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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2750426 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

There is a suitably qualified and experienced manager who is registered with Ofsted. The manager was present throughout 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2750426 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2750426 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children live in this home. Both children spoke to the inspector about their experiences of living in the home with staff present. Staff have supported the children to live alongside each other. The children have progressed from not speaking to sharing personal items and playing computer games together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who live in this home make progress. Staff are aware of children’s starting points and celebrate their smallest achievements. With the assistance of staff, one child has developed strategies to allow them to manage and regulate their emotions. They are starting to recognise the impact of their actions on themselves and others. They have flourished as a result of the trauma-informed care they receive and are looking towards increasing their independence. Another child has been supported to develop their self-esteem. They are forming positive relationships with staff and have started spending time out of the home engaging in activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have worked closely with the children’s teachers. This has resulted in one child progressing from not feeling able to attend school to meeting with teachers and then visiting the site with the intention to attend lessons. Staff encourage children to engage in educational activities. Teachers said that staff have contributed to one child’s progress through providing consistency and keeping a focus on their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with child and adolescent mental health services to understand and meet children’s mental health needs. Children have benefited from this close working relationship. Staff are reactive to dips in children’s mental health, providing them with attuned care both in the moment and afterwards. Staff understand why children may be reluctant to attend health appointments. They work with children to educate them on the importance and benefits of attending appointments. This has resulted in increased attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with their family. When it is necessary, staff follow plans to increase children’s safety. The quality of staff’s relationships with family members is mixed. Two family members spoke positively about the home and the communication that they have with staff. However, a recent lack of communication and the absence of joint working with a parent has led to a breakdown in the relationship. The manager reflected on the potential impact of this on the child and has devised a plan to address this concern.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive relationships with children. Both children spoke positively about the home and the care they receive from staff. Staff talk openly to children and gain their views on the care they receive. They respect children’s views and provide clear explanations when they are unable to support their wishes. They regularly encourage children’s interests and activities. However, one child is provided with limited support to Inspection report for children’s home: 2750426 4 develop a positive routine. This has impacted negatively on the quality of their day-to- day life.

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

Both children said that they feel safe living in the home. They said that staff regularly talk to them about their worries and concerns and when they act in an unsafe way. One child highlighted conversations with staff when they had discussed going missing from the home and their use of vapes and alcohol. The child said that these conversations provided them with more knowledge and made them consider their actions. Four professionals said that they believe children are safe. Two professionals said that the environment that staff create for a child has significantly contributed to the reduction of the risk of county lines and exploitation.

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

Incidents in the home have reduced. Staff talk about children with knowledge and understanding of how their previous and current experiences of harm and trauma may impact on their behaviours. Staff monitor children’s moods and behaviours. This allows them to intervene early and prevent situations from escalating. Police have been called to the home when appropriate to prevent harm and damage. Following a child’s decision not to make a formal complaint about practice, staff have worked with the police to address concerns and to reduce the risk of a child experiencing unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice system.

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

Planning for instances in which children go missing from the home is thorough. One child spoke about the strategies they and staff have jointly devised to prevent them from going missing. They said that they felt listened to. This has led to increased levels of trust and a decrease in instances of going missing from the home.

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

Staff are aware of the risks that children face and are clear about how they are working to reduce them. Other professionals who work with the children said that the work completed by staff has contributed to the reduction of risk. Planning to reduce risk is informative. However, this is generalised and not specific to the child.

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

The use of deprivation of liberty restrictions for one child has reduced. Staff work closely with other professionals to ensure that the child is not subject to more restrictions than are necessary. However, the need for the use of external door alarms has not been assessed.

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

The recruitment of staff ensures that the checks necessary to determine whether they are safe to work with children are completed. However, agency staff do not receive a thorough induction. This has led to one child raising concerns about agency staff’s knowledge of the care they receive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2750426 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a consistent, knowledgeable and reflective leadership and management team. Planning is in place to develop overall reflective practice within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers know what is going on in the home. They spend time building positive relationships with the children. They talk confidently about the care that children need and the care that they receive. However, staff do not always have clear guidance on how to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers monitor and have oversight of children’s progress. However, they do not evaluate the impact of the care provided to identify how practice has benefited children and where it needs to improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said that they like working in the home and that they feel supported by their leaders and managers. They know the children and their care needs well. They interact with children with ease, having fun with them alongside providing support and having serious conversations. Staff said that they value the positive relationships between managers and themselves. They are aware of safeguarding procedures and feel able to raise any concerns they have, being confident that they will be addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have positive relationships with other professionals. They attend meetings about children, being vocal about children’s needs. Other professionals said that they feel welcome in the home and have no concerns about the environment that the children live in. They receive regular and informative updates about children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, reflective supervision sessions and team meetings. These focus on the needs of the child, safeguarding and practice development. To further aid the development of practice, managers engage staff in reflective conversations following incidents. Staff said that they find these beneficial. Inspection report for children’s home: 2750426 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that planning to keep children safe, to meet the needs of children and to meet the aims of the placement is clear and directive. 30 August 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

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 30 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2750426 7 understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they monitor and review staff practice and evaluate the progress that children make.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that children are provided with support that allows them to develop a healthy and beneficial routine.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff communicate effectively with the parents of children.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that agency staff receive a satisfactory induction before they work with children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the need for monitoring and surveillance, specifically door alarms, is assessed and regularly reviewed. 30 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2750426 8

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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: 2750426 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Carla Simkiss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2750426 10 to 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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