Children's home run by Mutual Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2528486 1 Registered provider: Mutual Care Limited

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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 one of three homes that are privately operated by a small company. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties and children with physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. All children were seen, and two children were spoken with.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home is registered with Ofsted.

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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: 22 October 2024

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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: 2528486 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/10/2024 Full Good 18/07/2023 Full Good 24/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/06/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2528486 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend time building open and trusting relationships with children. This has supported each of them in making progress. Children have developed their emotional resilience and ability to manage their emotions. Children choose to reach out to staff for emotional support, advice and company. This has improved their mental health and has contributed to their sense of safety, stability and belonging. Two children have become more autonomous and have found their voices in relation to expressing their wishes and feelings. Staff listen to children, considering their wishes and discussing these with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of ensuring that children’s educational needs are met. They build positive relationships with education professionals. This has helped them to share important information about children’s education, friendships and well-being. Despite children being in full-time education, staff continue to promote learning within the home. They link this to essential independence work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are motivated to support children to develop independence skills that are essential for adult life. This is established within day-to-day practice. Children are encouraged to budget and save money, thinking about the difference of what they need and what they want. Staff support them to shop, use public transport, plan outings, plan and cook meals and complete self-care and household tasks. One professional was very positive about the support provided to a child who was resistant to engaging in this work. One child has been supported to research, apply for and interview for jobs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by the staff, who understand their health needs. Staff work alongside medical professionals to ensure that a child’s complex medical needs are met. Robust, child-focused safety planning considers the risks but also allows the child to have independence and freedom. Children who are reluctant to attend health appointments receive encouragement to attend. Following a decision that a child would benefit from a specialist assessment, staff have appropriately raised concerns about delay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand how important family are to children. They support children to navigate these relationships and to understand the actions and decisions of others. Staff do all that they can to build positive relationships with family members and support children to spend positive and safe time with them. One child’s wishes to spend more time with their family have been shared with other professionals. This has resulted in planning to increase family time. Three parents were positive about the care provided to their children and staff’s support around family time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are valued by staff, who enjoy going to work. Children’s day-to-day lives are filled with care that is designed to meet their individual needs. Staff encourage them to have new experiences, such as trips to theme parks, and nurture their interests. Staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2528486 4 accept children for who they are. They support children to safely explore their identity and to safely explore their sexuality.

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

Staff understand how vulnerable children can be and the risks that they can face. Documents designed to support staff to reduce risks and keep children safe are thorough. Risks, including unsafe relationships and accidents within the home, have significantly reduced.

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

Two children spoke positively about the care that they receive. They said that they feel safe in the home and cared for by staff. They have formed positive relationships with staff and can go to them for guidance and support. When safeguarding concerns arise, they are promptly and effectively managed. Staff approach sensitive topics and discussions about risk and day-to-day events in an open and child-centred way, providing guidance, knowledge and advice to children. They consider what is going on for the child and adapt their practice in line with their needs at that time.

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

Incidents rarely happen in the home. There has been a notable reduction in this period. When incidents do occur, they are low level and are resolved promptly by alert and attentive staff. Staff follow clear and informative planning which highlights children’s triggers and risk factors. They use known and effective techniques to provide children with the support that they need. Children do not go missing. However, robust planning for the event that they do is in place.

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

Following incidents, children are engaged in meaningful and reflective conversations. They are supported to process the incident, their behaviours and their feelings to make sense of what has happened. Staff reflect on incidents and care planning to ensure that it is effective in providing support to children when they need it the most.

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

Children are supported to be kind to one another. They are supported to think about how their actions and behaviours may impact on their housemate and their peers. Within the home, children have been able to resolve their differences and move forward positively.

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

All necessary recruitment checks are completed to ensure that staff are safe to work with children. When concerns are raised about staff, risk assessments are implemented and regularly reviewed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a knowledgeable and committed leadership and management team. The registered and deputy managers demonstrate a positive working relationship. This sets a good example for staff and the children. Leaders and managers lead by example. They spend time with children and do not shy away from difficult situations. This has allowed them to build positive and trusting relationships with staff and, more importantly, the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2528486 5 Leaders and managers know what is going on in the home and have good oversight of children’s lives and staff practice. Management oversight is present on documents about children. Managers regularly review children’s progress and identify where additional support and guidance is required. Care planning for children is good quality, setting out children’s needs, routines, risks and behaviours. Planning to meet children’s short and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

long-term needs is relevant and broken down in line with children’s needs and abilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff work alongside other professionals to meet children’s needs. They have built strong and effective relationships that benefit children and assure others that children are safe and well cared for. Essential information about children is regularly shared and children’s wishes and needs are clearly and strongly advocated for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers understand that changes within the home can be difficult for children to manage. They spend time with children, giving them time to ask questions and provide their views. Staff provide children with reassurance. Children are supported to develop lifelong links with staff. When staff move within the company, they aim to come to visit the children, allowing for these important relationships to be maintained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by leaders and managers. They feel listened to and are confident that they can raise concerns and not be judged. Staff said that supervision sessions are practice based, reflective and meets their overall needs. Written records of supervision sessions have improved, showing reflection and good discussions about children and practice. Staff value the training opportunities they are given. When specific knowledge and skills are needed to support an individual child, this is provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and reflective sessions allow for a deeper dive into the lives and needs of children. These discussions inform the running of the home and care planning for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2528486 6

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2528486 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Mutual Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Grafton Lodge, Battery Lane, Portishead, Bristol BS20 7JD

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Inspector

Carla Simkiss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2528486 8 regulates and inspects 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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