Children's home run by White Orchid Marston Moretaine Limited in Dacorum

Inspection report for children’s home: SC483714 1 SC483714 Registered provider: White Orchid Marston Moretaine Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to 6 children. It aims to provide specialist therapeutic care for children who have experienced trauma. At the time of this inspection, 5 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2023 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 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: SC483714 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/08/2024 Full Good 19/12/2023 Full Good 16/10/2023 Full Inadequate 01/02/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC483714 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since moving to the home, children have made positive progress. Most children have experienced multiple rejections and unplanned endings during their time in care. With the support of a stable staff team, enhanced by input from therapeutic professionals, staff are helping children to restore their faith in the ability of adults to keep them safe and meet their everyday care needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves in and out of the home are well managed. Planned admissions have been carefully considered, and children’s wishes and feelings have been an integral part of this. One child moved into the home at short notice, despite these challenging circumstances, this child has since settled in very well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are accessing education and child-centred decisions have been made to help children access from the right educational environment and support. One education professional said, ‘Staff are very thorough when feeding back information to school. They know children well and staff work closely with professionals to ensure continuity of care. Where needed, children are supported to access specialist services. This approach helps children to feel healthier, more settled and emotionally supported.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a homely and welcoming environment. Throughout the home there are lots of photos of children, and each child’s bedrooms reflects their individual personalities and interests. One member of the staff team has hand painted child- friendly art scenes throughout the home, including paintings of one child’s pets. This helps children to develop a strong sense of belonging and be proud of their home environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have worked hard to create a range of memory books for children. These are personalised and capture children’s experiences of living in the home. Children have access to these and, alongside life story books, staff provide opportunities for children to participate in the completion of these books. Children enjoy reminiscing with staff about their experiences and memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a wide range of opportunities to share their wishes and feelings. Staff use their intuition and knowledge of each child to think about the best ways for children to participate and engage in decisions about their lives. Children willingly share their wishes and feelings with staff, knowing that staff will listen and act on their requests.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s individual needs and how to help children when they need support. They work well with other professionals in children’s networks Inspection report for children’s home: SC483714 4 to ensure that children’s welfare is prioritised and effective action is taken if any safeguarding concerns arise.

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

Staff are curious about children’s individual needs and are keen to understand how to provide the best support for them. Children have developed positive relationships with preferred staff and know who they can speak with if they have any worries.

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

Children regularly engage in positive conversations with staff about a wide range of topics that may be affecting their lives. Staff are well attuned to children and know when it is the right time to talk about more difficult or sensitive topics. Consequently, children are helped to manage their feelings and self-regulation.

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

All children who live in the home have access to talking therapy and occupational therapy, this is arranged in accordance with their needs and individual plans. On a wider level, therapists engage the staff team to connect children early experiences with their presenting needs, helping staff to understand the factors that may influence children’s emotional and behavioural needs.

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

Most staff respond with confidence when children’s emotional or behaviour needs require support, although some newer or less experienced staff are continuing to build their skills and knowledge in this area. Staff recognise that changes in the peer dynamics in the home, or key events in children’s lives throughout the year, can often be a factor in the ability of children to manage their emotions and relationships.

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

Children are supported to reflect on their actions when things have not gone to plan, and staff help children to think about how they can make better choices in the future. In one isolated example, the post-incident support and guidance for one child regarding false information they had shared with police could have been better. This did not have any detrimental impact on the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of children’s plans and how staff can help children to make positive progress. There is a strong focus on providing stability for children and creating the right environment for children to recover from their difficult starts in life.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team has developed some effective working relationships with other professionals. One child’s teacher said, ‘We have worked with the home over a number of years and have very positive working relationships with their staff. Communication is two way and effective.’ A reviewing officer also stated that, ‘The team is proactive, consistently prioritising and advocating for [name of child]. Their communication with other professionals and family is excellent, ensuring that everyone stays well-informed and involved.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is positive and there is a shared sense of cohesiveness and enthusiasm across the staff team. This culture has been developed by the stability in the team, many Inspection report for children’s home: SC483714 5 of the staff have worked in the home for several years. The vast majority of staff have also completed their mandatory qualification and are keen for further professional development opportunities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior staff support the manager with supervisory responsibilities. All staff receive regular supervision and value the support they receive from an external therapist, who provides reflective practice sessions for staff to help them think about their roles with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager demonstrates a good understanding of the practice development opportunities across the staff team and wider across the home. For example, the management team aspires to further embed reflective practice in the staff team, which will enhance the capacity to reflect on their own practice and their communication approaches with children. The foundations of this work are already in place, with staff accessing regular input from a consultant psychotherapist.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has creatively engaged children in wider decisions and considerations about the running of the home. Children’s records demonstrate that the management team is increasingly seeking to ensure that staff create records with children in mind and carefully think about the language they use. This will help children to better understand their experiences of living in the home should they read their records in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been some periods of instability linked to the support regarding children’s presenting emotional and behavioural needs. Staff have worked through these challenges and as a result there have been no unplanned endings for children. Staff recognise that these difficulties have also helped to promote the wider team development. Inspection report for children’s home: SC483714 6

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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: SC483714 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: White Orchid Marston Moretaine Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Chiltern Business Centre, 63 to 65 Woodside Road, Amersham, Buckinghamshire HP6 6AA

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Inspector

Ashley Edwards, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC483714 8 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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