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

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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 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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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 30 July to 31 July 2018

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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

Date of last inspection: 17 January 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1185768 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/07/2017 Full Good 02/11/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 06/06/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: 1185768 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, 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 registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child — is instigated;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(i)(e)) 05/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1)(2)(c)) 05/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 05/10/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1185768 4 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) and (2)(a))

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(2)(c)(f)(h)) 05/10/2018

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Recommendations

 Regulation 19(2) details sanctions that are prohibited in behaviour management. Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. In particular, ensure that sanctions are appropriately used and recorded clearly and accurately. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38) Inspection report children’s home: 1185768 5

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improvement to be good

Young people’s experience of living in the home is mixed. With kind and caring support from staff, some young people have made progress since moving into the home. However, two young people did not have a positive experience when moving into the home, and subsequently on moving out. The registered manager did not consider whether the home could meet the needs of the young people. As a result, the young people did not make good enough progress while living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Young people have positive and trusting relationships with the staff. Quality fun time is spent together relaxing, playing and taking part in activities. Young people spoken with were full of praise for the staff and the registered manager. These opportunities have helped the young people live a more settled life in the home.

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improvement to be good

The mental health of some of the young people has improved since living in the home. Staff recognise that the young people need to develop an understanding of their behaviours, and the risks they place themselves in. By following assessments and plans, staff help the young people make sense of their lives and make age-appropriate choices. As result, there has been a reduction in self-injurious behaviours for some young people.

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improvement to be good

Young people are making some progress with their education. This is despite interruptions to their learning because of periods of poor mental health or hospital admissions.

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improvement to be good

Young people live in a home that is, overall, well decorated, safe and homely. It was identified during the inspection that young people could be afforded better privacy in their bedrooms and a bathroom by investing in quality curtains and blinds.

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improvement to be good

Young people are looked after by staff that are recruited safely, receive sufficient training and are, in the majority, qualified. Staff spoken with demonstrate an understanding of how to keep young people safe, and the procedures to follow should they have any concerns.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, several referrals have been made to the designated officer: a young person has made a complaint about their care, and some staff have undergone disciplinary action for negligent practice. On each occasion, swift and appropriate action by the registered manager ensured that the young people remain safe. However, at the point of this inspection one investigation remains ongoing.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond appropriately to incidents, for example physical intervention, self-injurious behaviours and young people leaving the house. However, some records are not signed Inspection report children’s home: 1185768 6 by the member of staff, lack an evaluation and are misfiled.

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improvement to be good

Similarly, some sanctions are poorly recorded, with the effectiveness of the sanction not always explored, and young people’s views not always recorded. On occasions when effectiveness has been reviewed, it has led to improved practice by staff and identified clear learning for young people.

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improvement to be good

Medication is securely stored within an office. During the inspection, a small number of administration errors were noted.

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

The registered manager is experienced and qualified. He demonstrates a commitment to developing staff’s practice and improving the outcomes of the young people. A professional spoken with recognised the efforts he has made, saying that they are ‘really pleased with the work they have done’, and as a result the young person is making progress.

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

Staff spoke highly of the support that the registered manager provides and the changes he has been instrumental in making, for example improved training opportunities and reflective supervision sessions.

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

The home has recently undergone a recruitment campaign. This has resulted in several new staff joining the team. Overall, the staff are either qualified to the appropriate level, are currently undertaking the relevant course or are new to the service. This means that children receive support from suitably qualified staff.

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

Monitoring internally and externally takes place regularly. Through this process, the registered manager had identified some recording errors and put actions in place. Despite this, further errors were identified during the inspection. This included staff not signing documents, misfiling of records, several medication administration errors and the failure to notify Ofsted of a serious incident on two occasions.

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

Several shortfalls were identified by the inspector. Some of these were corrected during the inspection.

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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. Inspection report children’s home: 1185768 7 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

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Information about this inspection

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: 1185768 8

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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: H & H Accountants Ltd, Old Bank Buildings, East Street, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0AJ

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Inspector

Linda Bond, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1185768 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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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