Children's home run by South West Childcare Services

Inspection report children’s home: 1248071 1 Registered provider: South West Childcare Services

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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 was registered in January 2017 and is part of a small but expanding organisation based in south-west England. This home is registered to provide accommodation and care for up to two children. The current manager was registered with Ofsted on 16 August 2017. The home is situated in a residential area on the outskirts of a large city, and has access to good amenities and public transport.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/10/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 10/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1248071 2

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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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)) 22/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that the registered person ensures that staff—

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Requirement Due date

provide to the children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

The conditions are that the care is delivered by a person who—

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Requirement Due date

has the experience, knowledge and skills to deliver that care. (Regulation 6 (2)(vii)(3)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to improving the children’s bedrooms and beds and ensuring that staff have the relevant training that is specific to caring for individual children and any needs they may have. 22/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcome, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; 02/07/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1248071 3 ensure that the staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) and (2)(a)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular:  improve managerial oversight, audit and subsequent improvement of the home and children’s progress and experiences. This includes the manager’s review of records such as incidents, medication arrangements, placement and care planning and behavioural consequences.  improve placement plans so they help children and staff to be clear about what timely goals it is hoped children can achieve and how.  ensure that guidance is clear to staff on how to support and look after children. 33: Employment of staff The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation; 01/06/2018

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Recommendations

 Any registered manager placed in charge of a children’s home or staff member in a deputy or supervisory role such as ‘shift leader’ should have substantial relevant experience of working in a children’s home and have successfully completed their induction for the home in which they are employed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.21)

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improvement to be good

Young people have made significantly good progress in some areas and not in others. Their care and placement plans do not focus on small but achievable goals that are reviewed regularly to measure progress. Staff are not given guidance to help children succeed to their potential. For example, young people in the home continue not to get Inspection report children’s home: 1248071 4 up and leave their bedrooms until often after midday and sometimes after 3pm. Their placement plan does not address this issue by attempting to break this long-standing pattern into small steps. Staff do not use a consistent approach to help children with their daily routines. Placement plan documentation is onerous and young people have not read their plans, which means there is less likelihood of them wanting to meet their goals. Services for young people’s emotional and physical health are not cemented, and close attention has not been paid to how these services can reach young people successfully.

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improvement to be good

Young people continue to receive either no education or very little. While the manager and external professionals have attempted to help young people progress, plans going forward are not clear for one young person and a personal education plan is not in place. Another young person has an education and healthcare plan, but it has recently been discovered that it has not been reviewed since 2015. As it is so out of date, the young person cannot easily access the education they need now. Alongside the manager sharing her significant experience of working with children, staff have learned how best to look after the young with an element of trial and error. While this can happen to an extent when getting to know children, fundamental training for individual needs, such as autistic spectrum disorder, has not taken place. Therefore, staff are not equipped with knowledge of research and strategies. The young people have made good relationships with some staff members, although the

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improvement to be good

changes in staffing have been unsettling. A young person indicated that they feel safe in the home but do not feel that all staff interact with them as much as the young person would like. Most of the home is clean, welcoming and well furnished. However, the young people’s bedrooms do not give a welcoming impression. Paint has peeled in some places, the walls have marks and scratches and some of the furniture needs replacing. The mattress on one bed is stained and uncomfortable. Although staff have been cautious about the extent of their challenge to the young people, those young people who have complex emotional and health needs have made significant progress emotionally and behaviourally. Their confidence and independence have increased, and incidents of violence in previous homes that led to assault against staff have not happened here. Damage to property happens less frequently. Young people have started to learn how to manage distress and talk about their feelings.

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improvement to be good

The manager has respectfully welcomed young people’s families in a meaningful and genuine manner. Consequently, young people’s relationships have improved considerably. One young person’s relationship with their parent has improved so much that the plan has moved from supervised contact to a return home. Parents said: ‘My son and I wouldn’t have the relationship that we do now if it wasn’t for the staff and how they’ve supported us’ and ‘I have noticed a big difference in my son…he is more confident.’ Professionals who work with the manager and staff have praised their commitment to children and can confidently talk about the progress they have made. A social worker said: ‘Since he has moved to this home, we have seen a massive improvement in behaviour and progression with independence skills.’ An educational professional said: Inspection report children’s home: 1248071 5 ‘They help children become resilient and they don’t give up on them.’

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improvement to be good

. Staffing levels at night are less than are stated in the homes statement of purpose. The level of risk for this arrangement has not been thoroughly assessed. The statement of purpose states that there will be two staff members on duty throughout the day and night if more than one child is in the home. Most staff who care for children on their own have little experience of working in children’s homes and are being assessed within a six-month induction and probation period. Therefore, they have not yet had full training. This means that the manager cannot yet be confident that staff have reached the required standard. Although no incidents have occurred which have put staff or children at risk, this arrangement has not protected children and staff from potential harm. Young people have not been physically restrained in this home and, while these are older children, the lack of physical intervention indicates that the manager and staff have used

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improvement to be good

other strategies to avoid it. Guidance for staff on whether to restrain, and if so what individual methods to use, is lacking. Medication administration is an area for improvement that the manager and deputy manager have identified and have a plan to address. Currently, staff do not have the full information about the medication young people take and documentation is not complete. However, children have not been put at risk with the medication arrangements. Senior managers in the organisation are visible to children and staff, who feel confident about raising concerns and whistle-blowing. When an allegation is made, it is dealt with accordingly. Arrangements for the recruitment of staff are of a good standard and all necessary checks are completed to ensure that children are kept safe.

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

Management audit and oversight of the home are not strong enough. For example, when incidents happen, the manager does not sufficiently analyse what has happened and what could be done differently to improve practice. In some instances, questions about incidents remain unresolved. Delays in children’s education have not been identified and challenged at an early enough stage. Supervision for staff occurs regularly and appraisals are in place. However, the manager reduced supervision frequency for a member of staff before they had completed their probationary period, which contradicts the home’s statement of purpose. The home employs an independent visitor to review the care provided but the monthly reports have highlighted few recommendations. Changes in staffing have had an impact on the young people since the previous inspection. However, the manager and staff feel they are entering a period of stability

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

and feel more confident as a team. Staff say they enjoy working in the home, and a staff member said: ‘I enjoy seeing the children achieve.’ Team meetings happen regularly, Inspection report children’s home: 1248071 6 and enable staff to communicate about all necessary issues. The registered manager is very committed to the young people she is responsible for, and she and the staff are proud of young people’s achievements. The manager is newly registered and is keen to improve the home. She supports young people well in times of crisis and is called upon by staff to competently calm situations.

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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: 1248071 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: South West Childcare Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 46 Durnford Street, First Floor Flat, Plymouth, Devon PL1 3QN

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Inspector

Sarah Canto, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1248071 8 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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