Children's home run by SENAD Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2781592 1 Registered provider: SENAD 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 the residential provision of an independent special school. It provides care for up to twelve children aged from seven to sixteen years old who have a learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2024.

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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: 15 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: 2781592 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/10/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2781592 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and staff get involved in many fun and enriching activities. Children are helped to discuss and choose the things that interest them, such as joining the cadets. They enjoy spending time with staff and talking about the things that are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress considering their starting points. For some children this means that the intensity and duration of incidents is reducing. For others they are becoming more independent with their personal care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do well in education. Progress for all children is identified and celebrated and is shared wider with family and other important adults. The manager has identified senior staff to further enhance and develop targets to support children’s development of independent living skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have several opportunities to make their views, wishes and feelings known about the care they receive. Children who do not use speech, are provided with their individual communication system. However, occasionally, when children request something important to them, there is sometimes a delay in staff responding to the request.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children need the supervision of staff for their own safety. However, all children are being supported to become more independent. When children have struggled to fully access their community, staff work hard to reintegrate them back with robust and careful planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children very well. With this knowledge managers and staff have created a warm and nurturing environment. When needed, the staff team can adapt children’s living environments to meet their needs and to reduce any anxieties. However, when damage is caused, repairs are not always undertaken timely.

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

When children make a complaint, these are taken seriously. Good communication occurs between the school and care team which means that complaints from children do not get lost and information is shared appropriately. This means that the child feels they are being listened to. Managers investigate concerns and children are told the outcome of their complaint.

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

Managers respond to allegations quickly and in line with their safeguarding procedures. There has been one allegation about staff practice. The manager ensured that immediate safeguards were put in place and have undertaken a Inspection report for children’s home: 2781592 4 thorough investigation. Concerns about the safeguarding of children are shared with the local authority designated officer and the children’s social worker without delay.

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

Staff are confident in their safeguarding practice. This is because they know the children well and understand their risks and vulnerabilities. This helps them to keep children safe. Children’s care plans and risk assessments are generally thorough and inform staff what they must do to provide the right care for children at the right time, and to reduce risks. This means that the potential risks to children are understood and reduced. However, an area of risk had not been recorded in one child’s risk assessment.

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

Children, some of whom have complex methods of communication, are provided with many opportunities to make their needs known. Being able to communicate their views, wishes and feelings reduces the likelihood of children becoming frustrated and anxious.

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

When children are involved in a physical intervention or safeguarding incident, records identify what staff have tried prior to any restrictive intervention. Managers provide an oversight of all incidents. Children are given the opportunity to talk through the incident.

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

Managers have ensured that when children require medication to help with their health and wellbeing, they have a procedure that is usually safe and effective. However, for one child their medication profile did not identify all current prescribed medication.

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

Managers ensure that only staff who have been through a robust safer recruitment process get to work with children and young people with significant vulnerabilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong advocate for children. She and the deputy manager lead a motivated, experienced and confident team of staff. Managers and staff know the children extremely well. With patience, nurture and resilience they ensure that all children get the very best opportunities while living here.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers know the strengths and areas for development. This is because of effective auditing and quality assurance processes. Managers value and act on external monitoring outcomes when any areas for development are identified. However, monitoring has not identified some areas that require improvement including medication profiles, children’s living environment and risk assessments. This would enhance a good system already in place. The requirement and recommendations set at the last inspection have been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team of staff caring for children has remained stable, which provides children with the consistency of care they need. When new staff are employed, they undergo an organised and thorough induction. This includes varied training opportunities that Inspection report for children’s home: 2781592 5 provide them with the knowledge and skills they need to provide care to children with complex needs. They quickly become established in the team. Staff are enthusiastic and enjoy their jobs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff value support from the manager. They have regular supervision sessions and opportunities to meet as a team. Through supervision, managers test staff competence, offer support and guidance, and discuss developmental opportunities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are up to date with their training. When required, specialist training is provided to enable staff to meet the children’s individual care and health needs. Staff love their work. They talk confidently about progress of the children in their care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2781592 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and the placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risk on a day to day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations including the Quality Standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislation (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather then ‘institutional ‘impression. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations including the Quality Standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that care is taken to ensure prescribed medicines are only administered to the individual for whom they are prescribed. Medicines must be administered in line with a medically approved protocol. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations including the Quality Standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15).

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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: 2781592 7

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 St. Georges House, Vernon Gate, Derby DE1 1UQ

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Inspector

Simon Hunter, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2781592 8 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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