Children's home run by Five Rivers Child Care Limited in Wiltshire

The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved effectiveness .

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

The registered manager has improved the effectiveness of the service provided to children since the last inspection. She has undertaken reviews of practice, policies and procedures, responding to all recommendations from the last inspection. However, she has not fully implemented some of the planned changes following these reviews.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

Children are comfortable with staff and appeared relaxed and chatty with them during the inspection. The independent visitor confirms that children feel safe and well cared for in the home. The registered manager operates a suitable and effective admissions and discharge policy. When admissions are emergencies, the manager follows the risk assessment process. She gathers appropriate information to make a judgement on the likely impact on the group and assesses whether staff can meet their needs. This is then supported with an immediate placement planning meeting. Children moving on from the home receive ongoing support in what are generally planned moves. If placements break down, staff work closely with other services, such as child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), supporting children into more appropriate placements.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

The manager has updated the development plan for the coming year. This is an impressively detailed and comprehensive plan covering all areas of operation, both within the home and in the local community. It provides a clear structure for the ongoing development of the home including a timescale for completion of all Ofsted and independent visitor recommendations. The manager and her line manager plan to use the reports on the quality of care to review progress with the development plan throughout the year. The manager shared the draft report on the quality of care during the inspection. This has a lot of background detail and some improved use of data. The line manager is working with the registered manager to increase the use of key data and focus on areas of the quality standards relevant to the home in future reports. Both the manager and line manager have an impressive understanding of the functioning of the home and the

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

detailed plans to improve the delivery of good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

The manager has reviewed and updated the statement of purpose to include changes to procedures and details on new staff. The line manager is reviewing this draft, which she made available during the inspection. The manager is aware that she must send a copy of this and the similarly revised children’s brochure to HMCI when this review is complete.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

The manager has updated the workforce development plan. This provides a clear plan for staff development. It is in line with guidance in the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The manager is using this effectively to track staff progress and develop the ethos described in the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

The company is completing a comprehensive review of the safeguarding policy and procedures, which they shared during the inspection. Staff are now aware of how to make referrals following a child protection or safeguarding incident occurring at a weekend. The manager plans to implement a staff handbook, which is not yet complete, outlining these procedures. In addition, she has worked with local police to agree specific enhanced local procedures to follow if children who are vulnerable to child sexual exploitation go missing.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

Children receive effective help from staff, supporting their reintegration into education. Two of the children are attending college and have perfect attendance records. They are making good progress, supported by staff acting as good parents in attending all meetings, social events and assisting them to get safely to and from college. Other children are attending the on-site school and are making progress in their attendance with sensitive support from staff.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

Children rarely go missing from the home and some never go missing. When children have gone missing, staff are diligent in seeking them and work closely with police and social workers to reduce the likelihood of future absences. The manager uses feedback following absences in an analytical way, producing impressive reductions in this high-risk behaviour.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

The manager ensures that staff complete details of any search of children’s rooms. There has only been one incident since the last inspection and staff recorded this appropriately. Staff rarely use restraint. There has only been one instance of restraint since the last inspection. Staff recorded this on to the online system. However, this record is brief. Staff also record appropriate information, including any feedback from children, on a separate incident sheet. In addition, staff maintain a log book for recording incidents. This multiple recording is inefficient and potentially confusing.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

Link workers ensure that children have the opportunity to view their files and comment on care plans, risk assessments and 24-hour management plans. Staff record their comments on a separate recording sheet, which currently does not make it clear which documents they are commenting on. Link workers have not yet incorporated any children’s comments into the online records during their regular reviews. Staff made a slight adjustment to their way of recording during the inspection to ensure clarity on which documents children are commenting on. The manager is considering different approaches to incorporating children’s views into these documents. However, she has not yet fully enacted this.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

The manager has commenced a review of the suitable location of the children’s home. She has not yet finalised this comprehensive review which is due for completion in June 2017. The difficulty in getting responses from key partners is slowing the completion of this update. The manager is working with her line manager to conclude this review in line with the appropriate timescale.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

With skilled staff assistance, children make good progress with often complex health issues. The staff work closely with other professionals including CAMHS workers and their own psychology team to aid this work. Staff are caring and sensitive in meeting children’s needs. They adjust other programmes to allow children appropriate privacy and sensitive assistance with personal health issues, aiding gradual improvements in issues such as toileting and personal hygiene.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

Staff aid children to maintain their cultural and religious interests. This involves support from staff to attend places of worship and in meeting personal care needs. Staff also assist children to maintain or develop safe contact with their families. Children thrive in this supportive environment with staff sensitive to all of their needs.

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Information about this children's home

This privately owned children’s home may provide care and accommodation for no more than five young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home has access to an on-site school and a dedicated psychology service.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 18/10/2016 Full Good 21/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/01/2016 Full Good 03/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Complete the review and revision of the safeguarding policy. In particular, ensure that the guidance on referring child protection concerns to the local authority is explicit on procedures to follow at weekends and during the absence of the registered manager. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 44, paragraphs 9.19 and 9.21)  Record restraint in a manner which enables the registered person and staff to review the use of control and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. In particular, streamline current recording systems to avoid confusion and the potential to miss emerging trends. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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Recommendations

 Encourage children to see the home's records as 'living documents' supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. In particular, improve the way in which they can add comments to the electronic record. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 58, paragraph 11.19)  Complete the review of the premises ensuring that it is suitably located so that children are effectively safeguarded and it can meet the needs identified in children's relevant plans. In particular, expand the range of opportunities presented by the home's location and how the home manages local risks identified by key partners and the manager's analysis of local data. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection’.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service 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’. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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