Children's Home, Residential special school run by The Sheiling Special Education Trust in Dorset

Inspection report children’s home: SC472485 1 SC472485 Registered provider: The Sheiling Special Education Trust

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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 registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 31 children, irrespective of gender, who have complex learning disabilities and who may also have a physical disability. Accommodation is provided in four houses on the school site. Children attend the school, which is on the same site, and may stay at the children’s home for short-break care or 52 weeks’ care a year. The principles underpinning the care at the home are inspired by Rudolf Steiner.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 29 to 30 November 2017

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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: 15 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is good because: Inspection report children’s home: SC472485 2  Children are happy and are making good progress socially, emotionally and educationally.  Relationships between staff and children are strong, sensitive and caring.  The quality of the outdoor facilities and children’s access to their local environment is excellent. The quality of this provision benefits children.  Safeguarding is managed effectively.  Leaders and managers successfully implement a strong ethos and positive philosophy throughout the home that is understood and delivered by staff.  Leaders and managers have good oversight of the home. They work among the staff and use monitoring systems effectively. As a result, leaders and managers understand the home’s strengths and areas for improvement.

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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

 There is a high dependency on using staff employed from an external agency to work as care assistants in the four houses. Leaders and managers recognise this as an area for development.  Two children’s bedrooms are not furnished or maintained to a good standard. The manager cannot demonstrate sufficient progression planning to ensure that their bedrooms will not remain like this.  Staff are not always provided with an opportunity for a de-brief discussion following the use of restraint.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/11/2016 Full Good 15/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/12/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC472485 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, 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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

(1) The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who – (a) understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; (b) use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to – (c) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to – (i) meet the needs of each child; and (ii) enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. 31/01/2018

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

(1) The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that – (a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to – (e) ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. 31/03/2018

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

(1) The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (‘the behaviour management policy’) which sets out – (a) how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and (b) the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. (2) The registered person must keep the behaviour 31/01/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC472485 4 management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (3) The registered person must ensure that – (b) within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’) – (i) has spoken to the user about the measure; and (ii) has signed the record to confirm it is accurate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good individualised care and support. As a result, they make good progress and have positive experiences living at this home. A parent told the inspector: ‘It is the first time that my child has been valued as an individual and not just seen as (name) with all the problems.’ All families spoken to during this inspection provided tangible examples of the progress that their children have made since attending this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have good-quality relationships with children. Staff also maintain good communication with children’s families and the professionals involved in children’s lives. Children enjoying spending time with staff and those who go home for the holidays look forward to returning. Staff demonstrate patience with the children, encouraging them to participate in their own individual way and to learn new skills each day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s emotional, social and educational well-being well. The children respond effectively to the home’s philosophy of care and enjoy a variety of festivals throughout the year. A parent reported that their child relates more to these festivals than the calendar months. He has returned to take part in an advent event, even though he has now left the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with work placements and opportunities to learn skills for adult life. The children engage well with the range of land-based activities that are delivered in a peaceful environment. The majority of children leave the home and move on to the provider’s college provision. All children who finished school in July 2017 started either at this college or at other local providers. No children left without some additional learning arranged for them to move on to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good-quality day-to-day experiences. Staff support them to attend school during the week and take them out over the weekend. Children make good use of the spacious grounds and resources at the home. Staff also encourage and support the children to visit their local community and to experience the wider world. Children take part in regular therapeutic calming sessions to music and dance. Inspection report children’s home: SC472485 5 Staff listen to children and take their views, feelings and wishes into account. Children make choices about the food they want to eat and the activities they would like to join in with. Children are supported to choose how to celebrate their birthdays; staff facilitate these choices and celebrate with the children. During the inspection, one child had a 16th birthday party with a disco, buffet and dancing that everyone was invited to and enjoyed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s accommodation is generally maintained to a good standard. However, there are two children’s bedrooms that are not due to children’s behaviour towards their environment. It is not evident that there is sufficient progression planning to address the children’s needs and to ensure that these two bedrooms will be cleaned and furnished appropriately in the near future.

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

The manager’s safeguarding arrangements to protect children meet the necessary statutory requirements. Safeguarding concerns and allegations against staff are managed effectively with clear learning points identified. Staff proactively challenge each other’s practice when they feel that things could have been done differently.

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

There have been no occasions of children going missing from the home since the previous inspection. Staff are deployed effectively and manage situations well to ensure that children are supervised at all times. There is no bullying apparent and children are not identified as being at risk of abuse, radicalisation or exploitation.

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

Staff provide good support and care that helps children to stay safe. Staff’s interventions are safe and proportionate. However, restraint records do not always demonstrate clear recording and confirm that staff have received an opportunity for a de-brief discussion, particularly after they have used an unplanned intervention.

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

Leaders and managers monitor the use of restraint and can identify patterns and trends in its use across the home and school. The number of restraints has remained the same over the last two full inspections. The manager plans to create ‘behaviour mentors’ in each house, who will be provided with additional training from a clinical psychologist and the behaviour support team. The manager plans for these persons to then become role models for other staff and support them to reduce the use of restraint.

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

All staff receive good support from a behaviour management specialist who works directly with the children’s home, school and families. The specialist spends time observing children and staff, giving staff advice about new methods, passing on techniques to families and analysing behaviour patterns on a daily basis. All of this work adds to developing the skills of the staff team, making them more confident at working with children and using strategies to help them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report children’s home: SC472485 6 The home is effectively managed by a permanently employed, suitably experienced and qualified manager. The manager operates the home in accordance with the statement of purpose. This document accurately reflects the care, health and welfare that staff provide.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers regularly monitor the quality of care provided. They analyse information effectively to help them to identify areas for improvement, and take swift action to make the necessary improvements. The independent visitor reports that she has seen the home improve significantly over the past five years. Trustees are also involved in monitoring the quality of the service provided to children. They report that the great strengths of the home are the homely environment and that it supports the children’s academic learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the progress that children are making. They monitor their progress regularly and report on the progress in individual education plans and at annual review meetings. Many children develop their independence skills, communication methods and ability to take part in social situations as a result of attending this home. One child was not walking when she first moved in and now she runs across to school.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive good training, development and induction opportunities. This training is focused on ensuring that staff can meet the needs of the children who they are responsible for. Managers and staff receive regular effective supervision that is centred on children’s experiences. Team meetings are used effectively by staff to support and challenge each other and to ensure their professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff understand the ethos and philosophy of the home. They learn the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner at their initial training and refresh their knowledge regularly. A staff member explained the ethos as ‘valuing the person as a whole – are they happy and is everything balanced in their soul and life?’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are aware of the developmental areas for the home. They have identified that the use of agency staff is high and that the home has difficulties in recruiting new permanent staff. The manager has conducted a review into the situation and the home is now offering increased benefits to attract new staff. In the meantime, the majority of agency staff that are used are people that the children know. Agency staff have also been invited to join in training and team meetings and they are provided with supervision.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC472485 7 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: SC472485 8

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Sheiling Special Education Trust

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Horton Road, Ashley, Ringwood, Hampshire BH24 2EB

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Corine van Barneveld

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Inspector(s)

Guy Mammatt, social care inspector Steve Lowe, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC472485 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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