Children's home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2716221 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire 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 part of wider charitable organisation and provides short-term care for up to three children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

During the inspection, one child moved into the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since November 2022 and is suitably 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 outstanding

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2716221 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/06/2024 Full Good 22/05/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2716221 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children who move to the home are new into residential care. The experience of coming into care often means that the full background story is not always available to the staff when children first move to the home. Regardless of this, staff support children in a non-judgemental manner, providing individualised care and supporting children to begin to understand their experience of living away from their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in the home for a maximum of twelve weeks, with some flexibility to support positive endings. This provides an opportunity for staff to support children during a difficult time in their lives while longer term arrangements are made. Many children move on to other homes in the wider organisation, providing some continuity of care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children who move into the home come from the same local authority, due to a pre- existing arrangement. Although children sometimes move into the home at short notice, these transitions are carefully managed. Due to the short-term nature of the care children receive, a higher frequency of children move in and out of the home. Consequently, the members of the staff team are very experienced and skilled in ensuring that children have a positive experience during these transitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite children only living in the home for a short period, this does not impact on the relationships they have with staff. Feedback from children demonstrates the important role that staff frequently have in children’s lives. For example, several children shared that staff felt like their ‘family’, and they praised the help and support they received from staff. One child also sent each member of staff a handwritten note thanking them for how they had cared for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

As children only remain in the home for a short time, this often acts as a barrier to staff arranging formal educational for them, if prior arrangements are not already in place. For these children, staff provide appropriate educational support and engage with educational professionals to ensure that children’s needs are met as best as possible. In addition, children benefit from a range of extra-curricular activities and experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well supported, and where appropriate, staff work with a range of other professionals to ensure that children receive the help they require.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff create personalised memory books for children, and these are given to them when they move on. This helps children to sustain positive memories of living in the home.

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

Staff have a strong sense of motivation to support children to progress. This links to staff recognising that they have a limited role in children’s lives and aspiring to use this time Inspection report for children’s home: 2716221 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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

in a way that maximises the help children receive. Staff sensitively support children to change negative barriers into solutions and strategies that they can use to overcome their difficulties. For some children this has instilled a sense of them being able to participate more positively in their own lives.

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

Staff help children to develop their independence and self-care skills in age-appropriate ways. The structure of the home also means that there is an opportunity for one child to move to a self-enclosed annex. This provides a safe and supportive environment for children to experience a more independent lifestyle, with the security of familiar staff surrounding them.

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

When things don’t go to plan, staff use natural consequences for children, and this encourages children to understand the impact of their actions. Through direct conversations, staff support children to develop proactive ways of being able to overcome their problems.

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

Staff respond proactively when concerns arise and keep detailed records of actions they take to keep children safe and promote their welfare. One professional shared, ‘The home is particularly effective at working with safe uncertainty and promoting effective risk management. This is done in a safe and manageable way, rather than being risk averse.’

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

Staff carry out their safeguarding responsibilities with confidence. and on occasions, some staff have challenged the decision-making of other safeguarding professionals. The management team maintains clear oversight of safeguarding concerns.

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

There is a proactive culture of safeguarding, and, where appropriate, staff support birth families to continue to be an important part of children’s networks. This has helped to maintain a shared understanding of children’s current risk. This has been important for some children who have returned to live in their birth families.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff look for children over extended periods and work positively with other safeguarding agencies. Despite this, good practice is undermined as children do not consistently benefit from return home interviews. The members of the management team have challenged this appropriately, but this has not led to any significant improvement. During the inspections, leaders and managers identified some alternative strategies that may help to improve this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The members of the management team are highly ambitious and can demonstrate how their approach has a positive influence on children’s lives. They lead by example and carefully delegate caring responsibilities to the staff team. This helps to embed confidence in staff, and, consequently, the members of the staff team are highly skilled and experienced in knowing what works best when children move into or on from the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2716221 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff take leading roles in reviewing information shared about children as part of their moves to the home. This allows them to identify current risks and create effective plans for how the staff team can help children. The members of the management team have strong confidence in the ability of the staff team to understand and respond to children’s needs in a sensitive and child-friendly manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The members of the management team have embedded a highly proactive culture across the home. Staff demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of their responsibilities and the organisation’s preferred approach. For example, staff make excellent use of the limited time they have available with children, seeing this as a prompt for change rather than a barrier, and children frequently respond positively to this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The members of the staff team have developed positive working relationships with other professionals and are fully aware of their professional duties. This helps staff to be confident to challenge other professionals so that children receive the help and support they need. Consequently, staff act as strong advocates for children. This helps children to know that staff always have their best interests in mind.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel well supported and praise the emotional and practical support they receive from their managers. One staff member said, ‘The manager is amazing. She listens and is very understanding.’ Morale in the staff team is very high, and staff share a united sense of responsibility about the role they have in children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

External professionals value the expertise and support that managers provide. One professional shared, ‘Managers demonstrate in-depth and specialist knowledge around [name of child’s] presenting needs and how to manage these.’ The management team regularly seeks feedback from professionals about their experience of working with the home, complimenting this with feedback from children to learn and reflect.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive regular training and supervision, and there is a continual process of learning and development across the staff team. Some staff act as mentors for others who are completing their mandatory qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

In addition to monthly team meetings, all staff attend regular team development meetings, called Learning Circles. This promotes the ongoing development of staff knowledge and understanding about a range of topics that may impact on children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2716221 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all children receive return home interviews in accordance with statutory guidance on children go missing from care. When a child is found, they must be offered an independent return interview. The interview should be carried out within 72 hours of the child returning to their home or care setting. The local authority for the child is responsible for making arrangements for return home interviews. (‘Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care’, page 14, paragraph 31)

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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: 2716221 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Black Country House, Rounds Green Road, Oldbury B69 2DG

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Inspector

Ashley Edwards, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2716221 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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