Children's home run by St. Benedict’s Care Solutions Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2688362 1 Registered provider: St. Benedicts Care Solutions 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 home is owned by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager in post. The responsible individual continues to support the home.

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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

Date of last inspection: 4 September 2024

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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: 2688362 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/09/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/01/2024 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2688362 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, there have been no admissions or discharges. Both children currently living in the home engaged with the inspector and described feeling safe and happy in their environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and staff demonstrate warm and positive relationships with children. The admission process is well considered, and leaders gather appropriate information to assess whether children’s needs can be met. One child has been supported effectively through a challenging period. Staff remained attuned to the underlying causes of the child’s complex behaviours and showed ongoing commitment to their care. As a result, the child reported feeling understood and valued by the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is welcoming and clearly focused on children’s needs. Children are encouraged to participate in household projects. For example, one child worked alongside staff to repaint outdoor furniture. The sensory room has been designed in consultation with children and reflects their individual needs. Bedrooms are personalised with items chosen by each child, and children’s artwork and certificates are proudly displayed in shared spaces. Children therefore feel a sense of ownership and comfort in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consistently support children to rebuild and maintain positive peer relationships. Children engage in regular conversations with staff around themes such as healthy friendships, kindness and anti-bullying. These efforts have resulted in improved interactions between the children, who now enjoy spending time together and participating in joint activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making steady educational progress. Leaders and staff encourage children to work towards their individual learning goals through regular liaison with education providers. As a result, one child has developed more positive friendships and displays a reduction in complex behaviours within their school setting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and staff respond appropriately to children’s health needs. Children are registered with local health services and routinely attend appointments. The responsible individual successfully advocated for one child to access external counselling, which helped the child better understand and manage their emotions. This contributed to them feeling settled in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

External professionals provided highly positive feedback about the care delivered. One professional told the inspector: ‘They do a superb job. Communication is 10/10 – it’s super. Any issues, they address them and update me. The rapport between home and school is excellent.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2688362 4 However, regulation 45 reports (quality of care review reports) are not consistently submitted to Ofsted within the required time frame. There was limited evidence to confirm that the most recent regulation 45 report had been shared with Ofsted by the previous manager, resulting in the report falling outside the 28-day submission window.

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

Risk management plans are detailed and incorporate relevant information. Leaders have revised the previous risk management template to include comprehensive insights into children’s historical and current behaviours. Staff are now provided with clearer guidance on strategies that are effective for each individual child. As a result, children feel well supported and there has been a noticeable reduction in incidents relating to self-harm, physical intervention and episodes of going missing from home.

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

Staff promote children’s safety in relation to online activity. Following concerns raised about one child’s access to the internet while at school, leaders responded swiftly by engaging with the child’s education provider to understand the circumstances. Staff facilitated reflective and educational discussions with the child to improve their understanding and awareness of online risks, thereby helping to prevent future concerns.

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

Leaders demonstrate proactive partnership working when reviewing risks in the local area. The responsible individual invited the local authority designated officer and local police representatives to the home, which supported the development of positive professional relationships and enabled exploration of any recent changes within the community.

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

Health and safety arrangements are well monitored. Annual checks are undertaken for fire safety, electrical systems and gas installations. Where shortfalls are identified, leaders act promptly to rectify issues, ensuring the environment remains safe and compliant.

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

Notifiable incidents are reported in a timely way. Staff receive training and reflective learning sessions to strengthen their understanding of when incidents should be notified to the regulator. This has contributed to improved staff confidence and compliance in the reporting process.

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

The registered manager post has remained vacant for 12 months. During this period, leaders have made efforts to recruit a suitable candidate. However, the prolonged vacancy has contributed to a limited judgement in leadership and management.

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

Most staff have completed core training requirements. Leaders offer additional learning opportunities in safeguarding, therapeutic approaches and medication administration. Staff also receive bespoke training relating to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Inspection report for children’s home: 2688362 5 (ADHD) and autism. However, there was no evidence available to confirm that one shift leader held a valid first-aid qualification while undertaking lead responsibilities.

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

Recruitment practice has improved since the previous inspection. The responsible individual demonstrated appropriate professional curiosity during the recruitment process, which led to the identification of additional concerns about one applicant. Where reference-related issues are identified, leaders investigate appropriately and complete relevant risk assessments to ensure that staff are safe to work in the home.

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

Staff report feeling well supported by managers. One staff member told the inspector: ‘Love my job, feel supported by managers, regular monthly supervisions.’ This has helped to foster a positive team culture.

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

Monitoring arrangements are reflective and effective. Leaders use audit systems to track children’s progress, which enables them to identify emerging themes and patterns in behaviour. Inspection report for children’s home: 2688362 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 complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. 15 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2688362 7 (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Recommendation

 The registered person must ensure that the home has sufficient suitably trained staff (including someone in a management role) on duty to meet the assessed needs of all children in the home, and that those staff are able to respond to emergency placements, where accepted. The registered person must demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted, including ensuring that the employment of any temporary staff will not prevent children from receiving the continuity of care that they need (regulation 31(1)). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.01)

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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: 2688362 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: St. Benedicts Care Solutions Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Mundys, 4 King Street, Hereford HR4 9BW

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Inspector

Chanel Bryant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2688362 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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Inspector

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