Children's home run by Wessex College Limited in Dorset

Inspection report children’s home: SC451819 1 SC451819 Registered provider: Wessex College

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is one of four children’s homes operated by this private organisation. The organisation provides an independent school that young people from this home can attend.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: SC451819 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The support that staff give to young people has helped them to reduce high-risk behaviours. Young people are starting to understand the negative impact that these risks can have on themselves.  Safeguarding systems are strong and understood well by staff. This protects young people.  Monitoring of the quality of care is effective. As a result, the registered manager has a good understanding of the strengths and areas for development. Clear plans to improve the home are in use.  Staff receive good-quality training that helps them to meet the needs of the young people.  The staff team effectively advocates on behalf of the young people to ensure that they receive the support and services that they need.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 A significant number of staff changes have led to young people being cared for by a number of different staff.  Supervision is not always of good quality. In addition, there are gaps in the frequency of supervision meetings.  Discussions held with young people after a restraint has taken place are sometimes carried out by the member of staff who was involved in the restraint.  The registered manager has reviewed the records of restraint incidents that she has been involved in. This practice does not allow for an independent review of what happened.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 28/07/2016 Full Good 20/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/10/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC451819 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard requires the registered person to ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that supervision is regular and of good quality, and that records of these supervision sessions include sufficient detail of the discussion and any actions or goals set. 31/10/2017

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Recommendations

 Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 49, paragraph 9.59). In particular, the registered manager should not carry out the review of restraints that they have been involved in.  Any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. In some cases, children may need Inspection report children’s home: SC451819 4

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Recommendations

longer to work through their feelings, so a record that the child has talked about their feelings should be made no longer than five days after the incident of restraint (Regulation 35(3)(c)). Children should be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. Children should be offered the opportunity to access an advocacy support to help them with this (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.60). In particular, de-brief discussions should be carried out by a member of staff not involved in the restraint.  Staff should be 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). In particular, ensure that medication administration records are up to date and include information about when young people refuse their

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive good-quality, individualised care and support. Despite a number of changes to the staff team, young people have good relationships with the staff who care for them. Currently, the impact of staff changes on young people is minimal. Staff are effectively managing incidents in which young people are testing the boundaries of new staff. Young people said that they preferred it when there was a set team and that practice in this area is improving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team manages well to help young people when they move into and out of the home. The registered manager carefully considers all referrals and assesses whether new young people’s needs can be met safely alongside the needs of those young people who already live in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are making good progress in their education from their starting points on admission to the home. Staff are successfully supporting the young people who have left school to find a job.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help young people to maintain relationships with their families. The staff are skilled at supporting young people when arrangements are changed or cancelled at short notice. At these times, young people can become angry and disappointed and feel let down or abandoned. Staff help young people to work through these feelings and to develop their understanding and coping strategies when faced with these situations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, young people’s healthcare needs are met. However, staff have not consistently recorded a young person’s refusal to take one of their medications. Young people have access to special support services as required. The organisation employs a therapy team that provides direct support to young people and to the staff team. When young people Inspection report children’s home: SC451819 5 refuse to attend appointments, for example a substance misuse group, staff undertake follow-up work with them, using the same materials planned for use in the appointment. Young people enjoy a range of activities. Currently, they are planning their summer holiday to the coast. Staff encourage young people to try new activities to build their confidence and feelings of self-worth. The staff recognise the value of building positive memories for the young people’s future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide young people with good support to develop their independence skills. Young people have made progress with managing a budget and preparing meals for themselves and others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of helping young people to make choices and decisions about their lives. One-to-one discussions, group meetings and daily chats are commonplace throughout the care practices. As a result, young people are able to express their views on all aspects of their lives and life at the home. This helps to build their abilities to express themselves as well as to develop their self-confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a comfortable well-furnished home. Staff recognise the positive impact that providing young people with a safe, comfortable and spacious home has on young people’s development. The registered manager has a rolling refurbishment plan in place.

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

Safeguarding arrangements are good. Policies and procedure are reviewed regularly to ensure that they reflect current practices. Staff demonstrate a good knowledge of safeguarding systems and work hard to keep young people safe. The designated safeguarding lead works successfully with external safeguarding agencies.

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

Leaders, managers and staff analyse safeguarding incidents and use information from return home interviews to find ways to reduce the risks to young people and to keep them safer. As a result, the staff team’s approach has developed, and incidents of young people going missing from the home have significantly reduced. Staff are continuing to help young people who misuse substances, and the frequency of this behaviour has also decreased.

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

Where additional risks have been identified for a young person, the staff team works holistically with other professionals to safeguard that young person.

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

Staff use positive reinforcement and follow up-to-date behaviour support plans to help young people to behave well. Sanctions are now more restorative. This has led to more positive behaviours from young people, but they are all at different stages on this journey.

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

Records of restraint and incidents are detailed. Restraint is only used as a last resort and for the minimal amount of time. The registered manager reviews the records of Inspection report children’s home: SC451819 6 behaviour incidents and, when restraint has been used, to check that staff responded appropriately to help the young people and to keep them safe. Currently, the registered manager is also reviewing incidents of restraint that she has been involved in. This is not good practice as it prevents leaders and managers from having an independent view of what happened. When a restraint has taken place, young people talk through what happened with staff. On one occasion, this discussion was carried out by the member of staff involved in the restraint. This practice is not appropriate as it may limit the opportunity for young people to raise any concerns.

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

Staff help young people to learn how to keep themselves safe. Work has taken place on using the internet safely and about healthy relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is managed by an experienced and well-qualified registered manager. She has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. Before this inspection, the registered manager had created a development plan to address the majority of shortfalls. The exception to this is the medication recording issue identified during this inspection. The registered manager is very reflective in her approach. In addition, she has gathered important learning from her monitoring of the quality of care to inform the development plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The one requirement made at the last inspection has been met. The independent visitor now strives to consult with young people’s parents and their social workers to gather their views about the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Significant changes have occurred in the staff team since the last inspection. New staff have been recruited, and there are currently two more staff vacancies. The registered manager is aware of the potentially negative impact that these changes can have on the young people. To minimise this impact, she has tried to use the same temporary staff to cover shifts. On occasions, staff who are still in their probationary period have worked with other probationers or with temporary staff. This is not good practice as there are no substantive experienced staff caring for the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff do not always receive good-quality supervision. In addition, there are some gaps in the frequency of supervision. As a result, staff are not supported successfully to develop and improve their practice. The registered manager has taken action to address this weakness.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are provided with good-quality training. The registered manager ensures that training is linked to the needs of individual young people and to developing the staff team. She identifies where further training is needed and provides this for the team. When there is a delay in providing this training, the registered manager has carried out her own research and shares this learning with the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The staff team advocates well for the young people in its care to ensure that they Inspection report children’s home: SC451819 7 receive the services, support and resources that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The staff team is skilled at working collaboratively with others involved in the young people’s lives. Social workers and youth offending officers confirmed this view. They praised the staff team for the quality of the relationships they have built with young people’s families and the detailed reports they produce for meetings. However, they did comment on the number of changes within the staff team.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

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 children’s home: SC451819 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ward Goodman, 4 Cedar Park, Cobham Road, Ferndown Industrial Estate, Wimborne BH21 7SF

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Inspector

Wendy Anderson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC451819 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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