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

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

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

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children and young people have made exceptionally good progress since they arrived in the home, particularly in terms of their resilience and self-confidence. Their achievements are testament to the sensitive, individually tailored care, which the staff provide.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All of the children and young people are participating fully in education. One young person progressed to mainstream school last September and has maintained her place there. She has made exceptionally good progress in all areas of her life and has now reached a point where she is making a planned transition to a foster family. This move is being exceptionally well organised, with the young person’s full involvement. The introductions have included visits to the new family and overnight stays, so that the young person can get to know her new foster carers over a period of time and adjust at her own pace to the changes.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children and young people have made good progress in learning to manage their behaviour. The staff help them by working in a reflective and responsive way, informed by regular consultation with the company’s clinical psychologist. This consultation has helped the team to focus on building the children and young people’s self-esteem and to concentrate on areas of their lives where achievable objectives can be met. For example, the professionals around the children and young people now share some of the responsibilities for keeping bedrooms tidy, which was an area of difficulty for some individuals. Instead of insisting that the children and young people keep their rooms tidy, the staff ensure that they always provide a pleasant, clean and attractive space. This means that the children and young people have a refuge where they can retreat if they are struggling with their emotions or behaviour. This level of nurturing sets a good example and has had a

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

major impact on the children and young people’s self-confidence.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children and young people continue to enjoy a wide range of exciting and healthy activities appropriate to their age group and interests. The youngest child goes to tumbling classes and has also joined a cheerleading club. Others have shown a reduction in risk-taking and potentially harmful behaviour, which has helped them to improve their personal safety. The registered manager and her deputy went to meet the most recently admitted young person in her previous placement. They introduced her to the home before she moved in and ensured that her bedroom was redecorated to suit her taste. This young person commented that she was doing well in the home and that she much prefers it to her previous placement.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children and young people continue to enjoy really warm, positive relationships with the staff. They are happy in the home and feel excited about the planned changes, which will divide the six-bedroomed home into two three-bedroomed homes. The children and young people have been involved in planning their new bedrooms and the communal areas. The registered manager and her deputy intend that the planned changes will ensure that children and young people live with peers who are of a similar age and stage of development.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the full inspection, the home has continued with its strong track record in keeping the children and young people safe. For example, they do not go missing from home. Those who are ready for additional responsibilities have been given unsupervised time, which they use wisely.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Incidents and physical interventions have continued to reduce in frequency. All restraints have been carried out safely and for appropriate reasons. These holds are recorded in a hard-bound paper log as well as on the home’s electronic record system. Electronic records are clear and explain the sequence of events within each incident, but a small number of staff have not recorded sufficient detail in the paper log.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home is not obliged to continue with a paper system as well as with the electronic record, but, if they do, each entry has to be recorded in sufficient detail to enable the reader to understand what happened. Following discussion on this subject, the deputy manager decided not to continue with the hard-bound log, so no recommendation has been made.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been only one complaint, which the young person retracted the following day. This matter was escalated to a senior manager and was responded to appropriately.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The deputy manager explained that the home has an effective system of rewards and consequences. When consequences have to be set, they always relate to the child or young person’s behaviour. For example, hazardous behaviour in the car may result in a car ban for the rest of the week. Staying out late without permission may result in a loss of unsupervised time for a period. These measures are understandable by the children and young people and have been effective in managing behaviour.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The managers and staff work hard to establish and maintain good relationships with other agencies and services. For example, police community support officers visit the children and young people regularly. This helps them to build trust and to receive appropriate advice. Communication with education and healthcare professionals is also extremely effective. These productive inter-agency relationships help to ensure that the children and young people receive the services to which they are entitled.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home is very well supported by an experienced, skilled and qualified manager, who was in an interim role at the previous inspection. Since then, she has stabilised the staff team extremely well and is now registered with Ofsted. The home’s senior leaders are also exceptionally experienced, well qualified and effective. The service is currently in the process of appointing a new responsible individual and has kept Ofsted informed of the changes.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager is very well supported by her deputy, who says that they ‘make a good team’. The young people and staff have responded very well to the management changes over the past six months. The deputy manager is working towards her level 5 award and one of the home’s senior practitioners has now achieved his level 5 award. These qualifications show that the company invests in its staff and supports their professional development.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Several new staff were appointed after the full inspection and have now completed their probationary periods. The team is stable and provides good continuity to the young people. The staff are well trained and exceptionally well supported.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager was on a training day during the inspection, but it is clear that she has worked hard to update all of the home’s management documentation. The manager has updated the statement of purpose, children and young people’s guide, workforce development plan and other key documents. These are all exceptionally well produced and provide a very clear and accurate picture of the service.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home is very well monitored, internally and externally. All significant incidents and complaints are escalated to the company’s quality assurance manager, who is also the company’s safeguarding lead. The electronic record system ensures that when an incident report is uploaded, it is also sent automatically to the safeguarding lead.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There is a new independent visitor for all the homes in this area. The home’s managers welcome and value his reports, which are extremely thorough and fair. The registered manager’s quality assurance report and development plan are clear and provide a detailed summary of the home’s progress and plans for further improvement.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This is the second successive inspection where no requirements or recommendations have been made, showing that the home has sustained its high level of performance over time.

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Information about this children's home

This privately owned children’s home is operated by a national company. The provider also operates five other children’s homes, a specialist school and a fostering service in the same area.

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six children and young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The company’s policy is to admit girls only.

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Information about this children's home

The home currently comprises two semi-detached houses which were conjoined some years ago to provide a single property. Work is under way to separate the two houses again. This will, subject to an application being made and Ofsted agreeing to a change in the home’s registration, provide three bedrooms in each house.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 29/09/2016 Full Outstanding 02/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 29/10/2015 Full Good 09/12/2014 Interim Improved effectiveness

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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 that 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 whom 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 0300 123 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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