Children's Home run by Lakeside @ Our Place Limited in Worcestershire

Inspection report for children's home: 2553111 1 Full inspection

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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 operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to 10 children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The provider also operates a registered school in a separate building in the same grounds. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision on this site.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2023. He holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2553111 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/04/2024 Full Good 18/04/2023 Full Good 23/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2553111 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, 10 children were living at the home. Since the last inspection, three children have moved to the home and one child has left. All the children were seen by the inspectors.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager undertakes comprehensive assessments before children move into the home. This helps them and staff have a good understanding of children’s needs from an early stage. Most children settle quickly, and children appear happy living at the home. When children struggle to settle, the manager works with the child’s placing authority to try and overcome this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to help children make progress. Children’s health has improved, with one child’s ear infections having reduced and one child’s weight having stabilised. Children have greater confidence, and some are better able to self-regulate. Staff help children to become more independent with their self-care skills, including dressing, and doing simple baking and making drinks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s cultural and religious needs. Staff make sure specific diets are followed and that children are taken to places of worship on a regular basis. In the home, children have access to prayer mats, some of which are interactive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s communication skills have improved. Staff use children’s communication tools effectively and notice the non-verbal cues that they use to communicate. Staff have improved how they help children to have a voice. They use a variety of communication methods to gain views from children, and act on those views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are some inconsistencies in the care given to children. Staff do not always respond in a consistent way to children’s behaviours or provide children with consistent routines. Mealtimes can be chaotic and are not always a positive experience for children. Staff do not always complete a food diary for one child who is a reluctant eater.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Improvements have been made to the home environment. There is a second lounge, which is of great benefit to children who need a quieter space. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their taste. However, some bedrooms need a deep clean and minor maintenance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to have good attendance at school. Children are prepared and ready for school each day. Some children who previously struggled to attend school are now going regularly. Children are eager to go to school and one child said they loved school. Inspection report for children's home: 2553111 4 Staff think deeply about how to help children who have lost their parents. Staff have started to do life-story work and help children to attend counselling, and they help children to have a sense of belonging.

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

Staff work hard to keep children safe. The manager monitors children’s behaviours for any patterns and trends, then makes changes to how staff help children. This has helped lead to a reduction in incidents, such as self-injurious behaviours.

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

Following incidents when children were involved in slips on the grass slope outside the manager has taken action to ensure their safety. The home’s health and safety team has assessed the risk and the manager has given advice to staff about how to support children when on the slope to prevent further accidents.

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

Staff do not let children’s health conditions or disabilities prevent them from taking part in activities. They risk assess and make changes so that children can enjoy going swimming, riding bikes and playing at the park.

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

Staff do on occasions need to use physical intervention to keep children safe. Interventions are mostly guides and deflections. More restrictive holds are used only when necessary. Clear records are completed and there is good oversight from the manager. However, when staff need to use when staff administer prescribed medication in some specific circumstances this is not recorded as a restraint.

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

Staff help children to understand risks in relation to roads, fire, kettles, irons and in the kitchen. Staff talk to children about safety in the community and who they can talk to if they are worried.

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

Staff talk to children and use children’s communication systems to try and find out what is worrying them. When needed, staff advocate on children’s behalf and make a complaint.

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

The manager has received one complaint from a parent. This was taken seriously and investigated. Shortfalls in staff practice were identified and further training given to the member of staff.

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

The manager has made sure permanent staff are recruited in line with safer recruitment practices. However, the manager has not fully checked that the agency providing additional staff has followed the same safer recruitment practices.

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

The registered manager is due to leave. A new manager has been recruited and has had a comprehensive handover. She was the home’s deputy manager, so knows the staff and the children well. Inspection report for children's home: 2553111 5 In recent months, a high number of agency staff have been used. When possible, the same staff have been used regularly. At times, agency staff have made up more than half the number of staff on duty at night. This heavy reliance on agency staff has had some impact on the quality and consistency of care for children.

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

Staff receive a range of training. This includes training provided by specialists in therapeutic practice and supporting children’s communication. This training is also available to agency staff. However, the training records for staff have not been kept up to date with all the training staff have completed. In addition, the manager has not checked training records for agency staff and ensured that they have completed essential training before coming to work at the home.

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

Managers are clear on expectations of the staff team and address shortfalls in staff practice through supervision and the use of informal development plans. This approach has resulted in improvements in staff practice and performance.

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

Staff receive regular supervision, and say they feel well supported by the managers. However, despite agency staff being used on a regular basis, they are yet to receive formal supervision.

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

Professionals and families are generally complimentary about the care provided to the children. One parent said, ‘They [staff] are beautiful people and have been a life saver to our family.’ One professional said they ‘really admire the journey they [staff] have been on, the improvements they have made, and that they are a wonderful team’. Inspection report for children's home: 2553111 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

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

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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,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all necessary safer recruitment checks are undertaken for agency staff working at the home. 18 July 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 18 July 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2553111 7 promotes their welfare.

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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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that no more than half the staff on duty day or night are agency workers, and that agency staff have undertaken all the necessary training needed to care for the children before coming to work at the home.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iv)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff provide consistent care and that children have opportunities to experience positive mealtimes. 18 July 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2553111 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home, specifically children’s bedrooms, is kept clean and is well maintained at all times. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.3)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including agency staff, 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)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce- related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and used to record the ongoing training and continuing

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Recommendations

professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that each child’s day-to-day health and well- being needs are met. Specifically, food records for a child who is a poor eater should detail the foods offered and foods eaten. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)  The registered person should ensure that when a child needs to be restrained with the use of prescribed medication this is recorded, as with any other physical intervention. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.45)

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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: 2553111 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Our Place, Bransford, Worcester, Worcestershire WR6 5JE

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Inspectors

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Mandy Wake, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2553111 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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