and children’s progress. The management team is working hard to stabilise and retain staff, and this includes the creation of more senior staff roles to increase the level Inspection report for children’s home: 2495951 5 of experience within the staff group. In the interim, the manager aims to ensure that any gaps in staffing are covered by staff who know the children. This includes the managers covering shifts to prevent disruption for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective oversight of the home, including all incidents that take place, to understand the effectiveness of practice and drive improvements. For example, on one occasion, after the staff called the police because they were struggling to manage some unwanted behaviour, the manager reflected on how staff could have managed the situation differently. She then supported the staff to work more effectively together to ensure that children have consistent routines and boundaries to help them feel safe. As a result, practice and children’s experiences improved. Inspection report for children’s home: 2495951 6

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Recommendations

 Children should be in full-time education while they are of compulsory school age, unless their personal education plan contained within the care plan or other relevant plan states otherwise. The home must aim to support full-time attendance at school unless the child’s relevant plan indicates this is not in their best interests. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.14)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should monitor and review the patterns and trends of turnover of staff, whether agency or directly employed, and be able to understand and, where possible, address any negative trends. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.19)

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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: 2495951 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: T-Junction Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 27 The Pastures, Narborough, Leicester LE19 3DS

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Inspector

Caroline Hose, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2495951 8 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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