Children's home run by Plymouth City Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 1 SC454900 Registered provider: Plymouth City Council

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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 registered children’s home operates as a short-break service and is run by a local authority. It provides care and accommodation for up to six children who can stay overnight. In total there are 11 children on its register. It also provides evening and weekend care. All of the children have very complex needs, such as autism, and require at least one-to-one care and support.

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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 good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 22 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children enjoy their short breaks. They provide a ‘home-from-home’ experience where children receive personalised care that meets their complex needs. Good attention is given to how children can have positive experiences that they may not otherwise enjoy, such as visiting local parks and surfing. In this way, their short breaks contribute to the quality of their childhood.  The registered manager is experienced and suitably qualified. She is well thought of by her staff team, parents and professionals. The staff team is highly skilled and benefits from an extensive rolling programme of mandatory and specialist training. Children also benefit from a stable staff team, as turnover in this setting is very low. This means that children are cared for by staff who really know them well and who have cared for them as they have grown up. Staff also know the children’s families well and families feel that they can trust

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Key findings from this inspection

staff to take good care of their child. One parent said: ‘ It is an amazing, happy place that my son can attend and be in a suitable safe environment for his needs, as well as having fun and feeling relaxed. I really don’t know where I would be without it.’  The physical environment is being refurbished and improved to meet the changing needs of the children. During the past year, children of a much younger age, from eight years, are attending for short breaks and day care. Good attention is given to achieving a balance between creating a homely, yet safe and practical, environment. A new sensory room is being fitted as well as an aqua bath. Further improvements are being considered for the garden, including the provision of a shaded area, more play equipment and a sensory walk.

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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

 Better attention should be given to developing the really important role that the manager and staff have in working effectively in partnership with other professionals and families. Some children need additional help to expand and develop their diets and to help them achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Similarly, some children need to be given additional support so that they can learn how to use the toilet independently.  There is a need for appropriate safeguards to be put in place when children are running in and out from the garden with wet bare feet. This is something that they enjoy doing but there is a risk that they may slip on the indoor hard flooring.  One senior member of staff holds a professional qualification that is not a diploma in residential childcare. It is important that there is an assessment of this qualification to establish that it is equivalent to a level 3 diploma. Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 3

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Key findings from this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/09/2016 Full Good 10/12/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 5

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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, the 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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that the health and well- being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10(1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager and staff should work effectively with other professionals and families to improve children’s diets, to help them achieve a healthy weight and to help them achieve their potential to be as independent as possible to use the toilet. 17/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulations 12(1) and (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure suitable protective flooring is used on indoor hard floors when children are running through from the garden with wet bare feet. 31/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all individuals who work in the home in a care role have the appropriate level 3 diploma qualification or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the level 3 diploma. (Regulation 32(4)(a)(b)) 17/11/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 6

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities during their short breaks that they may not otherwise have access to and this adds to their childhood experiences. This includes, for example, simple routines like going to the local park and shops, which is not always possible with their family. Children also have opportunities to experience a wide range of other social activities such as going to the beach and surfing. The home itself is very well resourced. The environment is spacious and designed to provide several different spaces for children to enjoy, such as a sensory room, a soft play room, a quiet area and a television and computer room. There is a large touch-screen computer which children actively engage with and enjoy. The garden also provides a fun and safe place. There is a playhouse, a sunken trampoline and opportunities for children to enjoy water play and other sensory games. There are plans underway to add to the garden equipment so that

