Children's home run by Invested Childcare Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2584899 1 Registered provider: Invested Childcare 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 children’s home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living in 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 2020.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 16 December 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2584899 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/12/2024 Full Outstanding 05/03/2024 Full Outstanding 24/05/2022 Full Good 08/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2584899 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children benefit from consistently high quality care delivered by a stable, dedicated and nurturing staff team. The strong, trusting relationships that staff build with children contribute significantly to children’s emotional security and developing self-esteem. As a result, children feel confident in expressing their views and contributing in a meaningful way to plans for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children say that they feel exceptionally well supported. Staff support children to explore their identity in a safe and respectful way. This contributes to children’s strong sense of belonging. One child described a significantly positive change in their behaviour since living in the home, particularly in their ability to manage stress without becoming aggressive. They attributed this directly to the strength of their relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Professionals speak highly of the home. One social worker described the staff as ‘amazing’ and said that the home is one of the best they have worked with. Another social worker’s confidence in the quality of care means that they frequently enquire if the home can provide care to other children they support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make exceptional progress in education. Children who previously disengaged from learning now attend and participate positively. Those who were not expected to sit examinations have done so and have achieved recognised qualifications, significantly improving their future opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff use technology creatively to enhance communication and engagement with the children. Staff create a digital newsletters that offers child-friendly information about current events. This is then used to support discussions about wider societal issues which helps children to develop informed views about current affairs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Support for children extends beyond their time living in the home. For example, a child who had left the home was accompanied by staff to attend their school prom. This demonstrates an enduring commitment that reinforces children’s sense of feeling valued. One recently recruited staff member previously lived at the home as a child. This reflects the long-term positive impact of the staff’s care on children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff ensure that children have special experiences, including holidays abroad and attending sporting events. Children are encouraged to keep pets to promote a sense of responsibility and caring for something other than themselves. Children make requests to staff to change things about their home environment. Staff respond to these promptly and share feedback with children, helping them to feel listened to and respected. Inspection report for children’s home: 2584899 4

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

Staff have a strong understanding of the risks faced by children. Risk assessments are comprehensive, regularly updated and contain effective strategies to reduce risk. Staff respond quickly with appropriate emotional and physical support when incidents occur. Consequently, there has been a reduction in harmful incidents, including self-injurious behaviour.

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

Staff sometimes search children’s bedrooms, and when necessary, remove unsafe items. Staff explain the purpose of these searches to children whenever possible, helping them understand that this is to keep them safe. This approach has contributed to a reduction in harm.

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

The manager carefully considers her decision-making when she and the staff team are unable to keep a child safe. They advocate on behalf of the child to the child’s placing authority, for what they believe to be the safest plan. The manager understands the impact of ending a child’s placement in the home and works flexibly with the placing authority to reduce disruption for the child.

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

Children’s physical and emotional health needs are met particularly well. Staff help children to access therapeutic support, including enabling one child to feel safe enough to begin trauma therapy. Staff are also supporting another child to access their preferred healthcare provider. Staff work closely with the organisation’s therapist to review behaviour and evaluate therapeutic strategies. This enhances consistency for the children and a deeper understanding of their needs.

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

Allegations made by children are managed swiftly and in accordance with organisational procedures. The manager ensures that safeguarding actions are taken promptly and that children are supported and kept informed throughout. This reinforces children’s trust that staff act to protect them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is aspirational, skilled and highly committed to providing exceptional care to children. She leads by example, modelling the nurturing, family-style care that staff replicate with children. The manager avoids a traditional key-worker model, instead promoting a shared parental approach across the whole staff team, creating a family-like environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager scrutinises incidents thoroughly and identifies creative ways to improve practice. When learning is identified, the manager takes prompt action to ensure that staff also reflect on incidents and consider what could be improved. The reflective, analytical approach of leaders and managers reduces the likelihood of any issues recurring. Inspection report for children’s home: 2584899 5 Staff feel exceptionally well supported. The manager has a clear understanding of the strengths of staff and provides purposeful opportunities to support their professional development. Supervision is reflective, regular and of a high standard. The manager holds staff accountable for meeting children’s needs while ensuring they are supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Records relating to children are up to date and thorough and offer excellent insight into children’s lives, their needs and progress. After every meeting held about children, staff write a child-friendly summary to the child, ensuring that they have a clear, accessible record of what was discussed. This ensures that children have access to information discussed in meetings about them regardless of whether or not they attend.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements or recommendations were raised following this inspection.

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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: 2584899 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Invested Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Acklam Hall, Hall Gardens, Middlesbrough TS5 7BJ

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Inspector

Julia Hagan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2584899 7 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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