Children's Home run by Harmony Childcare Residential Homes Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2799023 1 Registered provider: Harmony Childcare Residential Homes Ltd

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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 privately owned home provides care for up to three children who have experienced trauma and encounter associated difficulties with their emotional well-being.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in January 2024. It is managed by an experienced registered manager who holds a level 4 National Vocational Qualification in Care.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection since it was registered. Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. They both contributed to the inspection.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2799023 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children come to live at the home, transitions are managed well. The support and care that children receive enable them to settle quickly. Although both children have only lived in the home for a few months, they have already developed close relationships with staff. The children have experienced consistent care and stability, helping them to make good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to access education and work closely with education professionals to provide additional support when needed. Children who move to the home are helped to settle into new schools quickly, which prevents any further disruption to their daily routine. Where children are not yet accessing full-time education, they are encouraged and supported to learn informally; for example, staff and children explore historic buildings together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The health needs of children are understood and supported, including their emotional health. Managers advocate well for children who require specialist support and services. As a result, one child has developed readiness for family therapy to support a long-term plan of reunification.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children feel worried or anxious, staff respond sensitively. They encourage children to talk about their experiences and how they are feeling. Because children feel safe, they are confiding in staff about feelings and behaviours. This is helping them to develop a better understanding of what is happening in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff, leaders and managers go above and beyond to enhance and develop children’s family relationships. Family time is supported, and staff are committed to building positive relationships with family members. One family member commented: ‘We call it the [name of home] retreat. They go above and beyond.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage children to try a wide range of enjoyable experiences. Children take part in various activities, such as judo and swimming. Children’s involvement in these activities helps to develop their confidence and self-esteem. In addition, their achievements are recognised and celebrated. During the inspection, one child was proud to show the inspector a poem that they had written that had been published in a book.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views, wishes and feelings are routinely gathered. One child is participating in life-story work. The life-story worker said that staff have been supportive. The child would benefit further if staff received specialist training in life-story work to increase their understanding of the process. Inspection report for children’s home: 2799023 3

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

Children feel safe and can identify people they can talk to if they have worries or concerns. The responsible individual routinely speaks to children about their feelings and experiences. This is an added layer of security for children within which they can express their views without judgement or fear. If they do have worries, they know that this will be acted upon, and they are provided with a child-friendly letter detailing any concerns and how these are responded to.

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

Managers and staff have a good understanding of children’s individual needs and risks. Because they understand children well, they are consistent in the way they respond to children’s behaviours. This helps create feelings of safety and support for children.

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

Children rarely go missing from home and physical interventions have not been used since the home opened. Staff use humour and distraction techniques to de-escalate situations. The positive relationships that children have with the adults who care for them help to reduce risk.

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

Staff work with children in a child-friendly way to educate them about risk. For example, work around kindness has been completed when conflict between children occurs. This is helping children to develop skills in empathy and how to treat others.

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

Care plans and risk assessments outline useful background information about children and how staff should respond to incidents. However, guidance for staff about how to meet children’s needs and mitigate risks is not always clear. Because staff know the children well, this is not impacting their safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced and committed manager leads the home. He is supported by a dedicated and child-focused trainee manager. They have established good relationships with children and staff and understand the children’s journeys well. Feedback from professionals and families has been overwhelmingly positive about the support that children receive and the consistent care provided by staff. This contributes to improving outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most of the staff team provided feedback during the inspection. They all wanted to express their enjoyment of working at the home and caring for the children. They praised support from managers. Staff receive regular supervision from managers as well as additional support through monthly team meetings. This provides opportunity for reflective discussions about the care and experiences of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have all completed mandatory training. However, there is not always a proactive approach to consider training that would equip staff to meet and respond to the individual needs of children, for example neurodiversity and life-story work. This has the potential to compromise the quality of support provided to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2799023 4 Some records viewed during the inspection were not recorded accurately and missed essential information. For example, when incidents occur, details are not always recorded clearly, and it is not always clear how staff are using their professional curiosity to explore children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has sent the quality of care review report to Ofsted in line with regulation. However, feedback from children and professionals working with the home has not been captured in this report. This is a missed opportunity to consider the feedback of others and use this to improve the quality of care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2799023 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s records are ‘living documents’ and that staff are recording information in a way that is meaningful to children. Records should not include stigmatising language that does not reflect the therapeutic ethos outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. Staff should be able to access training that supports them to reflect and consider the individual needs of the children they care for. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand children’s childhood experiences. For example, through undertaking life-story work or other direct work.

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Recommendations

Staff in children’s homes should play a full role in work of this kind. In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff have the training to support children during life-story work. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 13.4)  The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. This should include feedback from children and external stakeholders. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64–65, paragraph 15.2)

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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: 2799023 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Harmony Childcare Residential Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Easyflow Ltd, 38e Vanguard Way, Battlefield Enterprise Park, Shrewsbury SY1 3TG

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Inspector

Natasha Skinner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2799023 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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