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

the younger children who are now attending have lots to do. Good attention is given to how to improve the home’s facilities in a way that keeps it as homely as possible while also meeting the diverse needs of the children in a practical and safe way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships with children are excellent. Staff are very skilled at responding to the diverse needs of each of the children. They are sensitive and intuitive in their approach. Staff know the children well and understand their particular way of communicating. They fully understand that the child’s behaviour is an expression of how they are feeling, whether it be happy, sad, energetic, frustrated, bored or in discomfort. They respond appropriately to what children communicate to them. For example, a child who was visiting for both overnight stays and extended days after school communicated via his individually created picture communication book that he did not like to visit after school if he was later to go home to sleep and preferred to visit only when he was also able to stay overnight. This has since been discussed with his parent and his visits are being adjusted accordingly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff also have strong relationships with parents, who trust them to take good care of their child. One parent said she felt staff ‘genuinely cared for her son’. Many parents openly express that they do not know how they would manage if it were not for the short breaks that their child has. They also appreciate how much their child enjoys and benefits from their visits. Children make progress by participating in fun activities, developing their confidence, communication and social skills. During this inspection, the inspector identified the potential for the manager and staff team to help children make further progress. For example, by working effectively with a range of other professionals and parents, they could help children to improve their eating habits, to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and to develop their skills so that they can use the toilet independently. These are challenging areas to address, but staff have a wide range of

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

skills that they can utilise, and progress in these areas will support children to have healthy lifestyles as they mature into young adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are introduced to their short breaks in a careful and considered way. Plans are Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 7 put in place according to the needs of the child and how well they manage new experiences. Recently, a small group of children from the same class at school visited as part of their introduction on a play day. This enabled them to explore a new environment with other children and adults that they knew. Subsequently, each of these children has been supported at their own pace to enjoy after-school and weekend visits and, ultimately, overnight stays. When children are nearing adulthood, staff work alongside parents and new carers to facilitate a smooth transition to an adult provision, such as an adult short-break service or a supported living arrangement.

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

The manager and staff have an excellent understanding of the vulnerabilities of the children in their care. They benefit from a wide range of training provided by the local authority and external trainers. Specialist training is sourced to enable staff to develop their awareness of how to protect the children in their care. Staff also communicate openly with parents and professionals to ensure that important information is shared, such as unexplained bruising, and, where appropriate, collective decisions are made.

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

Behaviour is managed positively. Staff know the children well and know what they enjoy doing. Careful consideration is given to planning the mix of children who visit at the same time. The manager involves staff in this process and values their feedback as group dynamics develop. All children have an adult who is specially allocated to look after them during their stay. All situations are carefully risk assessed and additional staff are provided for car journeys and trips out. Staff are trained to respond positively to children’s behaviour and are skilled in de-escalation techniques. Physical restraints and sanctions are rarely used and have not been used with the current group of children. Children are rewarded for their good behaviour and the manager is currently deciding on the best way to record this practice.

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

Children enjoy water play and find it fun and therapeutic. Staff are diligent in their supervision during this time. However, it was observed that children were running out of the garden and into the home with wet bare feet across a hard floor and in doing so may have slipped. While staff used a row of towels to prevent children slipping, a more robust approach is required to keep children safe from falling and hurting themselves.

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

Medication is safely managed, stored and administered. Staff receive training before they administer medication and all staff are trained in first aid.

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

Robust recruitment procedures ensure that new staff are carefully selected and vetted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is effectively managed by the registered manager, who has been in post for nearly four years. She is suitably qualified and enjoys sourcing new training opportunities for herself and the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak well of their manager. They feel that she is open and responsive to their Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 8 comments. For example, following a particularly busy summer, she has listened to their concerns and introduced a new staffing rota which will provide extra flexibility to ensure that children are able to have lots of trips out, which they enjoy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported through a wide range of training, practice-supervision and team meetings. A newly appointed member of staff has received a thorough induction and will commence a level 3 diploma in residential childcare once she has completed her probation. With the exception of a senior member of staff, all have a level 3 qualification. The senior member of staff has a professional qualification that is related to her role, but it is necessary for the manager to verify that this qualification is equivalent to the level 3 diploma in residential childcare. If it is not, this member of staff will need to complete this qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers know and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the service. The registered manager and the responsible individual meet regularly to discuss how they can make further improvements. For example, the role of the independent visitor has recently been reviewed again to ensure that these visits meet the expectation of the statutory regulation as well as enabling the independent visitor to fully understand the children’s experience during their short break.

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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 differences 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: SC454900 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Plymouth City Council, Civic Centre, Armada Way, Plymouth PL1 2AA

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Victoria Whitman-Hallam

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Inspector

Norma Welsby, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 10 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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