Children's Home run by The Place Young People’s Company in Leicestershire

Inspection report children's home: 2565421 1 Registered provider: The Place Young People’s Company

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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 provider. It provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager in post. The home is being led by an interim manager.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home. There were four children living at the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector observed all of the children and spoke with three of them.

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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 requires improvement to be 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 children's home: 2565421 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/11/2023 Full Good 22/02/2023 Full Good 01/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2565421 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive individualised and bespoke care. Children are welcomed and supported when they move into the home, helping them to settle quickly. Staff know children well and cherish their strengths, personalities and characters. Children feel accepted and cared for and develop a real sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have meaningful relationships with staff. Staff spend quality time with children and show genuine emotional warmth. Children and staff cook and share meals together, creating a family-like environment. They also enjoy activities together, such as football in the garden, bike riding, baking and crafts.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy good health. Staff encourage children to eat a healthy and varied diet, and to be active. Children’s emotional health is also well supported, and children feel able to open up to staff about their feelings and experiences. Children’s overall health and well-being improve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to maintain relationships with those who are important to them. For one child who lives far away from home, they have been able to spend time with their close friend. Children also spend regular time with family members in the home and out in the community. This helps to strengthen family relationships and reduce children’s feelings of loss.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do well in education considering their starting points. One child has been supported to move provisions and is enjoying school again. Another child is preparing to take their Year 11 examinations with the support of additional tutoring. However, not all children who are unable to attend school are provided with suitable educational activities. This is an area for development.

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

Staff are confident in responding to behaviours that are difficult to manage, such as verbal aggression. Staff’s responses are effective in helping children to regulate their emotions. Children benefit from consistent boundaries, and systems of rewards and incentives encourage children to make positive choices. Consequently, there have been no incidents of staff needing to physically hold children to keep them and others safe from harm.

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

Staff respond well to children who are in distress. Children contribute to their own care and safety plans, ensuring that strategies are tailored and effective. Children feel able to share their worries and concerns with staff and know how to complain. The manager and staff take children’s concerns seriously, helping them to feel heard, valued and understood. Inspection report children's home: 2565421 4 Staff take effective action when concerns of bullying arise. Appropriate safeguards are put in place, such as increased supervision and detailed logs. Children are supported to develop positive relationships with their peers. This is done through regular and purposeful discussions with children and team building activities with their peers.

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

Staff keep children safe. Staff know the risks children can be exposed to and how to respond. However, risk management plans do not reflect this effectively. More detail is needed to ensure new and temporary staff know how to respond to each identified risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The interim manager has failed to apply to be registered with Ofsted without delay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive supervision from the manager. This includes important topics, such as safeguarding and staff well-being. However, supervisions are not taking place consistently, limiting the support that staff receive. There is a plan in place to address this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is a stable team of staff in place who enjoy working at the home. Long-standing members of staff help to provide consistency of care for children. Staff have positive relationships with each other, providing a harmonious and familial atmosphere.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has effective oversight and quality assurance systems in place. She knows what is happening in the home daily. Any identified shortfalls are promptly addressed. Learning from incidents is used to improve practice. This helps to maintain standards of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are well trained. Most staff are up to date with core training and feel competent in their role. Issues of poor practice are effectively addressed by the manager, helping staff to improve and develop. Inspection report children's home: 2565421 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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Recommendations

 The registered person must 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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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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 children's home: 2565421 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Place Young People’s Company

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Lymevale Court, Lyme Drive, Parklands, Stoke-on- Trent ST4 6NW

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Inspector

Emma Dacres, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2565421 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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