Children's home run by Florinee Homes

Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 1 Registered provider: Florinee Homes Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home offers care for up to 5 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. There were 3 children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2021.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/08/2024 Full Good 29/01/2024 Full Good 18/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff emphasise celebrating children’s achievements and cultures. Children enjoy spending time with staff and they undertake lots of positive activities together. Staff support children with their independence, and one child has been supported to have driving lessons. Children’s professionals shared positive feedback about the care children receive, including the support of children’s cultural and religious needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in education. Staff have supported children to access education in creative ways, which has meant children are far more engaged in education than they have been before.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of family time for children and they support this in a variety of ways. Therefore, children can spend quality time with their families both at the home and away from the home, including the celebration of special occasions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, the manager considers the move well, including the needs of the child moving in and the children already living at the home. When children have moved out, the manager and staff maintain good relationships with them. The manager advocates for children to remain living at the home until they reach adulthood, placing an emphasis on children’s stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff undertake regular key-work sessions with children, which are both planned and unplanned. The manager invites external professionals to talk to children about specific topics to help them understand risks. There are regular children’s meetings when staff talk to children about the things they want, and the manager writes to children to let them know about any actions taken in response. This helps children to know their wishes are valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is large and welcoming, and there are photos of the children who live there and children who have moved out. The doors to the kitchen are locked in the evenings, which impacts on the family feel of the home. The rationale related to this is not clearly recorded in plans for children and this practice is not regularly reviewed. This limits children’s use of the home.

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

Staff have built relationships with children, which has helped them to feel at ease and to make progress. The manager and staff work closely with other agencies to develop plans for children who have significant mental-health needs. When children raise worries, the manager takes prompt and proportionate action to ensure safeguards in conjunction with external experts. However, some documents related to safeguarding practices are not kept up to date with the specific risk-management strategies. Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 4 There have been incidents when children have gone missing from home. The staff know how to respond. For one child for whom this was a particular concern, these instances have started to reduce.

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

Children know how to complain. When allegations have been made, the manager makes referrals to appropriate external agencies and internal investigations are undertaken. The manager ensures children are updated about the outcome of their complaint, showing that their concerns are considered and investigated. However, one allegation was not reported to Ofsted as per regulatory expectations.

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

Staff understand the risks of substance misuse for children. Children have reported taking substances and over-the-counter medication. Staff create an environment where children can talk about substance misuse. However, during these discussions, the staff and managers have not always shown enough curiosity. Care plans are unclear on expectations for how staff should respond in such situations, and room searches are not consistently carried out or recorded in line with plans for children.

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

Staff have good relationships with children. As a result, the number of incidents has reduced and there have been few occasions where children have been held. Staff and children have opportunities to discuss physical restraints. However, these conversations are often led by someone involved in the restraint, and recordings are unclear about when these discussions have occurred.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a committed manager who has managed the home for some time. The leadership team includes the manager, deputy manager and responsible individual. This leadership team works well together. Collectively, this ensures positive oversight of the home and the development of improvement plans to support staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are experienced and there have been few staff changes, which supports stability for children. Staff are very positive about working at the home. Leaders place emphasis on progression for staff, which helps the team members feel valued in their roles. Induction and appraisal processes are positive, and staff are supported to develop their skills at different points in their career.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision sessions that focus on the needs of children and support for staff. When necessary, the manager undertakes targeted supervision sessions to ensure expectations of staff are clear. Team meetings are held regularly, which staff find useful in supporting their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a commitment from the provider to ensure therapeutic input for the staff team. Senior staff have regular consultation with therapists, which supports them in understanding behaviour as communication and how to support children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 5 Independent visits to the home are carried out regularly, but most have been announced. This limits the ability to observe everyday routines and how staff respond naturally to situations. The leadership team is aware of this and has plans to make some changes. Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm; (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, risk assessments and care plans should include known risks for each child with clear expectations to guide staff practice, including on room searches. Plans for children should be regularly updated. Clear rationales for decisions related to safeguarding concerns should be clearly recorded following incidents. 23 February 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 23 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 7 there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home (Regulation 21(c)(i)). Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home, and any modifications to the environment of the home, must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and

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Recommendations

restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure that it meets the needs of each child. In particular, there should be clear recording of the dates of debriefs, and children should be given an opportunity to debrief with staff who were not involved in the restraint. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59) Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 8

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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: 2655174 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 13, Swan Court, Forder Way, Cygnet Park, Hampton, Peterborough PE7 8GX

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Inspector

Lorna Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2655174 10 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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