Children's Home run by Wessex College Limited in Bath and North East Somerset

Inspection report children’s home: 1241840 1 Registered provider: Wessex College Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private organisation and is registered to provide care and accommodation for four young people. The young people may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: Requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspection: 29 November 2017

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: None

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness. A registered manager has not been in post for over 36 weeks. The current manager has failed to submit an application for registration. Senior managers are providing her with good support and guidance. The home environment requires improvement. Children are not provided with a comfortable, welcoming environment in which to live and thrive. Damage to the home is not repaired to a good standard. In addition, staff have failed to ensure that the home is cleaned to a good standard. This was raised with the responsible individual at the inspection. She began to take action to address this during the inspection and further work is scheduled. All staff are provided with a fire briefing when they start to work at the home. There were two new staff who had not taken part in a fire drill or practice as required by the

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Inspection report children’s home: 1241840 2 Children’s Homes Regulations. Staff at the home know the children well and there is evidence of discussions at team meetings regarding the children’s needs and how staff will meet these. Children’s care plans are not updated to reflect agreed actions. At the previous inspection, four requirements and two recommendations were made. Of these, one requirement remains unmet. This relates to the effectiveness of the manager’s monitoring and review systems. There has been some improvement in this area, but further work is still required to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. The quality of the notifications sent to HMCI has improved. The records of restraints are now clear and contain all of the required information. Staff are no longer using vague or emotive language to describe children’s behaviours. Children’s case records are now signed and dated by the authors. This assists in the

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

auditing of documents as well as providing evidence of children’s progress. The reports of the independent person are now being received by HMCI in a timely manner. Children’s engagement and progress in education has improved. They benefit from having individualised creative education timetables. A number of the children greatly benefit from being able to access the provider’s farm as part of their education. Some children are also attending local colleges. Safeguarding systems at the home remain strong. Policies and procedures are understood by staff and followed in practice. Comprehensive records of all safeguarding events are maintained. Children are positive about living at the home and they like the staff who care for them. Behaviour is appropriately managed and restraint is only used as a last resort. Since the previous inspection, there has been one restraint. The record of this is clear and contains

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

all the required information. Staff have carried out a great deal of positive work with the children around substance misuse. This has involved some children attending sessions with external agencies. This work has raised children’s understanding of the risks. Staff manage incidents well when children go missing. This can involve a significant amount of travel. Staff liaise effectively with social workers and police with regard to missing person incidents. Staffing levels are appropriate to meet the needs of the children living at the home. At the previous inspection, it was noted that the staff team was fairly new. Staff appear to have bonded well as a team. The manager uses some sessional staff, who are employed by the provider, to cover any staffing shortfalls. Although these staff are not part of the home’s core team, they have worked for the provider for a number of years. There have been two new members of staff recruited who are just about to commence working at

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

the home. Since the previous inspection, the provider has recruited an enhanced therapeutic senior practitioner. This person is providing additional support for the children and the staff team.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection report children’s home: 1241840 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably; ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)2(b)(vii)(c)(i)) 30/4/18

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard The leadership and management standard requires the registered person to use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(2(h)) 30/4/18

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Requirement Due date

Fire precautions After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25(1(d)) 30/4/18 Inspection report children’s home: 1241840 4 Appointment of manager The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if there is no registered manager in respect of the home. In particular, the person managing the home must register with Ofsted as required by the Care Standards Act 2000 section 11, (1). (Regulation 27(1(a)) 18/5/18

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Recommendations

 Regulations 35-39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely while they remain in the home. In particular, children’s placement plans need to be amended to reflect the child’s current care needs and how staff will meet these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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’. Inspection report children’s home: 1241840 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Wessex College Limited, 4 Cedar Park, Cobham Road, Ferndown Industrial Estate, Wimborne BH21 7SF

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Inspector(s)

Wendy Anderson, social care inspector Nicola Lownds, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1241840 6 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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