Children's Home run by Assisted Living Care Group Limited in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children's home: 2810441 1 Registered provider: Assisted Living Care Group 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

The home is privately owned home and registered to provide care for one child with emotional and social difficulties or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children's home

There was one child living at the home at the time of the inspection. The child contributed to the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The home is led by a registered manager.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2810441 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/05/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2810441 3

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Summary of findings

This home provides exceptional care to a child with a learning disability. The manager and staff know the child's needs extremely well. Care is organised and provided around meeting the child's specific needs. There is an ethos of positivity. The child has fun and makes exceptionally good progress. Staff help the child to learn new skills. Staff understand the individual way that the child communicates. The manager supports and develops the skills of the staff team extremely well. She continually develops her own knowledge and shares this with her team. Care practice is informed by research and evolves in line with the changing needs of the child as they approach adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The child has made excellent progress since moving to this home. The staff and manager speak very warmly of the child. They are ambitious for him and celebrate the progress he has made. The child is very happy living in the home, and staff speak warmly about the enjoyment they gain from caring for him. A family member said, 'They are brilliant. He really loves them. He feels happy and safe.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Care planning is comprehensive and includes all aspects of the child's life. The child's placement plan gives clear advice to staff as to how to meet his complex needs. The manager is initiative-taking regarding plans for his future. She is collaborating closely with other professionals involved with the child. This is to ensure a smooth transition to adult services. This is being organised with the knowledge of the difficulties the child has with managing change.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Learning is central to the child's care in this home, particularly in supporting their progress with communication and education. Staff plan exceptionally well to make learning engaging and enjoyable for the child. Consequently, he has made very good progress, including through his work with a tutor in the home. Staff have supported him to develop his understanding of numbers and to enjoy learning through arts and crafts, which is one of his favourite activities. The manager is a strong advocate for the child and has successfully secured increased educational provision. This has resulted in the child receiving double the level of education from the start of the new school term.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff know, extremely well, how the child communicates. Although diagnosed as non- speaking, he can now interact with staff using limited speech. He can make clear choices. He has learned the staff's names. Staff also know the non-verbal communication methods of the child. They know how he uses different sounds to express happiness or sadness. He can also use pictures and symbols to show staff if he is feeling tired, happy or sad.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The child spends one-to-one time with staff. These key-work sessions take place regularly. The staff often use creative social stories to good effect. These make it easier Inspection report for children's home: 2810441 4 for the child to understand more difficult concepts, such as when a new person is in the home when maintenance is being undertaken.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The child's family is very important to him. Family members are welcomed to the home regularly. This ensures that the child maintains a close relationship with the people he loves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support the health needs of the child extremely well. They have helped him to have a healthy diet. He enjoys exercise, both in the home and walking to a local park with an outside gym. He also very much enjoys going swimming. Medication is very well managed. Clear procedures are followed by staff, with regular audits by an allocated staff member and the manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff help the child to enjoy activities while at home and out in the community. The child has developed close friendships with other children and young adults. Staff promote and support this by taking him to see his friends. They supervise their time together. He also enjoys watching movies at the cinema and at home.

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

There is a clear behaviour management plan for the child. This identifies effective support strategies, as well as the early indicators and triggers that may lead to behaviour escalating. Staff manage the child's behaviour exceptionally well because they have a thorough understanding of his needs and how he responds to different situations. As a result, incidents are effectively de-escalated, and the use of physical intervention is extremely rare. When the child becomes distressed, the staff remain calm and take a reassuring approach, combined with attentive support, which prevents the situation from escalating further.

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

The child is subject to a deprivation of liberty safeguards order. A high staff-to-child ratio ensures that he is always kept safe. The child is helped to understand this using social stories. For example, they explain why doors are locked and why he may be held to keep him safe.

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

Risks to the child are understood by staff. Risk assessments are clear and detailed. The risk and what might happen are described. How staff should respond to reduce the risk is clearly explained. There is also an acknowledgement of positive risk taking as the child tries new experiences. In addition, there is a very good assessment of risks in the home's location. This is informed by contact with other professionals, such as the local police.

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

Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding children. They are aware of the additional vulnerabilities of children with learning disabilities. Policies and procedures are thorough. Discussions regarding safeguarding take place in every supervision and team meeting. Staff are aware of the whistleblowing policy and who to contact if they have any concerns. Inspection report for children's home: 2810441 5 The child sometimes displays harmful behaviours. Support and health checks are accessed from health professionals when required. All incidents are overseen by the manager. They are discussed during team meetings to aid staff's learning. This helps staff to develop their practice and support the child in different ways when he is angry or upset.

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

The child does not go missing from the home. He is always supported by 3 staff throughout the day and night. However, staff are trained in what to do if the child should go missing. There are clear policies and procedures to follow. There is also a Police protocol for the child.

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

The child has access to an advocate when required. The manager is also an excellent advocate for the child. She is tenacious in ensuring that the child gets the support he needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is an inspirational leader of the home. She continually strives to make the life experience for the child fun. This is while he learns new skills and develops as he approaches adulthood. She is extremely positive about the child and speaks warmly of him and the progress he has made. A social worker said, '[Name of manager] is fantastic at keeping me involved. I have never seen a placement with such coherency when it comes to understanding a child.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff enjoy working at this home. They feel very well supported by the manager and the responsible individual. They feel that they learn and develop from the manager's knowledge and experience. They receive a thorough induction to the home. As a result, staff feel prepared for their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and deputy manager undertake regular supervisions with staff. These are very effective meetings with time for reflection and learning. Staff wellbeing is supported and good practice is celebrated. The needs of the child, and how staff have met these, are also central to these meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is dedicated to developing her own knowledge and passing this on to staff. Numerous workshops and other learning opportunities are devised by the manager. This includes topics that are directly important to the care of the child, such as trauma- informed practice and the importance of active listening. There is a comprehensive package of online and in-person training for staff. There are also very good workforce, home and team development plans. The manager knows the strengths of the team and what she wants to develop further.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Team meetings take place very regularly. These provide the opportunity for in-depth conversations regarding the needs and care of the child. The meetings enhance staff learning and development. The manager uses relevant research to inform the quality of care for the child and to develop staff care practice. Inspection report for children's home: 2810441 6 The responsible individual provides the manager with excellent support. The responsible individual visits the home weekly and provides the manager with regular one-to-one supervision and achieves the right balance of support and challenge. The manager describes the responsible individual as 'my rock'. The manager also appreciates support from other home managers within the organisation, and benefits from the mutual support and development these important peer relationships bring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager's approach to quality assurance is systematic and comprehensive. The manager is constantly monitoring the quality of care provided to the child. The manager and responsible individual undertake regular audits to identify any gaps in the delivery of care to the child. The manager spends one-to-one time with the child to capture his views, wishes or any worries he may have. She also spends daily time with the child and observes how staff interact with and care for the child. She uses feedback from external professionals and others who know the child well to inform the development of staff care practice. She reviews all incidents and daily records and is relentless in her oversight of the care provided to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The overall aim of the manager, leaders and staff is to provide the child with the best possible care and enable them to reach their potential and maximise their quality of life at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No statutory requirements or recommendations have been made. Inspection report for children's home: 2810441 7

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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: 2810441 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Assisted Living Care Group Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Innovation Centre, Green Street, Northampton NN1 1SY

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Inspector

Shaun Caplis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2810441 9 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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