Children's Home run by Vcare - 24 Limited in East Riding of Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2591501 1 Registered provider: Vcare - 24 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

The home is owned and operated by a private provider. It may provide care for two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home. Both children spoke to the inspector briefly.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025 and is suitably skilled and qualified.

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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: 25 February 2025

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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: 2591501 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/02/2025 Full Good 14/11/2023 Full Good 07/06/2022 Full Good 25/03/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2591501 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build relationships by taking an interest in children and having meaningful conversations with them. They understand children’s likes, dislikes and needs well. Staff talk about children with kindness. The staff encourage children to spend time in the communal areas of the home and to go out on activities with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have helped one child to talk to their advocate. Staff recognised that the conversations with the advocate about past experiences could be difficult for the child and offered emotional support throughout. This demonstrates how staff help and encourage children to share their views about things that are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are inclusive and recognise the diversity needs of children. One child is exploring their gender identity. Staff are led by the child, and they have asked about and use their preferred pronouns. Staff have also helped a child connect to their culture through cooking different foods. They have discussed different diets, enabling the child to try being both vegan and vegetarian. This approach means that children can form their own identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children in the home are not currently accessing education. The registered manager has been proactive in attempting to secure education for the children. The staff have researched education providers local to the home and have shared information with the local authority and virtual school. One child will commence online education this week. The tenacity of the registered manager demonstrates how education is prioritised. The importance of education for children’s routines and future achievements is recognised across the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote family time with the children. Staff help children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. The home has established a positive relationship with one parent who visits the home regularly and is made to feel welcome.

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

Children are helped to stay safe. One child in the home has said, ‘I’m glad that you lot aren’t abusive’, indicating that they see staff as safe. Staff complete key-work sessions with children about risky behaviours. Staff understand and implement the safety plans for children. This means that there is a consistent approach to promoting children’s safety.

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

One child regularly goes missing from the home. When the child goes missing, staff follow them and liaise with professionals and family members to help the child return safely. When the child started to go missing in the night, agency waking night staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2591501 4 were recruited. Staff strategically position themselves in the home to try and prevent missing episodes and encourage the child to stay in the home.

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

Staff use their de-escalation skills and children’s individual plans to manage children’s behaviour. Staff use relational practice effectively to help children when they are upset or angry. One parent said, ‘Staff know what triggers him and know what calms him down.’ One child, who has not experienced physical intervention due to staff understanding how to help them, said that they used to get restrained ‘all the time’ in their previous home. There has been one incident of physical intervention since the last inspection. This was used as a last resort to ensure the safety of the child and staff. The child received a debrief after this incident.

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

Risky behaviour and criminality are known concerns for one child. Staff complete key-work sessions to address this. Staff work closely with the police and complete daily room searches. Medical advice has been sought appropriately when a child is suspected to have misused substances.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a registered manager who knows the children well. The registered manager has good oversight of significant incidents. They communicate effectively with professionals about incidents in the home. The registered manager attends meetings and works closely with professionals to help keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the registered manager. Staff receive regular and reflective supervision. The registered manager has a strong presence in the home, meaning that they are available to offer day-to-day support and advice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff engage in regular team meetings. There has been an introduction of support from an independent psychologist, which offers staff the opportunity to talk about children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The induction process of new staff is robust. Staff complete mandatory training and shadow shifts. Staff have regular probation reviews that consider their progress. Staff are helped to think about their practice through lessons learned activities following significant incidents. Appraisals have not been completed for all staff who have been in the home for over a year.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is frequent use of agency staff or staff from other homes in the organisation. This means that children experience multiple caregivers. Agency staff are unable to complete children’s records, which increases the pressure on core staff. This means that core staff are responsible for recording and leading the care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose has been updated since the last inspection. The current statement of purpose does not meet the regulation requirements and requires further updates. Inspection report for children’s home: 2591501 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is kept under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should 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

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Recommendations

receiving the continuity of care that they need. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1)

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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: 2591501 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 10, Halifax Way, Pocklington Industrial Estate, Pocklington, York YO42 1NP

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Inspector

Ali Owens, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2591501 7 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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