Children's Home run by Swan Cottage Limited in Worcestershire

Inspection report children’s home: 1258893 1 Registered provider: Swan Cottage Limited

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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 home is a privately run home. It provides accommodation and care for up to two children. They come to live at the home because of family or placement breakdowns, which might occur in birth or adoptive families, foster placements and other residential placements.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is experienced and holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management in residential childcare. She has worked at the home since it was registered in September 2017.

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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: 16 January 2018

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1258893 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/01/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1258893 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. Professionally qualified staff employed by the home, e.g. teachers or social workers, should be provided with relevant professional or clinical supervision by an appropriately qualified and experienced professional. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactively and consistently supporting a child, who is currently funded for a solo placement, to make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is developing a good sense of belonging both in the home and local community. Staff have supported this process in many ways, including encouraging an interest in a family of swans living on the neighbouring canal. The child is now interested in her surroundings and investing in the home and in her future plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child started education in a mainstream school in March 2018. This was a significant achievement after being out of formal education since July 2017. She visited her new school with the registered manager and decided to start full time straight away. By the end of the summer term, she had exceeded her education targets in all 15 of her subjects. Her attendance at school was good at 85%.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of maintaining positive contact with family and forming long-term friendships with peers. They ensure that the child has regular visits to family members and drive her the very long distance there and back. They have also encouraged her to go on school trips and to meet up with friends that she has made at school, inviting them to the house for tea visits, and to go on sleepovers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to achieve age-appropriate goals towards independence. They do this through play and fun activities in and around the home, such as cooking and gardening. They also have set expectations of tasks that she needs to complete, such as keeping her bedroom tidy and bringing her laundry downstairs.

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

Staff always promote the safety and well-being of the child. They have a robust Inspection report children’s home: 1258893 4 understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures through induction, training and supervisions.

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

All allegations are appropriately referred and investigated. There have been no missing from care incidents. There have been no complaints. The child is clear about her right to raise issues. She has access to an advocate and knows how to contact Ofsted and the police if required. She proactively uses her right to contact her social worker and the registered manager. She currently overuses these processes and is being supported to communicate her needs more appropriately.

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

The members of the staff team ensure that they provide the child with clear boundaries and responses. This consistent parenting is having an increasingly positive impact on the child’s stability. For example, threats and the use of abusive language towards staff and damage to the home are reducing.

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

The home is welcoming and reflects the wishes and interests of the child living there. For example, she has enjoyed helping staff maintain the flower beds in the backyard. She has also had a say in the layout and decoration of the rooms throughout the house. Photos of family members, trips and activities are proudly displayed in the child’s bedroom and throughout the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The child is supported by a stable and dedicated staff team. Staff are experienced and ensure that practice is focused on what is the best for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team members feel well supported by a very child-focused registered manager. They attend regular staff meetings and supervision sessions. They are motivated by the registered manager, who is always looking at ways to improve and develop them and the outcomes for the child. However, supervision records are not sufficiently detailed. They do not inform the reader of the practice-related, reflective conversations that took place, or any resulting actions that were agreed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff team work closely with other professionals. For example, to help the child understand the immediate and wider impact of her behaviours on herself and others, staff have organised visits and discussions with the community police, her social worker and placements officer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good monitoring systems in place to capture children’s progress and ensure that documentation is up to date. This allows her to understand the strengths within the home and the areas that require further development.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1258893 5 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: 1258893 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Swan Cottage Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 19–21, Hatchett Street, Birmingham, West Midlands B19 3NX

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Inspector

Dawn Bennett, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1258893 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 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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