Children's Home run by Mahogany Strides Care Services in Worcestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2698072 1 Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by an individual. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may have had adverse childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management and registered with Ofsted in March 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2698072 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/05/2024 Full Good 01/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2698072 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this visit, two children were living at the home. Both children were spoken to by the inspector and said they like living at the home and that staff are nice. Positive relationships with staff have helped children make progress in different areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has helped staff to understand how to care for children using a trauma- informed approach. This approach focuses on building secure and trusting relationships with children, particularly those who have experienced trauma or attachment difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have come to live at the home have complex needs. Moves to the home have been well considered by the manager. However, on some occasions, a lack of information provided to the manager has meant that they were not given the opportunity to fully assess all the needs children have. This has resulted in challenges which were unexpected and in some placement breakdowns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop positive relationships with children’s families and external professionals. There is good multi-agency working to try and stabilise children and support their progress. However, at times, responses from other professionals have been slow. This has included finding suitable education placements and providing additional funding to provide extra staffing support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A psychologist offers weekly sessions to children to support their emotional well-being. In addition, he provides advice and support to staff on how to help children with their care and better understand their behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to take part in activities they enjoy, such as skateboarding, football, basketball and boxing. Children are taken away on short breaks to try and break cycles of unwanted behaviours through a variety of activities. This has included going to a zip wire in Wales, having a short break at the coast and visiting theme parks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff involve children in all parts of their daily lives. Staff seek children’s views about activities, menus and decisions about their futures. This includes their views on education placements, courses they may want to do, learning opportunities and where they might live when they move from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children’s health needs are not being met, the manager has advocated for them. She has made sure appointments are made and children are helped to attend them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have helped children to personalise their rooms and make the house homely. The manager continually makes changes to enhance the environment. However, the lounge is still being used as a bedroom for staff who sleep at the home during the night. This Inspection report for children’s home: 2698072 4 was raised at the last inspection and the manager is yet to put in place formal plans to end this arrangement.

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

A strength of this home is the strong safeguarding culture. Staff are knowledgeable about the children, risks to them, and action they need to take to try and keep children safe.

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

Staff work as a team to provide consistency and appropriate boundaries for children. This gives children a sense of security. For some children, there are community-based risks relating to people they associate with, and who try to take advantage of their vulnerabilities. Staff try reduce these risks by encouraging positive engagement through activities, rewards and continual encouragement. Staff also share information with the police or other relevant agencies when they see children engaging with those they should not.

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

The staff are consistent in their approach to helping children understand their behaviours. Staff follow the agreed plans on how to respond to incidents of unwanted behaviour and children understand the expectations. When children display these behaviours, staff talk to them calmly and explain what is expected. Staff use rewards for positive behaviours so that children learn through positive reinforcement and reflection. The staff’s calm and consistent approach has meant that staff have not needed to use physical intervention to keep children safe since the last inspection.

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

Children do on occasion leave the home without staff permission and have been missing from home. Staff have clear plans to respond to these incidents and are proactive in following children and searching for them. Staff report children missing to the relevant authorities and then continue searching with the aim of finding and returning children to the home as quickly as possible. For one child, there has been a reduction in these incidents.

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

When concerns have been raised about staff, the manager has taken appropriate action. This has included reporting to those who need to know, undertaking investigations, and where needed using disciplinary processes to address concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear vision for the home. She sets high expectations for herself and her staff team. She is actively involved in the day-to-day care of the children and knows the children well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel well supported by the manager and praise her highly. Staff receive regular supervision from the manager as well as monthly clinical supervision. Inspection report for children’s home: 2698072 5 Staff receive training from the manager, psychologist and external training providers which covers a variety of topics. In addition, staff have access to a wide range of learning opportunities online.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff who have not yet achieved the level 3 diploma in residential childcare are able to commence once their probation periods have ended. The manager also supports those staff who wish to further develop their knowledge to undertake the level 5 qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has robust monitoring systems which she uses effectively to monitor children’s progress and identify areas to improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has started reflecting on placement breakdowns with her staff team and with the home’s psychologist. However, as yet this has not been fully completed to ensure that any learning can be implemented, and the risks of placement breakdown for any new children moving to the home are reduced. Inspection report for children’s home: 2698072 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff who sleep in the home overnight and that they have appropriate accommodation and facilities to do so. 30 September 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should review learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns in order to implement lessons learned and sustain good practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report for children’s home: 2698072 7

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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: 2698072 8

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Inspector

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2698072 9 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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