Children's home run by Homes2Inspire Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2720723 1 Registered provider: Homes2Inspire Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private company that is owned and operated by a national charity. It is registered to provide care for up to 3 children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection 12 children have moved on from the home, with children living in the home for a maximum of twelve weeks in accordance with the statement of purpose. At the time of the inspection, there was one child living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a registered manager; they are currently completing their mandatory qualification.

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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: 2720723 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/06/2024 Full Good 20/09/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2720723 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a positive environment for children to live and has a separate annex to allow staff to support one child who is more independent. This provides a positive opportunity for one child to learn important self-care skills before they move to live independently. During the inspection several home improvements were in the process of being completed, once finished this will provide improvements to the environment.

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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 extend this for a short period in accordance with children’s individual plans. Staff make effective use of this time and have provided important support for children whilst individual assessments of their needs or wider care-planning decisions are being made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children who move to the home are placed through a strategic partnership with one local authority. Several children who have moved on are placed in other children’s homes owned by the organisation; this provides continuity of approach for them. The home manager recognises the importance of getting to know children and uses his knowledge of other homes in the organisation to adopt a proactive approach to finding the right move for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since moving in, staff have provided consistent support to one child, and they have settled very well. Staff have invested a lot of time into building a positive relationship with this child. As a result of this support, many of the risks and past concerns have not been prevalent. This has supported the child to be more settled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For other children who have moved on from the home since the last inspection, the progress has been more variable. For example: one child struggled to settle and there were a high number of safeguarding concerns and multiple police callouts. Staff worked hard to build positive foundations for this child, and they were subsequently moved to a more suitable environment. Due to positive advocacy by the home manager, the assessment of one child’s mental health needs was expedited, resulting in an unplanned ending, but ensuring this child would receive the right expert help.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff create individualised memory books for children which helps them to capture their memories and experiences of living in the home. All children have engaged in a wide range of activities and staff encourage children to explore their interests. One child has been volunteering for a local charity as part of their Duke of Edinburgh award, benefiting from social enrichment and sense of responsibility and giving back.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help to develop children’s understanding of diversity and difference, celebrating cultural events and holding awareness days which has included cancer awareness and national Nutella day. Children engage positively in these events, learning from the variety of serious and enjoyable learning opportunities they provide. Inspection report for children’s home: 2720723 4

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

For the last two months, there has been one child living in the home, staff have built a good understanding of this child’s needs and provide a good sense of safety and stability for them. Staff have helped the child develop and to be more expressive with their feelings and they have increased their awareness about when they may need support or help.

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

The child’s reviewing officer shared ‘the team at demonstrate warmth, consistency, and a genuine commitment to [name of child’s] emotional and developmental needs. Their child-centred approach is helping them to make steady progress, feel settled, and continue to strengthen their relationships and resilience’.

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

Staff have worked well with a range of external agencies such as CAMHS and specialist professionals to enhance their understanding of the child’s day-to-day support needs. For the child, this has included developing a variety of ways for them to manage their feelings and emotions, such as using a self-soothe box, and teaching the child self- regulating strategies.

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

All children who have lived in the home have a ‘keeping safe’ plan, this sets out the support that staff will provide in response to known or emerging risks. These plans have been updated regularly and include important information to reflect the actions taken by staff to promote children’s welfare. Detailed chronologies are kept and provide important information to reflect how children’s needs may change over time.

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

Staff have developed a structured approach to helping children, with a twelve-week schedule of planned conversations covering broad safeguarding topics such as online safety and relationships. All children who move into the home benefit from this, and as staff develop their understanding of children’s needs, more individualised conversations are then carried out.

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

Staff supported one child to significantly reduce their missing episodes, and although this child has since moved on, they continue to maintain regular communication with staff, seeing them as an important part of their support network. As part of their reflections when they moved on, the child shared ‘thank you for making this home feel like a proper home, (manager) and (deputy manager) are my favourites coz they always look out for me. This has got to be the best care home ever’.

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

Numerous other examples of feedback from children who have moved on reflect that staff are invested in children’s safety and welfare, even without the responsibility of directly providing care for them. Staff record these views on a blackboard in the home; this connects children moving in and out of the home through their shared experience of living in care.

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

All staff have been appropriately vetted as part of their recruitment, and this minimises the likelihood of unsafe adults working in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2720723 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the support they receive from the management team, valuing their input and visibility in the day-to-day running of the home. The management team are developing an internal monitoring tool to help promote their regulatory compliance and support them to maintain stronger oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

As part of the home’s action plan, managers are working to embed improved ways of capturing the positive impact that staff have in children’s lives within a short period of time. When this work is further developed, it will also help to provide a better understanding for children about their experiences of living in the home, should they wish to access their records in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team regularly seek input from external professionals about their views of the home and working relationships with the staff team. This creates opportunities for self-reflection and identifying areas for practice development. Feedback from professionals consistently reflects positive support and advocacy from staff towards children. One education professional stated ‘staff are visible, consistent and genuinely invested in children’s wellbeing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about working in the home and share a positive team dynamic. All staff benefit from a good induction, and this helps them to develop the skills they need to care for children, this is further developed through ongoing training. Effective use of the workforce development plan supports managers to maintain good oversight of staff training and continuous professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team regularly participate in shared learning circle’s which provide opportunities for reflection and continuous professional development, linked to children’s presenting needs and areas of interest across the staff team. These topics have included, identity, harmful sexualised behaviours and safeguarding linked to online gaming. In addition to this, staff receive regular supervision and use this time well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most of the time staff carry out their responsibilities appropriately. When concerns have arisen regarding staff practice, subsequent investigations have been prompt and well managed. Staff have received additional training and support when required. The home manager has a clear understanding of staff expectations. Inspection report for children’s home: 2720723 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: 2720723 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes2Inspire 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: 2720723 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 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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