Children's home run by South West Mental Health Ltd in Somerset

Inspection report children’s home: 1185768 1 Registered provider: South West Mental Health Ltd Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately operated children’s home is currently registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children and young people.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

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

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The care that staff provide to young people continues to offer the nurture and support they need. Young people live in a homely, family-style environment and make the most of the opportunities offered to them. Young people refer to this as ‘home’ and want to continue to live here until they become adults.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people’s introductions to the home have been guided by multi-agency discussions. These discussions involve mental health professionals and others who know how to avoid unnecessary stress and anxiety for the young people. Since the previous inspection, two young people have successfully moved in. All of the young people have come from previous placements at hospital and have experienced previous placement breakdowns. Without exception, the young people said that this is a great place to live and they suggested that it should be judged as ‘fabulous’. Inspection report children’s home: 1185768 2 A young person moved on from the home following a number of serious violent incidents which the staff were unable to manage or reduce. Lessons have been learned from this and used to inform a new matching process. Managers have arranged a meeting with the placing authority to reflect on what happened and determine how such a situation

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

can be avoided in the future. The staff have kept in touch with the young person and have taken an interest in her current situation and well-being.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the previous inspection, the manager has demonstrated that he has the necessary qualifications, skills and knowledge to register with Ofsted. He has continued to improve several aspects of the home to benefit young people. Records, including care plans, risk assessments and intervention guidance, are clearly recorded and provide suitable direction to staff. Training for staff has also improved and includes regular reflective practice discussions so that staff are able to learn from incidents. The staff have done a number of training sessions and held discussions about objective recording and the use of language in records. These records have improved. All staff are now registered to undertake a professional mental health qualification.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Improvements to the environment include new carpets, furniture and the removal of unnecessary signs and notices. Young people have personalised the home and invested time in decorating their bedrooms and making them more homely. Together, the manager and young people chose the biggest Christmas tree possible, which only just fitted into the house. The senior management team and the administration officer have moved out of the office which was situated on the third floor of the home. This makes for a more homely environment.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff continue to work with educators and provide suitable learning opportunities for young people whose education has and continues to be interrupted because of their health needs and hospital placements. Two young people are now back on track to take GCSEs in the near future.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Work in partnership with specialist youth mental health services and placing authorities is good and allows for multi-agency planning. In addition, specialist advice is readily available to the staff team from the local child and adolescent mental health services manager.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff continue to try to find specialist activity providers. A music and dance teacher is visiting young people who have shown an interest, to see if some lessons can be provided which meet their needs. One young person who has a passion for the theatre was thrilled to have visited London to see the renowned stage production of ‘Matilda’. Activities are provided daily to increase young people’s confidence and self-esteem. Many activities are linked to independence skills such as cooking. Good use is made of arts and crafts.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young people are well-matched and they get on together. They look out for one another, sharing and spending time together. The staff demonstrate caring, attentive relationships and nurture, which helps young people to feel valued. Inspection report children’s home: 1185768 3 The manager is clear about the strengths and weaknesses of the home. A development plan is in place. Regular monitoring by the manager and the independent visitor allows for continuous improvements to be made. Previous shortfalls have been actioned and addressed.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Physical intervention records do not always provide full information about what happened. This is a weakness in recording rather than a practice issue. Incident reports provide more detail that demonstrates that young people are only guided or held as a last resort to avoid injury to themselves or others.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Recruitment records for one agency member of staff relied on checks completed by the employee’s agency and did not demonstrate that the original documents had been seen by the manager. This is contrary to safer recruitment requirements.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/07/2017 Full Good 02/11/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 06/06/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: 1185768 4

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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

35: Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

(3) The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

(a) within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

(i) the name of the child; (ii) details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; (iii) the date, time and location of the use of the measure; (iv) a description of the measure and its duration; (v) details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; (vi) the name of the person who used the measure (‘the user’), and of any other person present when the measure was used; (vii) the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and (viii) a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

(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’)—

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Requirement Due date

(i) has spoken to the user about the measure; and (ii) has signed the record to confirm that it is accurate; and (c) within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(i–viii)(b)(i–ii)(c)) 19/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. 19/02/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1185768 5 (2) The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

(a) employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or, (b) if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

(d) full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32(2)(a)(b)(3)(d)) Inspection report children’s home: 1185768 6

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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

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

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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: South West Mental Health Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Victoria Hayward, Crossmoor Meadows House, Spaxton Road, Bridgwater, Somerset TA5 2PB

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Inspector

Janice Hawtin, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1185768 7 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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