Children's Home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited in Somerset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is a suitably qualified and experienced manager. The manager was present for day one of the inspection alongside the responsible individual and the deputy manager. The manager was not present during day two of the inspection due to pre-booked leave. He was available and was contacted via telephone. The responsible individual and deputy manager were present throughout day two.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 11 September 2024

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/09/2024 Full Good 19/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The three children who live in the home were seen during the inspection. Two children separately spoke about their experiences of living there.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive individualised care from staff who know them well. This has contributed to the excellent progress that children have made. Children are developing the ability to reflect on their actions and behaviours. They are making better and safer decisions, gaining confidence and forming trusting and secure relationships with staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff nurture and celebrate children’s talents and interests. They know children’s likes, dislikes and aspirations. They support children to attend activities and learning opportunities. There is a good focus on education for children. All of the children have progressed from not accessing education to attending school or engaging with a tutor and completing educational activities. Staff have supported children to access colleges and secure places on courses for next year.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consider the differing needs of children and adapt their practice to the child they are working with. They gain and consider children’s views. Children are shown that they are valued, loved and wanted. This has contributed to children’s sense of safety, stability and belonging. Some written documents about children are shared with them. Photos and keepsakes of children’s experiences in the home are gathered and presented in online books and memory boxes.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to make and maintain safe, positive friendships. Staff communicate with the families of children’s friends and work with other professionals to share information, and where necessary, devise and implement safety planning. Staff acknowledge that family relationships can be complex. They talk to children about their experiences and provide support when they show confusion and anxiety about these relationships.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Behaviours that could impact negatively on children’s health are promptly addressed. When children have used alcohol or illicit drugs, staff are proactive in making referrals to external support services. Staff encourage children to attend appointments and continue conversations about their behaviours and the associated impact at home. This has resulted in one child reducing their use of illicit drugs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly meet with the clinical psychologist to reflect on children’s behaviours and experiences. Staff prepare for these meetings. They take the opportunity to consider how children’s past experiences, identity and culture may impact on their day-to-day lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of planning for children to move into the home is mixed. Prior to a child moving in, staff gain relevant information about them from those who know them well. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 4 They consider the child’s needs and how they can be met. However, there is no analysis of how children’s behaviours and risks may impact on the other children who live in the home.

p.3

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

. Children said that they feel safe, that their needs are met, they have cooked meals, money for clothes and are supported to do the things that they enjoy. They rated the home 8/10 and 9/10 respectively but could not identify what needed to change to improve these scores. They said that staff talk to them when they are worried about them and try to keep them safe. One child said that staff have supported them to be more aware of their actions and the things that they do when they are upset or angry.

p.4

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

Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of the risks that children may experience. Concerns about children, such as using illicit drugs, drinking alcohol and spending time with risky people, are clearly documented. Staff approach sensitive topics and discussions about risk in an open and child-centred way, educating children leading to changes in behaviours. However, in some cases, written guidance on measures that staff should take to support children and reduce risks is not always clear. This has not impacted negatively on practice or children’s outcomes.

p.4

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

Few incidents take place. When staff become concerned about children’s behaviours, they intervene early. They use known techniques to support children to feel calmer and reflect. When staff have restrained children, it has been appropriate.

p.4

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

Staff work with other professionals to reflect on children’s actions and behaviours and devise safety planning. Six professionals spoke positively about the levels of communication from staff and their input into multi-agency planning. Professionals said that staff have a good understanding of risk. One professional highlighted positives about staff’s management of exploitation concerns. There is an emphasis on managing risk safely rather than being risk-averse.

p.4

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

Children are spoken to following behavioural incidents or when they return from being missing from home. Staff have reflective conversations with them and encourage them to consider their actions and the risks they may have been exposed to. Written recordings of the actions of staff and children are detailed. However, some language used is institutional and some language used to describe children’s actions is not child centred.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home benefits from a stable and reflective management team. Other professionals speak positively about the managers, the effectiveness of their practice and how they put the needs of children first. Managers are present in the home. This has allowed them to build positive relationships with the children who live there. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 5 Staff enjoy working in the home and said that they feel listened to by leaders and managers. They feel able to voice any concerns that they have. Concerns around dynamics within the staff team are recognised and sensitively addressed by managers.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from a staff team whose members receive regular, focused and reflective support from managers. Supervision sessions and team meetings focus on the needs of the child, practice development and safeguarding. Team meetings allow staff to have a voice and provide opportunities for learning and development of the team. Concerns about the quality of report writing have been highlighted and planning to address this during a team meeting has been completed.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have thorough oversight of the care that children receive. They devise informative care plans for staff to follow. However, in some areas staff do not have clear guidance on how to meet children’s needs. Managers monitor children’s progress and celebrate their achievements. Restrictions on children are agreed within the multi-agency arena and regularly reviewed.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When a child has raised concerns about the quality of care that they receive, staff work closely with other professionals to investigate them. The child said that they are listened to. Requests are made for the child to be seen by external professionals in a timely way. Investigations are thorough and feedback is provided to the child. Concerns about staff practice are promptly and appropriately addressed.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recruitment practice ensures that checks necessary to determine whether staff are safe to work with children are completed. Concerns in relation to staff practice have been thoroughly addressed. However, managers do not gain assurances that the recent practice of agency staff is safe and in line with the quality of care that they expect children to receive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.6

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that robust evaluation and analysis of all available or required information is completed before a decision is made for a child to move into the home. 29 July 2025

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

p.6

Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

p.6

Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, 29 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 7 if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

p.6

Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must assure themselves of the suitability of all agency staff who work in the home.

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. In particular, this refers to ensuring that language used in documents about the child is not institutional and is child centred. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that documents that set out care planning and risk management have clear actions for staff to follow. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)

p.7

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: 2728917 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Ltd

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspector

Carla Simkiss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9