Children's Home run by Plus One South West Ltd in Somerset

Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 1 SC467115 Registered provider: Plus One (South West) Ltd

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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 one of four children’s services operated by a private provider.  The home provides accommodation and care for up to two children and young people, who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.  The registered manager left the home on 13 March 2018. There is an acting manager in post. Ofsted received an application to register the acting manager on 9 May 2018.

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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: 29 November 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2017 Full Requires improvement to Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 2 be good 21/12/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/07/2016 Full Good 03/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 3

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the home takes the initiative in identifying others who must play a part for their children and engage with those relevant people proactively, advocating for the children in their care. In particular, engage with the local authority designated officer to build a positive working relationship. ('Guidance to the Children's Homes Regulations including the Quality Standards' (April 2015) page 12, paragraph 2.7).

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the company maintains good employment practice. The registered person must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, ensure that applicants record their employment history in months and years, so that it is complete. ('Guidance to the Children's Homes Regulations including the Quality Standards' (April 2015) page 61, paragraph 13.1).

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is currently one young person in the home. She receives good-quality care from skilled and experienced staff. All young people who come to live in this home have access to therapeutic support from a qualified cognitive behaviour therapist. This helps the young people to make sense of difficult life experiences, so that they can begin to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s current young person has made excellent progress in her education. At the previous inspection, her educational provision was minimal and a requirement was made. This requirement is now met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is steadily increasing her hours in education, at a pace which is manageable for her. She has 100% attendance and her attainment is also good. This has considerably increased the young person’s prospects for obtaining work or further training when she reaches independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Clear behaviour management strategies are helping the young person to learn how to moderate her own behaviour. Since her arrival in this home, the young person has not engaged in the risk-taking or anti-social behaviour which were features of her previous placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people who live in this home are encouraged to express their views on a daily basis. Staff have frequent important conversations with the young people, on a range of Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 4 topics. This is an improvement from the previous inspection, when there was limited direct work with the young people. The young person currently in the home has access to an advocate. This helps to ensure that her rights are maintained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The present young person is positive about the home, describing it as ‘lovely’. She enjoys a very pleasant, calming rural environment. The house and gardens are well maintained. The young person said that she had helped to choose the pictures for the home, as well as the colours for her bedroom. Her skilful artwork is displayed around the home. This has given the young person a sense of pride and achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff offer a number of activities. The young person enjoys the cinema, shopping and swimming. Her diet has improved considerably since she came to live in the home. The manager has encouraged her to have smoothies as snack foods instead of crisps, which are now strictly limited.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home encourages independence, in line with the young people’s age and development. The current young person enjoys baking and does her own laundry. She is also learning gardening skills, and has recently acquired some plants to start her own gardening project.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This young person is placed a long distance from her home town. The staff have helped her to repair relationships with some members of her family. This will help her to maintain vital family links into the future.

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

The present young person feels safe and secure in this home. Since the previous inspection, no young people have gone missing. There have been two incidents, both of which were managed without the need for restraint. This means that young people live in a calm environment where staff treat them with dignity and respect.

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

Following the previous inspection, the previous manager referred one matter to the local area designated officer for child protection. There have been no safeguarding concerns since then. Discussion took place about the new manager making informal contact with the designated officer in order to build a productive working relationship with them before any new safeguarding situations arise.

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

The young people have trusting relationships with adults in the home. This means that there is always someone with whom they can speak, if they have any concerns. The young people have not raised any complaints.

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

The new manager took immediate action to ensure that there are detailed risk assessments for every aspect of the home’s work. This enables the staff to manage any risks to the young people safely. Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 5 Health and safety practice is good. The home carries out frequent fire safety checks. The previous inspection’s requirement about the staff’s fire safety training is now met.

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

Staff recruitment is generally very well managed, in line with safer recruitment practice.

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

Since the previous inspection, the manager has revised and updated the young person’s behaviour management plan. Boundary-setting has been an important step in helping the young person to make progress.

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

The home also has a coherent reward system in place. For example, the young person received watercolour paints and a pen for engaging well in school. She is now maintaining her attendance and attainment in school to work towards a new phone. Learning how to moderate behaviour and negotiate with staff are important life skills for the young person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the previous inspection, the responsible individual has taken decisive action to respond to her own concerns about the quality of care and management monitoring in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

As a result, the previous manager has left the home and a new manager has been appointed. This person has submitted an application to be registered. She holds a certificate of higher education in social work studies and is now enrolled on a level 5 leadership and management course.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager, supported by the responsible individual, has made many positive changes to the home. The young people now receive care from an experienced, qualified and well-supervised staff team. The home is now almost fully staffed, with one appointment still to make.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have a very good understanding of the young person’s needs. They have ensured that the local authority’s plans are reflected in the home’s own placement plan for the young person. This well-written plan shows clear targets and strategies which help the staff to guide the young person’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager has already implemented many other changes to the home’s documentation. As a result, records have improved and now provide accurate, regularly updated information to guide the staff’s practice. This means that the recommendation from the previous inspection is met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has forged good relationships with a number of other professionals and local contacts. These include the home’s landlords, social workers, the virtual headteacher for the placing authority and the therapist. Professionals commented that the company is very good to work with. They value the child-centred approach and excellent communication. Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 6 The staff team is well led and managed. Staff meet regularly as a team to help build positive relationships and consistent practice. They benefit from good-quality training and induction. The previous inspection’s requirement about specific training has been met. The manager now has access to a well-designed training matrix. This helps her to track staff training and ensure that staff undertake the required courses in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a very good understanding of the home’s strengths. They are fully aware of the areas of difficulty that led to the previous inspection’s judgement. All seven requirements and the two recommendations from the last inspection have been met. This shows the provider’s commitment to improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

At the previous inspection, a requirement was made because the registered manager had not notified a safeguarding matter to Ofsted. This was actioned at the time of that inspection. Since then, the provider has notified a small number of safeguarding concerns to Ofsted, all in a timely manner.

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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: SC467115 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Plus One (South West) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Mount, 21 High Street, Wellington, Somerset TA21 8QT

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Inspector

Heather Chaplin: social care inspector. Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 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 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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