Children's home run by T-Junction Children’s Services

Inspection report for children's home: 2642570 1 Registered provider: T-Junction Children's Services

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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 owned and managed by a private company. It offers care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in the home and contributed to the inspection.

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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 outstanding

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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: 14 January 2025

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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: 2642570 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2025 Full Outstanding 03/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/02/2023 Full Good 15/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2642570 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make exceptional and meaningful progress when measured against their starting points. Staff support children to develop trusting, nurturing relationships with adults. Staff understand children’s past experiences and recognise how they influence their behaviours and needs. Staff respond to children with compassion and consistency, promoting their emotional safety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff prioritise children’s learning and strongly advocate for children to access education and receive the relevant support to do so. Staff work flexibly and creatively with education settings to ensure children’s attendance and engagement in school are maintained. Staff work effectively with children’s schools to remove barriers and promote achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff advocate for children exceptionally well. Staff ensure children’s voices are heard and appropriately challenge professionals to ensure their needs are met and positive outcomes are achieved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff ensure children’s health needs, both physical and emotional, are met to a high standard. Staff help children to understand and take responsibility for their own health needs and engage with specialist health services when required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The provider’s model of care is firmly embedded in day-to-day care of children. Staff articulate the principles clearly and consistently apply them in their interactions with children. Staff promote coordinated multi-agency support that promotes children’s emotional wellbeing and recovery from past trauma.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff ensure children experience well-planned, positive moves both into and out of the home. Staff support children to understand and contribute to their plans about their future when moving out of the home. Assessments for children moving into the home are thorough and carefully considered. The manager demonstrates learning from children’s previous moves, which informs and improves future practice in this area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff understand children’s cultural identities and individual backgrounds very well and ensure they are celebrated. Staff ensure that children’s cultural needs are respected and promoted, helping children to develop a strong sense of identity and belonging.

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

Staff understand children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities very well. Staff consistently respond to children’s behaviours in line with risk assessments and support plans. Risk assessments and plans are individualised. However, in some instances, they lack detail, which leads to ambiguity. Inspection report for children's home: 2642570 4 Staff ensure conversations with children are purposeful and reflective, helping children to develop their understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Staff skilfully balance protection with empowerment, supporting children to take age-appropriate risks in line with their individual independence plans.

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

Leaders and managers respond to allegations effectively and with due diligence. Leaders and managers have responded promptly to concerns, working in partnership with relevant safeguarding agencies. The manager ensures procedures are followed rigorously to safeguard children and protect adults, demonstrating a strong safeguarding culture within the home.

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

Staff demonstrate a high level of skill and confidence in using de-escalation strategies. As a result, incidents have significantly reduced. When incidents have occurred, staff have helped children to reflect and learn positive coping strategies, helping them better understand and manage their emotions.

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

Children’s access to some areas of the home are restricted to ensure their safety. While these measures are proportionate, there is no system in place to routinely monitor and review these measures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is highly aspirational for both children and staff. She sets and maintains high expectations, consistently striving to secure the very best outcomes for children. Her ambition is clearly communicated and shared across the team, creating a culture where children are supported to achieve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager ensures research-informed practice is thoughtfully embedded throughout staff’s practice. Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of the therapeutic principles that guide their work and apply these confidently in day-to-day interactions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager implements highly effective monitoring systems which provide comprehensive oversight of all aspects of children’s care. The manager maintains clear lines of accountability and robust quality assurance processes. The manager ensures that learning from monitoring activity is translated into practice, resulting in tangible improvements for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff report that team meetings are purposeful and reflective forums where they are encouraged to learn together. These sessions provide valuable opportunities to explore practice, with staff sharing feeling supported, heard and professionally challenged.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager demonstrates strong self-awareness and a commitment to continuous development. She has a clear understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for further improvement. Development plans are realistic, targeted and actively progressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has embedded a well-established culture of learning, where staff are encouraged to enhance their skills and knowledge. Training is purposeful and aligned Inspection report for children's home: 2642570 5 with the needs of the children, ensuring that staff are well equipped to provide high- quality care. The manager also promotes a culture of ongoing reflection and development that contributes significantly to children’s experiences. Inspection report for children's home: 2642570 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any decisions to limit a child's access to any area of the home 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)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

In particular, the registered person should ensure children's risk assessments and plans include relevant detail to support understanding.

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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: 2642570 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: T-Junction Children's Services

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 27 The Pastures, Narborough, Leicester LE19 3DS

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Inspectors

Chloe Harvey, Social care inspector Becki Cornes-Sinclair, Social care inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2642570 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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